Quotable

Today’s quote comes from a hymn originally written by Augustus Toplady in 1771, and re-worked by Greg Scheer.  I’m posting the entire song, but pay special attention to the highlighted words.  They emphasize Christ’s intercessory work on our behalf before the throne of God the Father in heaven:

1Awake, sweet gratitude, and sing
The ascended Saviour’s love;
Sing how he lives to carry on
His people’s cause above.

2 With cries and tears he offered up
His humble prayers below;
But with authority he asks,
Enthroned in glory now.

Chorus:
Awake, sweet gratitude,
awake, sweet gratitude,
and sing the ascended savior’s love.

3 For all that come to God by him, 
Salvation he demands; 
Points to their names upon his breast, 
And spreads his wounded hands. 

4 His sweet atoning sacrifice 
Gives sanction to his claim: 
“Father, I will that all my saints 
Be with me where I am.” 

5 Eternal life, at his request,
To every saint is given;
Safety on earth, and, after death,
The plenitude of heaven.

6 Founded on right, thy prayer avails;
The Father smiles on thee;
And now thou in thy kingdom art,
Dear Lord, remember me.*

Reflect upon, and rejoice in, Christ’s intercessory work on your behalf each and every day, and in light of it (in sweet gratitude and praise), seek to be an intercessor on behalf of those who are need of the mercy and grace of God in Christ.

 

*from Hymns for the Ascension, released 24 May 2012
(c) Greg Scheer, 2012

Exodus Update & Other Odds and Ends

The next part in the Exodus series has been uploaded onto the Resource page (both the audio and pdf files). Below are a couple excerpts:

“Not only does such idolatry hinder our relationship with God, our ministry to others, and our pursuit of holiness, but it also perverts each of these good things God has given us, and always leaves us wanting. They were not meant to be ultimate things.  In fact, the moment we set anything up to be god, we set ourselves up for disappointment, frustration, and failure.”

Finally the third thing to recognize in this passage is the preeminent place of God’s glory…When God’s glory is upheld as the most important thing, we become the beneficiaries.  It is out of a concern for His glory that God relents from wiping out the Israelites.  And in relenting, God reveals His mercy and grace, which serve to further glorify His name…Likewise, the first and foremost reason for Christ coming to earth, dying on a cross to save sinners, and rising from the dead to secure His victory over sin, death, and the devil was and is the glory of God..In mercy and grace, the glory of God reaches its apex, and in light of this, we become the recipients of these things in Christ.” 

 

Other Odds and Ends:

If you get a chance, check out this link to Common Ground of Central Illinois.  I recently had the privilege of having breakfast with Steve Waggoner, one of the local church leaders involved with the organization that is seeking to bring local churches together in their effort to be–in light of the Gospel–agents of mercy, grace, justice, and love to the community in which they exist.  I am personally encouraged by this, and hope to see similar things happening in other places, to the glory of God, the joy of believers, and the good of others.  

Also interesting is this article, written by Sandy Grant at The Briefing, on Robert Murray McCheyne and holiness. Worth a glance if you get the opportunity. 

On Christian Zeal: Part 2

This is the second post in a series examining Christian zeal.  In this post we look at the first of the six marks of Christian zeal laid out in the first chapter of Joel Beeke and James La Belle’s book, Living Zealously:

Christian zeal is marked by love for God.

When asked what the greatest commandment was by a lawyer, Jesus answered him by saying, “Your shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and and your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt. 22:37-39)”  In fact, Jesus says this is a summary of all the Law and the Prophets.

In a recent message on Exodus 19-20, I explained the way in which the Ten Commandments were necessarily interwoven, and reveal a very convicting truth: I cannot truly love other people if I do not love God, and I am not truly loving God if I am not loving other people.

What does all this have to do with Christian zeal? Well,  Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  Thus, if we say that the first mark of Christian zeal is a love for God, we can also safely say that love for God is marked by a desire to and an effort at obeying the commands of God.

What does that entail?  It includes growing in our knowledge of God, His ways, and His works as revealed to us in Scripture and in the Creation around us.  It includes loving others by obeying the second table of the Law (Commandments 4-10), living as agents of mercy and grace, serving as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God–proclaiming the message of the Gospel to people everywhere–and walking in the good works prepared for us beforehand by God for His glory.

It would suffice to say that there is so much more that we could talk about with regard to what this looks like.  But the point I want to make is: Love for God is marked by a desire to and an effort at obeying the commands of the Lord God.  Such obedience serves to glorify His name, love and serve our neighbor, and produces joy within the hearts of those who pursue it.

This is what it looks like to possess the first mark of Christian zeal.

Quotable

“If the traditional interpretation is correct, then we can say that Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome no longer exists as powers.  And even the contemporary kingdoms of this world–United Kingdom, the United States, China–they will all pass away.  But on a hill called Golgotha, God established his reign in Jesus’ death; and on the third day, he vindicated his King as the True King over the world.  And King Jesus is subjecting every enemy to himself until the day comes where sin and death, the world and the devil, shall be no more.  He is establishing his reign, and when he is done, God will be all in all.

It is striking–the king of the known world [Nebuchadnezzar] fell on his face prostrate before an exiled Jew [Daniel]…And in the same way, all the kings of this world at the end of the age will lie prostrate at the feet of a crucified Jew [Jesus Christ, the King].”
-Sean Michael Lucas (select passage from Daniel: Trusting the True Hero [Christian Focus, 2011])

New Exodus Series Files Available

Check out the audio file for the most recent installment of the Exodus Series, “Stone Tablets & The Calling of Israel” at the Resources page, or click here.  Also available are the pdf files to every message in the series.