Monthly Archives: April 2010

Fighting Lust and Sexual Immorality

Posted by on April 27, 2010 No comments

Sexual immorality is rampant in today’s culture and sadly it is a tremendous sin within the church today with pornography statistics that are so saddening – even among church leaders. One cannot help but to be bombarded with sexual temptation given the amount of sex on television, movies, the internet and even on billboards. I’ve been reading an excellent book entitled The Good News We Almost Forgot by Kevin DeYoung. In this book he steps through the Heidelberg Catechism giving a wonderful exposition of this wonderful catechism of faith. In his discussion of the seventh commandment he nails it on the head concerning the correct way a Christian must handle sexual temptation. I wanted to share this excerpt from his book…

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8). This has been the most helpful verse for me in fighting lust and the temptation to sexual immorality. We need to fight desire with desire. Satan tempts us by holding out something that will be pleasurable to us. We aren’t tempted to gorge ourselves on liverwurst, because for most it doesn’t hold out the promise of great pleasure. But sex does. Pornography does. A second look does. The Bible gives us many weapons to fight temptaton. We need to fight the fleeting pleasure of sexual sin with the far greater, more abiding pleasure of knowing God. The fight for sexual purity is the fight of faith. It may sound like nothing but hard work and gritting your teeth, the very opposite of faith. But faith is at the heart of this struggle. Do we believe that a glimpse of God is better than a glimpse of skin? Do we believe that God’s steadfast love is better than life. (Psalm 63:3) We’d probably sin less if we spent less time thinking about our sins, sexual or otherwise, and more time meditating on the love and holiness of God.”

How true is this! May we see that sin truly is a “fleeting pleasure” that can never satisfy and will always destroy and more importantly is an offense and an affront to the Living Holy God. Let us be reminded of the truth that we are seated in the heavenly places with Christ and how shall we who have died to sin continue to live in it? (Rom. 6:2) May our minds and hearts be drawn upward to Christ to see that to desire Him above all is the true ever-flowing wellspring of peace, joy and eternal contentment.

Soli Deo Gloria.

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A Righteousness Not My Own

Posted by on April 23, 2010 No comments

“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:8-12

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Christ the All in All

Posted by on April 21, 2010 No comments

“To suppose that whatever God requireth of us that we have power of ourselves to do, is to make the cross and grace of Jesus Christ of none effect.” - John Owen

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The Sunday Christian

Posted by on April 19, 2010 No comments

“When the fear of people overcomes the fear of God, we are likely to deny the gospel. Unless we are willing to stand up for God at work on Monday, we are just pretending at church on Sunday.” – Philip Graham Ryken


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Soli Deo Gloria Album

Posted by on April 15, 2010 2 comments

Soli Deo Gloria (2008-2010)
As many of my visitors to this blog and friends know I am a musician and have arranged and written music for much of my life. I’ve wrapped up another “internet album” that features a collection of hymns remixed with both orchestral arrangements as well as some lighter, less powerful mixes. I thank God for giving me the ability to play and write and so I love to give my music away for all to enjoy (or critique). So, here is my latest album entitled “Soli Deo Gloria” for it is all to His glory and praise. I hope you enjoy and would love to get your feedback!

You are free to download and enjoy these songs free of charge except for commercial use or use in promotional material without permission from the author.
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My Name is Legion

Posted by on April 9, 2010 No comments

They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “ What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. Mark 5:1-13

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After the amazing scene in the boat with the calming of the sea and the wind, Jesus and His disciples land on the other side of the sea to a small town in the country of the Gerasenes. In this account, we again see Christ’s sovereign power over the entire spiritual realm. Apparently, in this town there was a man who was so oppressed by Satan and his demonic forces that the townspeople would chain him up in a cave outside of the village. I find it important to note that Mark gives us this scene right after the conversation with the leaders about their accusation of Jesus being possessed by Satan in Chapter 3. Let us recall that Jesus is the only One who can truly release us from Satan’s power and here in this scene Mark makes it a point that this man was bound with chains and shackles (a method of human invention) to try and control Satan’s influence and this did absolutely no good. This possessed man would break out of the chains. No amount of human wisdom or actions can break the hold of Satan – only Christ can. This applies so much to the Satanic attack on humanity today in so many forms from drug addiction, sexual bondage, etc. No twelve step program or latest fad will work. Only Christ can bind the “strong man” (Mark 3:27) and truly destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

We also see from this account that Satan is bent on destruction. This man would constantly scream day and night and gash himself with stones. Do we not see this same trend today as Satan does everything he can to get people to destroy themselves through sin and addition? May we look to the only Cure – Jesus Christ. Oh to rejoice in knowing that Christ’s glorious death and resurrection not only save us from the penalty of sin but also the power of sin by transferring us from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of Light – by being adopted into the kingdom of God in Christ. Hallelujah!

Verse 7 gives us chilling insight into how much the demons truly believe. They know of God – they know who Jesus is and their reaction is always one of absolute fear and trepidation. Their theology is spot on! Satan is cunning and notice that time and time again the response from his army is always, “I know who you are!”. This subtle approach is to try and undermine Christ’s work by making it look like they are working together.

To be in Christ is absolute safety and security for Satan fears nothing but God in Christ! We should rejoice in this passage by seeing the absolute control of God and the absolute fear of the demonic forces in the presence of Christ. This is a reminder to us that we are either a child of Satan or a child of God. There is no middle ground and unless you are adopted in the kingdom through faith in Christ you are Satan’s child and just like this man a captive of his devilish and hateful schemes. We must see also that no amount of human philosophy or practice or restraint can control Satan – he is much too powerful for us. Only to be in Christ and only resting in Him can we have victory by His power and His grace. We should take great heed from this amazing passage. I have read accounts of people who read this passage and have more concern over the death of the pigs than the teachings Holy Scripture conveys to us about the evil devices of Satan and the omnipotent power of our Great God over all things.

We continue to get a glimpse of this poor man’s condition as we learn that the name of the demon is called ‘Legion’ which would indicate that many demons have been tormenting this man. We learn of a similar incident in one of Jesus’ parables about a person’s condition being worse than the first when the house is swept clean and yet there is no indwelling of the Holy Spirit so when the demon who were ejected return they bring more and stronger ones with them. (Luke 11:24-26) However, let us also see that no army can stand against Christ – no matter how great the Legion. The demons know who they are talking to and it is important to note that they must get permission from Christ to enter into the herd of swine nearby. We learn from this two important truths. First, absolutely everything Satan and his minions do is either ordained or allowed by God. Second, we see that Satan is bent on destruction. If he cannot destroy this man he must destroy something. Satan is cunning and disguises himself as an angel of light but never forget from this account that his motive is always death and destruction no matter how shiny and pleasurable the object he entices you with is. Christ is our treasure and He makes everything pale in comparison to anything Satan can tempt us with. While we do often succumb to the devices of Satan may we rest in Christ knowing He has completely paid the debt and may we also remember that God always provides a way out of temptation. (1 Corinthians 10:13) The only safe place is to be found in Christ. Satan has absolutely no hold on Christ for Jesus created him and is Lord of lords and King of kings. (John 14:30) Are you trusting in Christ alone to escape the wrath to come? (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

Soli Deo Gloria

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Love for the Brethren

Posted by on April 5, 2010 5 comments

I hear it all the time. People who profess Christ will tell me that they do not need to go to church. That the church is full of hypocrites and that they would rather worship from home and not go to church. You see, their lives may be too busy on a Sunday morning to attend church and forsake the fellowshipping of believers. There is a problem with this statement though and it is one that demonstrates a sickness within evangelicalism today.

Churches today are doing everything they can to get people in the door. I just recently read about a church in California that is giving away cars, x-boxes and even jewelry to people who would enter their doors on Easter Sunday. Or maybe the church down your street holds entertaining concerts on Sunday morning in lieu of worship in order to attract the world. The problem with all of this is that I believe we are overlooking the real problem. You see, a true believer will not need to be convinced or enticed to come to church. They will want to since they are new creations – indwelt with the Holy Spirit who gives us new longings and affections. One of those affections will be a love for the brethren and a God-given desire to be around them – especially in corporate worship. We’re also missing the important truth that when a soul truly is regenerated they will also have a desire to obey their Lord, and of course that would include having a desire to go out into the world as lights and share the gospel with the world.

Let us not forget that the world’s biggest problem is not cancer, poverty, politics, health care or a recession. The world’s biggest problem is God. God is rightfully angry at every single human being because we have all broken His law and sinned grievously and willfully against the Creator. Would not one who has been showered with the riches of Christ’s grace which He lavished on us not have a burning desire to share that glorious good news with the world? Why is it that most leaders in the church today find it necessary to lure the world in when they should instead be spending their time preaching the Scriptures to the regenerate flock within the church calling them to holiness and equipping the saints to go therefore and make disciples. Christians will then be out in the world heralding the gospel making disciples and these converts will then have a desire to look for a church – for if they are truly regenerated they will now have a new disposition craving the corporate worship of Jesus Christ and a desire to be around their eternal brothers and sisters adopted into the kingdom through Christ Jesus. And if an unbeliever does come into our churches should they not see and experience something so unlike the world that it should cause them to pause and wonder who this Jesus is that these people are so in love with and how much they are unlike the world? Sadly, this is rarely the case in the typical church today.

I am saddened by what I hear week after week when I am out on the streets witnessing to folks alongside my brothers and sisters in our evangelism team. Professing believers tell me time and time that they believe they are saved because of a prayer they repeated or because they have been baptized and all-the-while they have absolutely no love for the Church – no love or desire to be in the company of believers. (Much less a love for Christ.) Scripture is strikingly clear – if there is no love for the brethren the love of God is not in you. (1 John 3:14) This is simply saying that if you have no love for other believers, you cannot be a believer yourself.

Allow this quote from Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity to speak to this better than I ever could:

“A common argument of many nominal Christians is that they love Jesus but don’t care for the church. The teaching of 1 John exposes the flaws of this argument, revealing it to be an unbiblical dichotomy. All who are saved by God possess the Spirit, which links them to all other people who possess the Spirit. The local church, of course, is not perfect, and some have had difficult experiences with churches they have attended. But when God saves a person, He gives them a love for His people. His people are the church.”

We need to return to the truths of God’s Word and return to the preaching and teaching of the full counsel of Scripture. Have we completely forgotten that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation and not the latest gimmick, concert or pragmatic approach to increasing church membership. I will borrow a great truth from Dr. Mark Dever and state that the biggest problem with the church today is lack of regenerate membership. May the Lord forgive our foolish ways and may we repent and turn back to heralding the full counsel of God’s mighty Word as we lift high the cross of Christ and determine to know nothing but Christ Jesus and Him crucified! (2 Corinthians 2:2)

Soli Deo Gloria!

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Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Posted by on April 5, 2010 No comments

John Owen“If we do not abide in prayer, we shall abide in cursed temptations. Let this, then, be another direction: abide in prayer, and that expressly to this  purpose, that we “enter not into temptation.” Let this be one part of our daily  contending with God-that he would preserve our souls, and keep our hearts and our ways, that we be not entangled; that his good and wise providence will order our ways and affairs, that no pressing temptation befall us; that he would give us diligence, carefulness, and watchfulness over our own ways. So shall we be delivered when others are held with the cords of their own folly.”

- John Owen (“Overcoming Sin and Temptation“)

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Love Lustres at Calvary

Posted by on April 2, 2010 No comments

MY FATHER,
Enlarge my heart, warm my affections, open my lips, supply words that proclaim ‘Love Lustres at Calvary’. There grace removes my burdens and heaps them on Thy Son, made a transgressor, a curse, and sin for me; there the sword of Thy justice smote the Man, Thy fellow; there Thy infinite attributes were magnified, and infinite atonement was made; there infinite punishment was due, and infinite punishment was endured.

Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as friend, surrendered to hell’s worst that I might attain heaven’s best, stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, athirst that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory, entered darkness that I might have eternal light.

My Savior wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes, groaned that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a thorny crown that I might have a glory-diadem, bowed His head that I might uplift mine, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed His eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness, expired that I might for ever live.

O Father, who spared not Thine only Son that Thou mightiest spare me, all this transfer Thy love designed and accomplished; help me to adore Thee by lips and life. O that my every breath might be ecstatic praise, my every step buoyant with delight, as I see my enemies crushed, Satan baffled, defeated, destroyed, sin buried in the ocean of reconciling blood, hell’s gates closed, heaven’s portal open.

Go forth, O conquering God, and show me the cross, mighty to subdue, comfort and save!

From Valley of Vision – a Collection of Puritan Prayers

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