The Best Stuff

I only put the best stuff here. It turns out that the best stuff comes overwhelmingly from Dr. Scott Murry. Here is part of today's devotion:

There is a great deal of pressure on theologians to reduce that implication or to soft pedal it. A pastor friend of mine recounted calling members of his parish who had been absent for quite some time. At first, they declined to speak of their reasons for being absent. Finally, however, the husband simply said, "Every sermon is about sin and grace, and we are sick of hearing it. So we won't be back." The pastor quietly admitted that every sermon was about sin and grace, "That is unlikely to change." Of course, every sermon is about sin and grace! That is what the Christian religion is "about." There is no greater problem in the world and no better solution.

Read the rest at: Memorial Moment

Lifted Hands?

Should we lift our hands in prayer and praise? It turns out this question is older than I thought. Tertullian (who lived from A. D. 160-220) already considered this question. It seems that in his day as well as ours some Christians were making a big show of lifting their hands over their heads in prayer. Here's what this Church Father has to say:

"But we more commend our prayers to God when we pray with modesty and humility, with not even our hands too loftily elevated, but elevated temperately and becomingly; and not even our countenance over-boldly uplifted. For that publican who prayed with humility and dejection not merely in his supplication, but in his countenance too, went his way 'more justified' than the shameless Pharisee. The sounds of our voice, likewise, should be subdued; else, if we are to be heard for our noise, how large windpipes should we need! But God is the hearer not of the voice, but of the heart, just as He is its inspector."

On Prayer
Chapter XVII. ----Of Elevated Hands.

Earned Gace is Never Grace

Infants are the test case for grace. Infants become believers, and thus part of the church, through the gift of grace bestowed on them by baptism. Grace is the divine act of compassion given to those who are weak and unable to find God by their own efforts or works. What would better describe a newborn infant than that he or she is weak and incapacitated? Yet, exactly such as these are the ones whom the God of all grace has determined to save through the work of His only begotten Son. Sometimes moderns think that adults are the paradigmatic case for grace. This presupposition arises not from an understanding of grace as a gratuitous gift from God, but from the presupposition that humans need to provide God some sign of their inclination toward Him, that they are seeking Him, that they are worthy of grace, or that have opened their hearts to Him. Such views are prevalent in American evangelicalism, and yet have more in common with classic doctrines of prevenient grace as taught by the Roman Catholic Church. Prevenient grace is the grace which disposes the person toward God. Prevenient grace is a contradiction of grace. Earned grace is never grace (Rm 4:4).

This is an excerpt from Dr. Scott Murray's devotion for July 20, 2009. Read the entire devotion here.

There is but one touchstone of truth in the Church: Holy Scripture.

Dr. Scott Murray has another one of his insightful devotions today. This one is titled " Deceiving and Being Deceived." One of his paragraphs reads:

The Word of God has an independent authority. It is self-authenticating and does what it says. This is why it is incapable of "being deceived" in Augustine's pattern of thought. It must be that way, because, although God's Word can neither lie nor deceive, we ourselves are more than capable of lying and deceiving; our depravity is always sticking out from under the wig of our piety. God must correct our bent views, not merely for the sake of being right, which He always is, but for the sake of our salvation. Without this divine self-revelation we would never have the capacity to conceive of the divinely worked way of salvation in Christ, the atonement for our sins, and indeed for the sins of the world. What no one could conceive, God conceived in His living Word. All men are sinners and therefore are deceivers and the deceived. Only Holy Scripture is true. The truth of Scripture gives to us Him who is True.


Read the entire devotion here: Memorial Moments

COMPLAINING

Rev. Dr. R. Reed Lessing presented the Bible study at the Michigan District convention in June. He has put together a very interesting study of Philippians. It is available for download at the Michigan District website:

I found the section on complaining to be very helpful:

Philippians 2:12-13
“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have
always obeyed-- not only in my presence,
but now much more in my absence–
continue to work out your (plural) soteria
with fear and trembling, for it is God who
works in you to will and to act according
to his good purpose.”

Philippians 2:14-15
“Do everything without goggusmon or
arguing, so that you may become
blameless and pure, children of God
without fault in a crooked and depraved
generation, in which you shine like stars
in the universe.”

THE FOUR COMMON TYPES OF COMPLAINERS

• The Whiner - “It’s Not Fair!”

“It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Exodus 14:12)

• The Martyr - “No One Appreciates Me!”

“Moses said to the Lord, ‘Why pick on me, to give me the burden of a people like this? I can’t carry this nation by myself! ... If you’re going to treat me like this, please kill me right now - it will be a kindness! Let me out of this impossible situation!’” (Numbers 11:11-15)

• The Cynic - “Nothing Will Ever Change!”

“But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” (Numbers 11:6)

• The Perfectionist - “Is That Your Best?”

“But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst.’” (Exodus 17:3)

Which One are You?

1. The Whiner
2. The Martyr
3. The Cynic
4. The Perfectionist
5. All of the Above
6. None of the Above

HOW TO CONQUER COMPLAINING

Focus:

• Not On Where We’ve Been

“The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost–also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.’” (Numbers 11:4-5)

• Not On Where We Are

“They said, ‘The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim,). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.’” (Numbers 13:32-33)

• On Where We’re Going

“If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.” (Numbers 14:8)

Philippians 2:16-18

“… as you hold out the word of life-- in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and have chara with all of you. So you too should have chara and chara with me.”

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays.
Stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea.
Chanting bird, and flowing fountain, Call us to rejoice in Thee!

Infant Limbo

Today's devotion by Dr. Scott Murray is a must read:

Infant Limbo

The subject of infant baptism generates a great deal of heat and very little light when discussed among American Christians today. American Christians, under the influence of the baptistic tradition, are unique among Christians in denying not only baptism to infants, but also faith and regeneration. Of course, this has more to do with the imposition of dogmatic theories about the concurrence of the will in faith and the possibility of belief in Christ among infants. These theories arise from the American presupposition that action is superior to repose; in other words, our firmly held doctrine that faith that does not demonstrate action is not faith at all. To rest comfortably in the arms of Christ is inferior to demonstrating the power of faith through personal confession or action. However, Christianity is not about purely external demonstrations of power. Christian faith is often hidden under contrary signs: life under the signs of death (1Co 15:36), heaven under the signs of hell, the righteousness of God under the signs of human guilt (Ps 32). In the Man dying there is the greatest power unto life for the world. In the midst of great suffering there is the gift of heaven. Where sin is admitted and accepted there God declares all guilt taken away and all transgression covered. Christianity at bottom is about receiving something, not doing anything. Doing is God's. Receiving is ours. This describes infant faith given and confirmed in the sacrament of holy baptism.

The Bible is shockingly clear that only those who have faith in Christ go to heaven. This point baffles those who presume that faith is our action or is only real when it can be demonstrated by action. Because if infants can't demonstrate their faith, therefore they can't believe; and only those who believe are saved, then what happens to infants? They are left in an un-biblical Limbo created on the basis of a faulty dogma about what faith is and who is working in baptism. Sometimes it is argued that the innocent infant who has not yet reached the ability (as though it is a human ability, rather than a divine gift!) to believe are guiltless in the presence of God. But this runs smack up against the divine Word's condition that only those who believe will be saved. Even if they are "innocent and without guilt" the Bible never attributes salvation to anything but faith in Christ.

Even apart from all this, how would such innocence and guiltlessness be demonstrated by the infant? If only a demonstrated or proven faith is accepted as legitimate, why would we merely be able to presume that infants are innocent? What basis would we have for this? What actual action proves the innocence of infants? As I have pointed out previously, this is an opinion that could only be held by people who have never cared for an infant. If we depended on what God actually says about all persons; that is, that they are sinners, guilty before God, and dead in their trespasses and sins apart from Christ and faith in Him, we could conclude the infants have faith (as Scripture specifically declares), because infants are saved. So you can't see or hear about their faith from them? Uh-huh. Well, maybe you should listen to the divine witness instead of believing your own dogmas. How gracious the good Shepherd is, that He takes up in his arms the little ones and blesses them with the new life in Him and the faith to trust Him.

Read the entire devotion here also you may subscribe to these excellent daily devotions.