Soli Deo Gloria

LORD JESUS CHRIST,
Fill me with Thy Spirit that I may be occupied with His presence. I am blind – send Him to make me see; dark – let Him say, ‘Let there be light’! May He give me faith to behold my name engraved on Thy hand, my soul and body redeemed by Thy blood, my sinfulness covered by the life of pure obedience.

Replenish me by His revealing grace, that I may realize my indissoluble union with Thee; that I may know Thou hast espoused me to Thyself forever, in righteousness, love, mercy, faithfulness; that I am one with Thee, as a branch with its stock, as a building with its foundation.

May His comforts cheer me in my sorrows, His strength sustain me in my trials, His blessings revive me in my weariness, His presence render me a fruitful tree of holiness, His might establish me in peace and joy, His incitements make me ceaseless in prayer, His animation kindle in me undying devotion.

Send Him as the searcher of my heart, to show me more of my corruptions and helplessness that I may flee to Thee, cling to Thee, rest on Thee, as the beginning and end of my salvation.

May I never vex Him by my indifference and waywardness, grieve Him by my cold welcome, resist Him by my hard rebellion. Answer my prayers, O Lord, for Thy great name’s sake.

From Valley of Vision – a Collection of Puritan Prayers

Devotional

O God of my delight,
Thy throne of grace is the pleasure ground of my soul. Here I obtain mercy in time of need, here see the smile of Thy reconciled face, here joy pleads the name of Jesus, here I sharpen the sword of the Spirit, anoint the shield of faith, put on the helmet of salvation, gather manna from Thy Word, am strengthened for each conflict, nerved for the upward race, empowered to conquer every foe; help me to come to Christ as the fountain head of descending blessings, as a wide open flood-gate of mercy.

I marvel at my insensate folly, that with such enriching favours within my reach I am slow to extend the hand to take them. Have mercy upon my deadness for Thy Name’s sake. Quicken me, stire me, fill me with holy zeal. Strengthen me that I may cling to Thee and not let Thee go. May Thy Spirit within me draw all blessings from Thy hand.

When I advance not, I backslide. Let me walk humbly because of good omitted and evil done. Impress on my mind the shortness of time, the work to be engaged in, the account to be rendered, the nearness of eternity, the fearful sin of despising Thy Spirit.

May I never forget that Thy eye always sees, Thy ear always hears, Thy recording hand always writes. May I never give Thee rest until Christ is the pulse of my heart; the spokeman of my lips, the lamp of my feet.

From Valley of Vision – a collection of Puritan Prayers

Devotional, The Gospel

There is no doubt that one of the most misunderstood things in the Christian life is prayer. What is it? How is it done? Do we actually hear from God when we pray? Does prayer itself have power? Are demons afraid of prayer? The list goes on. Dan Phillips over at Team Pyro has thrown together a very straight forward article on prayer. It’s sure to make some angry and others to slap your forehead and say, “now I understand!”

So check it out and head back and let me know what you think of his view on prayer! And while you’re at it, take the poll question on prayer over to your right.

Daily Walk, Scripture

Rants, The Church, Theology

Bible Studies, Evangelism, Preaching, The Gospel

O LORD, length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in Thy presence, in Thy service, to Thy glory.  Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids in every hour, that I may not be one moment apart from Thee, but may rely on Thy Spirit to supply every thought, speak in every word, direct every step, prosper every work, building up every mote of faith, and give me a desire to show forth Thy praise; testify Thy love, advance Thy kingdom.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year, with Thee, O Father, as my harbour, Thee O Son, at my helm, Thee O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.  Guide me to heaven with my loins girt, my lamp burning, my ear open to Thy calls, my heart full of love, my soul free.

Give me Thy grace to sanctify me, Thy comforts to cheer, Thy wisdom to teach, Thy right hand to guide, Thy counsel to instruct, Thy law to judge, Thy presence to stabilize.  May Thy fear be my awe, Thy triumphs my joy.

From Valley of Vision – A Collection of Puritan Prayers

Daily Walk

Romans 9:26
“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ’sons of the living God.’”

Philippians 3:3
For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

Daily Walk, The Church, The Gospel

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

Ephesians 1:3-14 (NAS)  Emphasis mine

Scripture

O GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT,
That which I know not, teach thou me, keep me a humble disciple in the school of Christ, learning daily there what I am in myself, a fallen sinful creature, justly deserving everlasting destruction; O let me never lose sight of my need of a Saviour, or forget that apart from Him I am nothing, and can do nothing.

Open my understanding to know the Holy Scriptures; reveal to my soul the counsels and works of the blessed Trinity; instil into my dark mind the saving knowledge of Jesus; make me aquainted with His covenant undertakings and His perfect fulfillment of them, that by resting on His finished work I may find the Father’s love in the Son, His Father, my Father, and may be brought through Thy influence to have fellowship with the Three in One.

O lead me into all truth, thou Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that I may know the things that belong unto my peace, and through Thee be made anew.

Make practical upon my heart the Father’s love as Thou hast revealed it in the Scriptures; apply to my soul the blood of Christ, effectually, continually, and help me to believe, with conscience comforted, that it cleanseth from all sin; lead me from faith to faith, that I may at all times have freedom to come to a reconciled Father, and may be able to maintain peace with Him against doubts, fears, corruptions, temptations.

Thy office is to teach me to draw near to Christ with a pure heart, steadfastly persuaded of His love, in the full assurance of faith.  Let me never falter in this way.

From Valley of Vision – a collection of Puritan prayers.

Daily Walk, Devotional

I have intentionally wanted to ignore Todd Bentley, self-proclaimed revivalist in Florida, hoping that he would soon go away.  I usually do not like to blog about people like this. There is no doubt that anyone claiming to be of God who speaks to angels and then tells the audience that they must believe in the angel is a false prophet.  We are to believe in Jesus Christ – not an angel.  Todd’s “angel dialogue” is just one of many real problems with this man’s “ministry”.

My friends we are in a time in America where there is so much of a need for discernment.  We live in a time where pastors in other countries are being arrested for preaching the gospel and pastors in America are being arrested for child abuse, drugs and sexual offenses.  Our American Christianity is so watered down that it is no wonder thousands and thousands flock to people like Todd Bentley and genuinely believe he is from God.  Where is the Gospel?  Where is Christ preached?  It is clear in Scripture that when one is filled with the Holy Spirit Christ is proclaimed and glorified.

I was over at Slice of Laodicea this morning and saw a video that caused me to write this post.  It’s a video of Todd Bentley kicking a man with stage 4 colon cancer in the stomach to be “healed”.  That’s right – Todd physically kicked the man so hard he fell to the floor and Todd then told the man that God told him to do it.  This isn’t the first time Todd has proudly announced to his audience that he has kicked people.  He told his audience not too long ago that he kicked an elderly woman in the face because God told him to.

To see the video for yourself head on over to Slice and be dismayed.

My friends… pray!  Pray for Todd Bentley that he will be convicted and that the Lord would bring him to repentance.  Pray for the thousands that have been led into his false teachings.  Pray for discernment!  Maranatha!

Apostasy & Heresy