The Tenderest Revelation Of His Perfect Love

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 

so must the Son of Man be lifted up, John 3:14 (ESV)

'The Son of Man must be lifted up.' And what does that mean? It means the same thing that He said when, near the end, He declared, "the hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified." We are accustomed to speak--and we speak rightly--of His death as being the lowest point of the humiliation which was inherent in the very fact of His humanity. He condescended to be born; he stooped yet more to die. But whilst that is true, the other side is also true--that in the cross Christ is lifted up, and that it is His throne. For what see we there? The highest exhibition, the tenderest revelation, of His perfect love. And what see we there besides? The supreme manifestation of the highest power.

- Alexander MacLaren

The Next Time I Get Married

Lois, Dad and I heard this song on the radio while driving to the Story Book Lodge board meeting. Enjoy!!

Accounting for Our Losses, Crosses, and Persecutions

We have here one among many beautiful illustrations of the mind of Christ. He sees all that His people go through for His sake, and feels for all, from the highest to the lowest. He keeps account of all their losses, crosses, and persecutions. "Are they not all written in His book?" (Psalm 56:8) He knows how to come to their hearts with consolation in their time of need, and to speak peace to them when all men seem to hate them. The time when men forsake us is often the very time when Christ draws near, saying, "Fear not, for I am with you--be not dismayed, for I am your God--I will strengthen you--yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10)

- J.C. Ryle in The Gospel of John

Let Us Learn to Hate Sin

Let us learn to hate sin with a godly hatred as the root of more than half of our cares and sorrows. Let us fight against it, mortify it, crucify it, and abhor it both in ourselves and others. There cannot be a clearer proof that man is a fallen creature than the fact that he can love sin and take pleasure in it.

- J.C. Ryle in The Gospel of John

True Sons of God

"I know that you are Abraham's descendants,
but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.
I speak what I have seen with My Father,
and you do what you have seen with your father"
- John 8:37-38

"If God were your Father, you would love me,
for I proceeded forth and came from God;
nor have I come of myself, but He sent me"
- John 8:42

Jesus was essentially making the same point He made in verse 39--sonship is shown by obedience. Jesus put it very simply later in His ministry: "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). True sons of God show their love for Him by obeying His Son, not by persecuting His Son.

Do you see the two points Jesus has made to the Pharisees? He said: "Don't tell Me you're children of Abraham, because if you were children of Abraham, you would do the things that Abraham loved; but you hate the things that Abraham loved. And don't claim to be children of God, because if you were children of God, you would love the things of God; but you hate the things of God."

- R.C. Sproul in John

What We're Doing Now: Whac-a-Mole

Do Not Be Overcome With Evil

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans12:17, 21

How You Feel About it Doesn't Change the Facts

Dan Phillips writes:

"Whoa whoa whoa, not so fast! Look, friend — how you feel about Route 49 doesn't change the facts: the bridge is out! My feelings aren't the map, your feelings aren't the map. Go that way, and you will die! I don't want you to die. I don't think it's loving or compassionate to give you bad information that means your death. The people who put up those signs and those obstacles knew what they were doing, and they did it because they care about people like you. It shouldn't be easy an comfortable to go down that road. It wouldn't be compassionate of me to focus on giving you a smooth ride to your own destruction, and it isn't "bold" and "daring" to head off to certain doom. Enabling you isn't really helping you. And look, I can show you other ways to go, or I can try to find other ways to help — but don't go that way! It'd be the end of you."

Read the whole parable...

New Blog

My brother-in-law Matt and I have started a new blog, Cruciform Quotes. We are posting quotes from the books published by CruciformPress. Check it out--for inspiring quotes from some great new authors!

Curls!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Prepared Spontaneity

Paul Tripp writes:

Parenting is all about living by the principle of prepared spontaneity. You don’t really know what’s going to happen next. You don’t really know when you’ll have to enforce a command, intervene in an argument, confront a wrong, hold out for a better way, remind someone of a truth, call for forgiveness, lead someone to confession, point to Jesus, restore peace, hold someone accountable, explain a wisdom principle, give a hug of love, laugh in the face of adversity, help someone complete a task, mediate an argument, stop with someone and pray, assist someone to see his heart, or talk once again about what it means to live together in a community of love.

Read More...

The Shepherd's Point Of View

via youtube.com

This YouTube is audio only--but the lyrics are easily discerned.

First Day of Music Lessons

Both Sam and Chloe started music lessons today! Sam is taking lessons from my brother-in-law Matt. Chloe will receive instruction from Mrs. Bitzegaio (the wife of my friend, Matt).

See and download the full gallery on posterous

What We're Doing Now: Eddie's Birthday Party