What Can I say?

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
~Psalm 23:6 (ESV)

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Lead me on, O Lord,
Though I often lose my way,
Though Your radiant face I often put from my view,
Though my sin be great,
Forgive me, Lord, and Lead me in Your own righteousness

Righteousness has been purchased for me!
WHAT can I say?
Mercy has been extended to me,
WHAT can I say?
Grace enthrals me,
WHAT can I say?
Salvation has been made available to me,
WHAT can I say?
Goodness and mercy follow me all of my days,
WHAT can I say?

Repentance has been made possible by Your Spirit,
Your sanctification is now my road, by grace,
Blessings overwhelm me,
Peace has been provided for me in all circumstances,
Site has been installed in these blind eyes,
Graciousness strikes me dumbfounded,
Wrath has been poured out on another,
My debt has been paid,
All I owed has been lifted from me

God has initiated,
WHAT can I say?

Observing the Apostle Paul: Can We Hear the Gospel Enough?

"O Timothy, guard the deposit given to you...."
~I Timothy 6:20 (ESV)

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Why hear the Gospel over and over and over again? Why restate truth we already claim to know? If you are a genuine Christian, you know and believe that Christ died for you sins, and if asked if Christ is your Savior, you would say yes, right? Is that sufficient that you are aware of and believe the Gospel? Isn't it time to move on to other things now that your soul is secured in Heaven?

No.

Paul spent his entire life with the Gospel at the center of his theology. Until his dying breath, he preached the Gospel. Observe these words of Paul from Scripture in his last letters. This was at the same time that he announced to the young pastor, Timothy, that his race was about to conclude: "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come." (2 Timothy 4:6) So what is his urging to Timothy? What cry would he have echo in Timothy's ears after he departs from this earth?

"Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you." (2 Timothy 1:13-14) "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal." (2 Timothy 2:8-9a)

Paul would have nothing ring in the ears of Timothy and all Christians who would observe his life than the cross of Christ. If you study his letters of the New Testament (Romans through 2 Timothy), you cannot help but notice that the Gospel is repeated over and over throughout them all and the center of his entire theology. He said in his first letter to the Corinthian church, "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (I Corinthians 2:2). His more-than-passionate cross-centeredness overflows from a grateful heart and a never-dying but ever-present re-reminder of what Christ has done to save sinners.

If the apostle Paul needed to hear the Gospel every day, throughout the day, how much more do we! Let his words RESOUND throughout everything you think and do. Do not become familiar with the cross of Christ! I close with his quote by C.J. Mahaney:

"Keeping the Main Thing [the Gospel] the main thing is a daily necessity. Every day. NO DAYS OFF ALLOWED!"

"Father, thank You for sending Your precious Son to save undeserving sinners like us! As we daily survey the wondrous cross of Christ, we pray that You would deepen our gratefulness and joy in what You have fully accomplished on our behalf in the finished work of Christ on the cross. May we never become familiar with this mystery till our dying breath! Thank you for drawing us closer to Yourself even when we stray. Make Yourself our delight, we pray. Amen."

Why Suffering?

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds..."
~James 1:2 (ESV)

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Why does the Lord grant suffering to His children? Why do Christians still face the same troubles and even more troubles than non-Christians? James talks about counting it all joy when we face trials of various kinds. How is this possible?

Greeting Your Trials?

Would it seem strange to you that God wills for us to greet trials as our best friend? So much changes when we realize how much the Lord works in us through our various trials and sufferings. In fact, if you observe your own life, would you not say that the times you've grown in the Lord most come as the result of hardship and testing of your faith? Trials reveal some very useful things of which we can take hold to our benefit:

1. Trials Reveal God's Sovereignty

Trials are not times when things are out of God's control. Neither are they times that God is pouring out His wrath on us. God's sovereignty is displayed in the Gospel--His plan could not be stopped to give His life for the forgiveness of man. There the wrath of God was all spent on God's Son, Jesus. So that removes any argument that trials are the punishment that Jesus removed with His own blood (though that is not to say that God does not discipline disobedience. God is not limited in the ways that He can work). God's sovereignty is displayed in His providence--His hand in everything, all the time, and nothing happening outside of His ordained plan for us. In other words, God grants trials to the believer as a growing experience! By His grace, we come out the other end a more sanctified being.

2. Trials Reveal God's Purposes

Being in the midst of a trial can be like having violent storm clouds swirling around our heads; we can't see a thing but the pain! Yes, it can be difficult to see what God's purposes are in the midst of a trial. But do we trust God? Do we take hold of the peace of God that surpasses all understanding that God has a specific, sanctifying, and unerring purpose for this trial? Not to say that it isn't painful. Life includes pain. But the pain isn't the end (meaning the end purpose) of the trial; God's glory and our good is! Going through a series of draining trials this past year, the Lord finally revealed to me what I believe to be a summary of His purpose for the trials. He revealed to me unexpectedly in a still, small voice, "It's to prepare you for more." I was shown that there would be greater suffering than this, and so it was God's mercy to have prepared me for greater suffering through these past trials! Did He tell me that right away? No. It took over a year. During that time I asked and pleaded for relief (which apparently was not the right thing for which to ask), and at times in deep anguish! Oh how I did not understand and still do not fully see. But what He has taught me through it all I would not trade for anything! He has revealed His purpose, and I am thankful. None of my anxiousness or other sins ever helped. His hand was in it all, all the time.

3. Trials Reveal Man's Dependence

In God's sovereignty, He draws us closer to Himself and to a deeper knowledge of our desperate need for Him. Through trials, He removes idols of our hearts that we would not let go of and replaces that desire with an even more passionate desire for more of His sweet presence. He takes a heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh.

"And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God."
~Ezekiel 11:18-20

My pastor said recently that God will answer prayers in one of two ways: He will either answer as you asked, or He will give you more of Himself. The point is that God would remove detestable doubt, pride, idols, and other sin from our lives that He (not the things we want too much) will be our God!

So though we may not understand all that the Lord is doing now, let us believe this passage:

"Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told." ~Habakkuk 1:5

And remember the peace of God that I mentioned earlier? Here's how to take hold of it:

"[D]o not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:6-7

God bless, my friends!
-Franz

Why?

My God, my God, why would You die for us?

Holy God in love became
Perfect Man to bear my blame
On the cross He took my shame
By His death I live again

What more beautiful words? What more beautiful truth? The God of all creation has brought peace to our souls! He has rescued our souls with His own blood shed upon Calvary! Can we ever hear this enough?

No. We cannot hear the truth of the Gospel too much! We must hear it every day, every hour, every step, at all times! Can you breathe too much to the point where you no longer need oxygen? No. Yet how much more we need the Gospel! How much more than oxygen to our lungs we need the Gospel to our hearts over and over again!

Why would God choose us, filthy murderers in the ugliest of rebellious state? We deserve no kindness of His. Yet, He chose mysteriously to save us and not only that but to pour out His blessings on us. What is there to do other than to meditate on this truth every day in order to live the effects of it in passionate worship to our God until or dying breath?

God's Faithfulness: Before and Beyond

"...the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
~James 1:17b (ESV)

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    As the Lord draws yet another year to a close, we remain because of His faithfulness. He doesn’t change, and His grace will never change! Hasn't He been good? Hasn't He been so faithful to us?

    Looking back on a year is like looking over a plot of earth just traveled. There were plains, there were deserts, there were lagoons, and there were jagged mountains and bumpy roads. Wow! We're still here! By the grace of God alone, Christians remain and persevere through the rough times and rejoice and give thanks under all circumstances (I Thessalonians 5:18).

    One of the attributes of God that He has used much to greatly build my trust in Him this year is His unchangingness. How I have gone on my own large set of emotional roller coasters in my life, yet He never changes! We, the changing ones, are to be conformed to Him, the never-changing One--the great I AM. As a simple illustration, the Lord is the always-remaining, perfect standard on Whom we are to evaluate our trials, times of change, and emotions, and all of life.

How encouraging His unchangingness is to draw us to trust in Him and to an objective life!

    Every morning, we can wake up with our minds on His mercies which are new every morning, and His grace that is the same for eternity. What a blessed relief! We never have to fear awaking any morning with our salvation in doubt or jeapordy. We never have to ask, "Is God's grace still available? Are the requirements for saving faith still the same as they were yesterday?" God has been faithful and will remain faithful to refresh us as beings who easily forget His benefits with the glorious truth that no grace of God rests on our performance, but all grace, including saving grace, rests on the FINISHED work of Christ on the cross. Haha! Amen!

O, how it uplifts the spirit to reflect on God's unchanging grace and faithfulness to us before and to anticipate the revealing of it beyond time!

How have you been impacted this year by the concept of God's unchanging grace?