From Desiring God dot Org

"My Eyes Shed Streams of Tears"—Thoughts on the New Calamity

Jun 30, 2011 01:30 am | by John Piper

Jesus died so that heterosexual and homosexual sinners might be saved. Jesus created sexuality, and has a clear will for how it is to be experienced in holiness and joy.

His will is that a man might leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and that the two become one flesh (Mark 10:6-9). In this union, sexuality finds its God-appointed meaning, whether in personal-physical unification, symbolic representation, sensual jubilation, or fruitful procreation.

For those who have forsaken God’s path of sexual fulfillment, and walked into homosexual intercourse or heterosexual extramarital fornication or adultery, Jesus offers astonishing mercy.

Such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11).

But last weekend this salvation from sinful sexual acts was not embraced. Instead there was massive celebration of sin.

One estimate said that 400,000 people celebrated gay pride in Minneapolis. That’s more than the population of the city. The number is probably inflated, but for the first time in history, it did include the governor of the state, Mark Dayton.

The Bible is not silent about such parades. Alongside its clearest explanation of the sin of homosexual intercourse (Romans 1:24-27) stands the indictment of the celebration of it. Though people know intuitively that homosexual acts (along with gossip, slander, insolence, haughtiness, boasting, faithlessness, heartlessness, ruthlessness) are sin, “they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (Romans 1:29-32). “I tell you even with tears, that many glory in their shame” (Philippians 3:18–19).

This is what our governor was doing on Sunday along with millions of others across the country—knowing these deeds are wrong, “yet approving those who practice them.”

Not only that, we are moving from celebration to institutionalization. On June 24 the New York legislature approved a Marriage Equality Act. This makes New York the sixth state where so-called homosexual marriages will be institutionalized: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, (and the District of Columbia).

My sense is that we do not realize what a calamity is happening around us. The new thing—new for America, and new for history—is not homosexuality. That brokenness has been here since we were all broken in the fall of man. (And there is a great distinction between the orientation and the act—just like there is a great difference between my orientation to pride and the act of boasting.)

What’s new is not even the celebration of homosexual sin. Homosexual behavior has been exploited, and reveled in, and celebrated in art, for millennia. What’s new is normalization and institutionalization. This is the new calamity.

My main reason for writing is not to mount a political counter-assault. I don’t think that is the calling of the church as such. My reason for writing is to help the church feel the sorrow of these days. And the magnitude of the assault on God and his image in man.

Christians, more clearly than others can see the tidal wave of pain that is on the way. Sin carries in it its own misery: “Men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error” (Romans 1:27).

And on top of sin’s self-destructive power comes, eventually, the wrath of God: “sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming” (Colossians 3:5–6).

Christians know what is coming, not only because we see it in the Bible, but because we have tasted the sorrowful fruit of our own sins. We do not escape the truth that we reap what we sow. Our marriages, our children, our churches, our institutions—they are all troubled because of our sins.

The difference is: We weep over our sins. We don’t celebrate them. We turn to Jesus for forgiveness and help. We cry to Jesus, “who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

And in our best moments, we weep for the world. In the days of Ezekiel God put a mark of hope “on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in Jerusalem” (Ezekiel 9:4).

This is what I am writing for. Not political action, but love for the name of God and compassion for the city of destruction.

“My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.” (Psalm 119:136)

Desiring God
2601 E Franklin Ave
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406







http://makariotes.blogspot.com

Know this....

"If you don't follow Him as Lord, you might lock yourself into a job or an assignment and miss something God wants to do through you."

I just read the words quoted above in a very popular Christian book; man I got to tell you, they sound so spiritual, don't they? They do sound spiritual; mostly coming from a very well respected Christian author, who not only is an author but is also a pastor, so they must be rightly spiritual, right? Wrong.

Regardless of the sound of the words, I happen to hold a different opinion and I beg to differ; and to clarify from the start, the reason I don't agree with the statement is not only because I have a different opinion, but because so far as I can see, that is not what the bible teaches about God. It could be that I am wrong, as I usually am, I'm not a pastor, an author, or theologian, I'm just a regular dude out there in the world reading the bible and trying to walk with Jesus as best as He enables me.

I know that I might get into hot waters by saying what I'm saying; some people are not going to like it, and I really don't care; as always, I don't care what people think; I care about what God thinks, and about what He says about Himself in His book.

I would like to remind all that this is my blog, and the only reason I write it is because these words are the only thing I can leave behind for my daughters, my grand kids, and the people I love; if there is anyone out there reading ( I know that it is the case with some people in China and people in Europe and Mexico); I hope it serves them to get motivated to start reading and studying the Word of God, but if it doesn't I don't consider that to be my problem.

If I am correct in my view and belief; I have nothing to boast about, since if that is the case, I didn't come to be right on my own but by the grace of God. Now if I am wrong, then say something, I said this before and no one says anything, so I assume everybody agrees; but again, I don't care if no one does; even further, I really don't care if no one reads this.

There is one thing I do care about, and that is to show the greatness and the glory, and the amazing grace of God according to what I see in the bible; and to let those I love know that there is freedom in Christ; freedom from condemnation, from guilt trips and the like; and freedom from sin, and worry, and anxiety, and fear.

I have seen it with my own eyes, and heard it with my own ears; some people stand in front of the microphone and say things that sound so spiritual but they are not, they are in fact lies and misrepresentations of who God is; it happens all the time, but no one says anything (except Eutychus); and when someone says something (like Eutychus) then they are automatically labeled as "divisive" and "rebellious"; good grief.

The first thing I don't agree with is this: "if you don't follow Him as Lord..." What? Yeah that is what he says; but my friends that is an impossibility for the true child of God, assuming the book was written for the children of God, it is an impossibility because God Himself will not let you do that.

If you are a true born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and you say or think that you don't follow Him as Lord; then you have been taught the wrong doctrine to start with, and your believing is useless. So many people have an identity crisis because of this; they don't know who God is, how He thinks, and what He does; nor do they know who they are and that they have no choice but to follow Jesus as Lord; His Lordship is not an option, He is Lord by default; and if you dare to think that He is not Lord, then you are not His slave and you believe in some other lord not in Him.

We are slaves of Jesus; He is the Master Ruler, and He will rule over you whether you like it or not; He owns you, you were bought with a price, redeemed with His blood: 1Peter 1:18-19 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

If you are a real believer you have been redeemed, purchased out of the slave market with the blood of Christ; before God called you, you basically were a slave of the world and the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, Peter says; have you ever wonder what those are? What are these futile ways that you and I inherited? To start, I think they are the basic principles and philosophies of this world; the doctrines that teach that you have to perform, that you have to fight to be accepted; that it is up to you to enter the kingdom; that you have a choice and you must exercise it.

Another futile way is the false doctrine that teaches that you are basically more powerful than God; it says that "God is a gentleman, and He will not force Himself upon you"; have you ever heard that before? I have. This assumes that I am more powerful than God; it lays down the premise that God will not violate your "freedom", or your so called "free will"; that He just sits there in heaven watching and waiting for you to take the first step so He can take action and proceed with His plans to do His will; He is powerless until you do something. It pictures you as lord and not Him as Lord; He is subject to you and not you subject to Him.

I am sorry, but that is not the God of the bible; that is not the God who He says He is:

Psalm 103:19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

Psalm 115:3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Psalm 119:89 Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.

1Kings 8:58 that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers.

Psalm 33:12-15 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.

Psalm 81:12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.

Psalm 105:25 He turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants.

Psalm 107:12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.

Proverbs 21:1 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.

Amos 5:8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the LORD is his name...
(Bold Italics are mine).

I can keep on going with the texts; but I won't; just think about the bold letters for a minute; now let us hear from a heathen king who very well knew who this awesome God was and is:

Daniel 4:34-35 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?"

Yeah, you have read that right; it clearly says it; God rules and does whatever He pleases, period. He is not waiting for any of us to start doing something so that He can take the next step in His plan; that is a ridiculous idea, not only that, it is offensive to God's character; and I will say it again: it robs God of His glory and power and gives it to mere mortal sinful creatures, worms that we are. It is offensive.

So what does it mean when the bible says that God is the supreme sovereign King of the universe? It is simple, He reigns, and I don't, and you don't either. He is the King and we are His slaves and we do what He wants, is that simple.

Did you choose the family that you were born into? I didn't think so. Did you choose the physical features your body has? I didn't think so. Did you have anything to do with the kind of temperament you happen to possess? I didn't think so either. Did you have any input in being born at all? No you didn't. God made you and I, when He chose; He was pleased to make me and so He made me, period. In fact, we don't even have an input to give regarding the time or the manner in which we will die.

Our human hearts, the actual organs that pump blood non-stop everyday of our lives, are in the hand of God; it is Him who determines when they will stop beating and pumping all that blood through our bodies; and when it has been determined that your heart will stop, it will stop and no one can make it start beating again, except God Himself, regardless of how many times the doctors shock it with electricity; I have seen this happen with my own father. When it is His time for you to die, you will die without remedy.

So at what point in time did I become the ruler of my life? I have never been in control of my life; God has the control of my life and of everything that comes to pass in it. From my broken back bones and the titanium pins in my leg and the plate in my neck, to my ex-wife taking me to court, to the pain that wakes me up in the middle of the night, to the moment I wake up again in the morning; nothing happens without His all powerful providence; not even a sparrow falls to the ground without Him knowing in advance and making provisions for it to happen.

To say that I might lock myself into a job or an assignment and miss what God wants to do through me, takes God off the throne and puts myself on it; this is the same thing as saying that I have more power than He does, and that I can thwart His plans. It is the same teaching I mentioned above.

So what happens if I believe this, that I can miss something God wants to do through me? I will tell you what happens; it places me in a position of fear; it lays a burden on my back to always wonder if I'm doing the right thing, it is a path of confusion and restlessness and terror, and I refuse to walk on that path. It contradicts everything the bible says to me about grace.

Where is the freedom in that kind of thinking? There is no freedom in it; every time I believe that God is actually waiting for me to do something so that He can take the next step, my walk turns into religion, my life turns into a performance trip because I don't want to "miss anything"; I don't think He likes religious people at all, He doesn't like self-sufficient people; besides the fact that now I will always wonder if I made the right choice; I will die "an old man filled with regrets" as the movie Inception puts it.

I have not missed, and I will not miss anything that God wants to do through me; He will not allow me to miss anything; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake; He makes me lie down on green pastures, He restores my soul, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in His house forever.

That is where the freedom is; knowing that He reigns absolutely over all things and events, and contingencies; knowing that all things work together for good for those who love God with the love that He originated in their hearts before the foundation of the world; knowing that He will never leave me nor forsake me; knowing that nothing will be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus; knowing that I was given to Jesus by the Father, by YHWH Himself, and that nothing can snatch me out of His hand, knowing that He will never cast me out....

Know this, know grace, and experience God Himself working in you.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

I'm small...

All things considered, my world is a very small world, it is tiny, like a spec of dust floating in the universe. I live inside this spec of dust; and I am still smaller than my world.

I see my tiny world just like a grain of sand in the beaches of Cancun; the sand in that area of the world is so fine that it almost feels like talc; so fine and small are those grains of sand that it's extremely hard to discern one grain from another.

One of those small grains is my tiny world; floating in this massive universe. That tiny spec of insignificance is my world, and my world looks huge to me; I am a tiny spec of dust inside the tiny grain of sand of my world.

That is a very small perspective of being small but I think that it is the right perspective. My heart rebels against this kind of retrospective thinking; my mind boggles; it is a devastating blow to my innate pride; like an earthquake, it shakes the very foundation of my importance, but for some reason it is also very appealing to me, I want to be shaken at the core.

The majority of people enjoy thinking like this; even if it is unconsciously. This is the reason why people like to climb mountains; or go to the Grand Canyon, or look at the night sky in the middle of the desert; we all welcome the thought of being small, and we are small indeed, very small.

Then on the other side of the coin, we all want greatness; we want to feel important and relevant, we crave recognition, we want to be accepted, and want to be in harmony with others; the majority of people want this; to be at peace, to be happy.

The misfortune about this is that we have been created to crave, and to desire, and to want and be wanted; we seek that naturally. No one wants to feel insignificant and unimportant, not even one; I don't care how sufficient you might think you are, you need to be relevant, even if it is in the life of your dog, or your cat.

There is a big problem with this, it's almost like a paradox; we cannot be great or attain significance, or importance if you will, until we are made to become insignificant and small. The word of God points in that direction: "If you want to be great in the kingdom, you have to become the servant of all"; "no one can enter the kingdom until he becomes as a little child"; "God gives grace to the humble, but opposes the proud", and so forth, and so on.

That is what my life is, a huge paradox. The moment that one becomes humble and recognizes that he, or she, is small and insignificant, it is the moment that he, or she, has become, or started to become great in the eyes of God; the problem is that we cannot be humble or even recognize that we are really small and insignificant, until the greatness and gloriousness of God is evidenced in our lives; and for this, we have absolutely no power.

I don't really want to think that I am small and insignificant; in fact, I cannot think that about me if God has not changed me and my way of thinking; my natural and human way of thinking is that I am important, and relevant; at least to myself I am. Self pity demonstrates what I'm saying; if I say things like "no one cares about me", or "nobody wants nor likes me"; the reality is that I am expressing how important I am; the same goes the other way, if I say "I am important" and "everybody likes me", expresses my feelings of inadequacy. It's a paradox, I say.

So, why does any of this matter? Well, to me it matters because the value or lack of value that I place on myself is a mismatch of the value that God places on me; I cannot know what kind of value that is until God Himself chooses to reveal that to me; the truth is that I am small and insignificant, and I am great and valuable, all at the same time.

What is what really makes me great and valuable? Jesus is. He is the only reason why I think what I think, He is the only reason why I have any value, He is the only reason why I am relevant in this insignificant world of mine.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

I miss my father....

Fathers are a treasure; they are the kind of treasure that is not really valued until it is gone. Father's day is the day to remember that treasure, at least for a few minutes.

I remember when I was in my early twenties how I used to think that my father was such an old fashioned individual. All his principles were like a ball and a chain attached to my leg; every time I wanted to do something that I considered to be fun, I would hear the voice of my father ringing in my ears: "a man who has integrity does what is right"; somehow I thought that I knew more than him. The pride of life is a horrible thing, but being blind and prideful is even worse.

Being a young adult is not something that I crave to be; yeah for sure I would like to have a strong back and to be able to run six miles a day and lift weights as I used to do back then; I would love to be able to sleep on the ground wrapped in a blanket, camping out in the mountains of La Marquesa; or roller blade all day without having pain on my chins; but having that prideful attitude and the unrestrained impulse to sin without thinking about the consequences is not something that appeals to me anymore.

To understand how a father thinks and feels without having kids of your own is almost impossible, I think, the same thing applies to those who have never experienced excruciating pain; people who have never suffered en vivo can never be fully sympathetic towards suffering souls; that is just my opinion.

I thank God that He is my Father. God the Father is a real father; He never condemns me, never rejects me, never leaves me. He knows all the secrets of my heart, He knows all my actions before I act them, all my words before I speak them, all my thoughts before I think them; I am an open book in His eyes, and the amazing thing to me is that He never gives up on me, no matter how bad I really am, He loves me unconditionally.

There are no conditions for God's love for me; oh how I wish I could love like that! Don't you? I really think I love my children like that, without conditions, but in my human heart and mind there is always the expectation that they somehow will behave in a way that reflects their love for me; when I think about it, it is a little foolish to expect that, mostly knowing that I seldom demonstrated that to my own father.

The human heart, in particular my own heart, is full of deceit; desperately wicked, I know that to be a fact. To expect someone to love you back is actually a pretty self centered kind of love; that same expectation becomes the anti-thesis of real love; unfortunately, that is exactly how the human heart works.

This is not a real problem though, at least for those who are in the light, and I say this because in view of who God is, it is exactly what God expects it to be; "we love Him, because He first loved us", I hope you see what I'm talking about.

So am I wrong in expecting to be loved back when I love someone? Not really, unconditional love is love without conditions, not without expectations, unconditional is not expectation-less. The reality of love is that in order to be consummated it has to be given without condition of reciprocity; the consummation hinges on the expansion of that love and the reception of it; in my view, love is always complete by nature; God is love, He cannot stop being loving and His love doesn't change, increase, or decrease, based on my reciprocity; my reciprocity only makes it evident; and it only increases in me, not in Him, His love is always complete, perfect, and infinite.

What I'm saying is that love, as well as joy, is always only completed when it is given; "it is more blessed to give than to receive"; and it is always based (from my human perspective) on what I have already received from God. I am grateful that He was the One who started it, what a blessing.

I am so frail and fickle, I irritate myself knowing that, but I have no other choice but to pursue joy; we all want to be happy, this is, or has been, drawn into our make up; God made us to love and to desire to be happy, there is no way out of that one; but love will always flee me if I condition it, and joy will always escape me if I don't give it in the first place. How you ever noticed how people who constantly complain are not really loving? They are never happy, they lead a joyless life, sunk in self pity and false humility.

May God help me love as He does, and find my joy in Him in the midst of pain and sorrow, may He show me His sovereignty and the glory of His grace.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

Is the Bible trash?

I received this video from a friend; if you are really interested in protecting our constitution; and most of all, the Word Of God, the Bible, a time will come when we will have to do something about it. Our current government considers the bible to be trash, but the koran a "delicate piece of art".

Watch this:


http://makariotes.blogspot.com

A glorious day it shall be....

God is glorious; He is good, exceedingly good; and He is holy and righteous in all His ways. For those who have been called, everything works together for good, yeah all things do. From the waves of the ocean to the most remote star, to the smallest bacteria living in my guts, everything is there for my good; and everything is so well balanced, even in this fallen world, that my existence is necessary for the glory of God.

Many things would be different if I wasn't here; my children would not be here, my grand children would not be here, and that is not a good thing. God doesn't need me at all, He could do what He does without me; I believe that; but in His wisest counsel He determined that I would exist at the right time and in the right place. That single fact makes me a necessary being inside His plans for the universe. And still, I am not needed by Him, on the contrary, I need Him to live and survive.

God is self sufficient; infinitely perfect in Love and righteousness, infinitely holy and pure; He is infinitely just and infinitely merciful and gracious. God doesn't need anything but He found pleasure in creating me for His glory; and now I am needed by other human beings; even my dog needs me somehow; this makes me a necessary being.

One day the end will come for me; at that point in time I will have accomplished the purpose for which I was created, when the time comes, I will glorify God without reservations of any kind. The time line will come to an end for all things as I know them; everything will be redeemed and I will be consummated in the love of God. There will be no more war inside of me; all my motives will be pure, all my thoughts will be pleasing, all my actions will be holy, all my words will be whole, the necessity of my being will end in this plane of existence.

That is what I woke up thinking; it is surprising, at 4:41 in the morning I still believe in this God who justifies the ungodly; the words of Peter become truth for me this morning, every morning in fact, God is keeping me through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. It shall be a glorious day for sure.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

Welcome back Harry....

God is always doing something. Sometimes I see what He is doing, sometimes I don't; this Sunday was one of those occasions when I saw Him in action. I saw His hand moving bringing back one of His kids back into the fold; and it amazed me.

Worship was good, it was very good; the message was good; Sunday night was good.

Friday night I had the chance to see how God can open doors for the preaching of His gospel; even in the darkest places, even downtown San Diego is getting the gospel on a Friday night; a night of the week when the rats come out to play in the dumpster. Friday night at Broadway and 4th. Friday at Horton Plaza; Friday night at vanity fair. I'm thinking, why am I here?

There in the midst of darkness, the light shone; it is still shining bright; just like a candle on a pedestal, giving light to the homeless, lightning up the addicts, lighting up the lust-er and the alcoholic; shining upon the refuse of this world. It dissipates the shadows, it neutralizes the stench of death, it becomes the fragrance of life.

After the service was over and everyone was gone, we were ready to leave, there is literally no one in the street by now, just the two of us, Eutychus and me; we had buckled up, cracked the windows, turned on the heat; the fog was coming, it was cold; then suddenly this black face shows up outside my window and this man motions me to roll the window down, "I need a meeting to save my life" he says. A"meeting"? I thought, mmm he didn't ask for money, he didn't ask for food or a blanket, he didn't ask for a ride, he asked for a meeting; an AA or recovery meeting, any meeting will do.

"Yeah, I just got out of detox two blocks away, and I need a meeting" I'm thinking: does he know Him? Does he know my King? I don't know, but I know King Jesus knows this man; He led him to us; God is moving; that is what I thought, God is moving, what should I do? Is this guy telling me the truth? Is he about to rob us? Is he playing us? He probably just wants to get loaded, I don't know; what should I do?

'Call one of your brothers'; that is what I heard, call. Okay, I will make the phone call. Hey man, we just got out of church and I have this guy who needs a place to crash for the night, can you help? "Sure, we will pick him up in about half an hour"; and I'm thinking: really? Just like that? There is that voice again: "Yes just like that; be still and watch".

Duck, the brother I called, says: "let me talk to him"; ok, I hand Harry (the man's name) the phone and then Eutychus says: "they don't have to pick him up, we'll drive him there"; so I think again: just like that hu? The voice says again: "Yes, just like that".

As he gets into the van he says: "isn't it something when you see the hand of God moving?" Yeah, it is something.....

Harry gave me his story a few minutes before the phone call; he is from Michigan, he is 50 years old, he was raised in the church, his father is a minister, he was in a federal prison, Donovan, Soledad, etc; has been doing drugs for half of his life, and he is an artist, he also plays piano and sings; and then he showed me a picture he made with a pencil, wow, very nice, I can see he is talented, in fact, very talented.

Harry says he has been running away from God all his life, and he is tired now, he can't run no more; it is time to surrender. Mmmm; surrender? Who is doing that? Is he surrendering, or is God causing him to surrender? Or both? Both.

So Harry spent the night at Duck's, which is called Casa de Dios; the house of God; yeah that's right He lives there too. I called to hear how was Harry doing, and Duck says: "he took a shower, filled his belly with warm food, and he has crashed, God is good". Yes He is. The voice says, Yes I Am.

Monday I get a call from Harry: "hey I just got a place to stay at the Salvation Army but it's not going to happen until Thursday, can you help me?" Sure, call Duck. I called Duck, yes he can spend the night. I'm thinking, what's up? Just like that? Is this guy Harry lying? Is he just freeloading? What is up with this guy Lord? This voice that follows me everywhere says: "I'm working, go and see Harry at Duck's house"; okay, so I get on my bike and go.

Harry wasn't there yet but he got there eventually; I expressed my concerns; I have seen hundreds of guys go through that house; I think I have seen everything; from thieves to deviants; from tunnel living-ditch-crawling homeless people to yuppie well off kids with crew cuts; and God has worked in every single one of them, for His glory.

After my discourse, Harry says he is sincere and God puts my mind at ease, and I'm still thinking "he talks the talk, let's see if he walks the walk".

We ended up doing a bible study for a few minutes; we talked about the divinity of the Son of God, He holds all things together, all things were made through Him and for Him; He is God in the flesh, God with a human body, forever. We talked about the trinity, we talked about Jesus, and I thought about His sheep.

John 5:17 But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working."

John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 5:22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 5:23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

John 5:26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 6:45 It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me--6:46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.

John 10:1-4 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
"But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.
"To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
"When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

John 10:7 So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

John 10:11-13, 15-16, 26-27, 29-30 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
"He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
"He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.
even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
"I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
"But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 14:7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

John 14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

John 14:20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 14:21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

John 16:27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

Yes indeed; we have believed that He came from God; and I have believed that Harry has come back to the fold. Welcome back Harry.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

Something is wrong with my heart..

My friend Eutychus once commented about how irritating it is to hear some people talk about what they don't understand; he was talking about an individual who was actually preaching to a very well known congregation in this city; later on during our conversation he said "maybe something is wrong with my heart", his point was that his irritation might be the evidence of a "heart problem"; and since I am such a good friend, I said "no man, there is nothing wrong with your heart, you are right".

He gave me the name of the website where I could listen to this guy, and he asked that I listen and verify that indeed he heard what he thought he heard; so I went to the site and listened.

In his so called "preaching", this individual was actually throwing out an enormous guilt trip on the sheep, saying things like "be careful that you are not like the guys who Jude mentions here (his message was based on Jude's letter): Jude 1:8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. And this: Jude 1:16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage".

His point, or at least the point he was trying to make, was that the moment we complain, or object to what the pastor is saying, mostly if he is a well known pastor like Papa Smurf, or some others; then we run into the danger of becoming like the people whom Jude mentions in his letter.

His words were essentially: "You don't want to be like those people, so watch your mouth" Are you kidding me? Read the epistle of Jude and tell me who is he talking about? I'll tell you who Jude is talking about, and who this guy doesn't want you to be like, he is talking about the people he mentions at the beginning of his letter:

Jude 1:3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
Jud 1:4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

It is obvious that the guys Jude is referring to are not real believers, they are not born again sons of the Living God, but ungodly people, void of the Spirit, who not only are considered sinners in the sight of God, but who also have been "designated", or predestined for this condemnation, says Jude.

So what is the difference between those 'ungodly' people and you? Yeah, you, who are filled with the Spirit, sealed, chosen before the foundation of the world that you should be holy and without blame before God in Christ? I just answered my own question, but now you answer the question, what is the difference?

Well my friends, there is a huge difference between black and white, between darkness and light, between the wicked and the godly, is there not?

If you were sitting there in the crowd and listened to this kind of rhetoric, would you not be a little uneasy? Or perhaps irritated? Maybe even pissed off? (Sorry, I should not use that kind of language, it might offend someone....... like I care).

Then he spewed that we are to contend for our faith so we don't lose it. Give me a break, please. It turns out that now I have to contend for my faith? If there is anything that describes taking the scriptures out of context and make them say whatever your wicked mind devises, it is this.

Read the context dude; the context is to contest, to fight for, to strive to defend, to contend for "the faith that was delivered once for all to the saints", "the faith" in this case refers to the Christian Faith, the gospel, the doctrine that has been delivered once for all to the saints (you and me); namely the doctrines of grace and not of performance, the doctrines that Jesus Himself taught, and Paul, and Peter, and John. The gospel.

It is incredible what a legalistic mind will make up to justify its ignorance; hey I don't have a problem if he, this "preacher", or anybody else, wants to live under that kind of performance trip, I really don't care (well, that is not really true, I do care); but the moment a person like that dares to preach this kind of thing from the pulpit, then I have a problem; I think you should have a problem too....

Now, let suppose that you or someone else sitting next to you, is a brand new baby in the Lord, he was just born again not many weeks from that day; and he is sitting there trying to learn who God is, or maybe just trying to stay out of trouble on Sunday morning, or maybe just trying to satisfy his deep longings for a bagel with cream cheese, whatever; and then you hear this kind of stuff coming from the pulpit, what would your inclination or reaction be? Think about it for a moment, how is that new believer, or anyone else for that matter, being built up at all with this kind of preaching? The only good coming out of your visit that morning would be the bagel. It's disgusting.

But if you , or I, dare to say something to an elder about our disagreement with the teaching, then you are automatically labeled as a bringer of "division"; yeah and even worse, you are labeled as an antinomian, or a libertine.

So I have to ask another question, based on the assumption that the "faith" Jude is talking about is "my faith" and that the preacher is correct, which he is not, but let's just assume it is true for a moment; where did this faith come from? The answer, according to the bible, is that this faith I have was given to me by God; that is what the bible teaches, just read Ephesians 2:8-10 and you will see, it is very clear; Paul leaves no room for arguments, my faith is a gift from God.

And yeah, I agree, Paul said "I have kept the faith", but we know "the faith" he is talking about is the same faith that Jude is talking about; the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all, this is the same faith, the Christian faith; or is it not?

Now, if you tell me that Paul said that he kept his own faith, then he is contradicting what he said in Ephesians 2; and he is also contradicting what Peter said:

1Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded (or as the KJV says, "kept") through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

If faith is a gift from God, then is not up to me to keep it since I didn't do anything to get it; but if as the "preacher" assumes, this faith is something I acquired thorough an action on my part; then yeah, I have to contend to keep it, and I have to fight to keep it by doing exactly what I did to get it; which not only contradicts what the bible teaches, but it is also foolish; and it is not only foolish but it is also pissing me off.....ooops sorry again......I don't care......again.

There is only one gospel, brother; and there is only one way for a man or a woman to be saved, and there is only One Person who decides who to cause to be born again, or be saved; and that person is God, not me, not you, nor the "preacher"; period. My faith, and "the faith" find their origin in Jesus Christ only:

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

So no matter how you look at it, whether you talk about my faith or the faith, it doesn't matter, they both have their source in Jesus.

At this point I have to apologize for sidetracking from the beginning, my original intention was to talk about something else that I was thinking about, not the guilt trip, but it relates to what I already ranted about, and here it is:

"Maybe there is something wrong with my heart", said Eutychus. That is what I wanted to talk about.

My answer to that statement is that you are correct my friend, there is something wrong with your heart, and with mine, and with human hearts in general; the bible says so: The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it? That is what Jeremiah said, and that is what God says; our hearts are completely depraved, period.

Only an act of God can change the heart of a man, or a woman, no human endeavor will ever accomplish what only God can do. In this world, there are not enough psychologists and psychiatrists and therapists, and counselors, and even preachers; and not enough pharmaceutical drugs, to change the human heart; I could be on all kinds of anti-depressants and anti-psychotics, and in and out of the best hospitals and churches, and under the best doctoral care in the world, and that would amount to nothing for a solution to my depravity, or yours.

Our heart is so deceitful, as Jeremiah says, that it causes us to think that we are not really that bad. In fact, this malady is so pervasive in our thinking that it is also, in my opinion, the source of all legalism; and as I said before, only God can cure us and take the blinders off of our eyes.

But the bible goes even farther than what I am saying; the book of God states that indeed we are so bad that it is the equivalent of being dead, in fact we are bad because we are dead, dead in trespasses and sins; and we need to be resurrected from the dead, we need to be given life, new life, and God needs to give us a new heart; it is only then that we can be given faith to believe. Dead people don't believe in anything, they are dead; and so were we.

I'll be done soon....I'm coming down little by little, you know, something is wrong with my heart; but I have one more thing (and as always, you can either check in the bible or ignore me, this blog is too long remember?), the next time you go and sit there on Sunday pay attention to what you hear; therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Have a nice day.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

Re-post from Desiringgod.org

I think this is worth re-posting here; John Piper remains one of my favorite Johns, not only for his love of Christ and His grace, but also for his unrelenting pursuit of the glory of God, and his dedication to the spreading of the gospel, the real gospel. Be blessed.

W. Somerset Maugham once said, “There is hardly anyone whose sexual life, if it were broadcast, would not fill the world at large with surprise and horror.”

With networks and newspapers broadcasting another New York Congressman’s sordid sexual secrets, and the public in a swirl of surprise and horror (and prurient fascination), it’s good for us to ponder again the profound grace that Jesus Christ extends to sinners like us, guilty of shameful things.

History has tended to give Mary Magdalene a reputation as a woman with a sordid sexual past. We’re not sure why. The Bible tells us little about Mary other than she had seven demons cast out of her, was present at Jesus’ crucifixion, saw where Jesus was buried, and saw the resurrected Jesus.

Maybe Mary’s rep is a bad rap. Maybe she’s been unjustly identified as the immoral woman in Luke 7. Maybe she’s borne the disrepute of her (likely) hometown, Magdala. Or maybe those strange early Christian apocryphal writings are to blame.

Or maybe Mary really did have a past. That’s the way I lean. It seems reasonable that a vague remnant of what was once her public shame lingers to highlight her Savior’s grace.

If that’s true, consider this: Mary Magdalene was the first person Jesus appeared to after being raised. The first person! Not his mother, not Peter, but a formerly immoral, demonized woman.

No wonder the disciples doubted Mary at first when she told them Jesus had appeared to her. You mean he appeared to Mary first and not us? Why would he do that?

Why indeed. I think that’s precisely what we’re supposed to ask.

I think one reason is similar to why God included Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba in the lineage of the Messiah and why the first recorded person to whom Jesus self-disclosed as the Messiah was the woman at the well: to illustrate that Jesus came to take away the horrible shame of sin and bestow the greatest honor on undeserving sinners. Jesus removed the scarlet letters these women carried around and made them heirs of the kingdom—daughters of the King!

And if your trust is in Jesus, that’s exactly what he does for you. Before God you wear no scarlet letter for any past sin anymore. Jesus takes away your sin. It is gone. You are clean. There is no lingering surprise and horror before God’s throne. Only honor bestowed on the children of God.

© 2011 Desiring God
Mailing

Desiring God, PO Box 2901, Minneapolis, MN 55402
tel. 1.888.346.4700 fax 1.612.338.4372

Desiring God is...

Desiring God is a teaching ministry of John Piper supplying the body of Christ with over 30 years of books, sermons, articles and more to help you find joy in God. More...

http://makariotes.blogspot.com