Devotional: Think On What Is Lovely

Think on what is Lovely.

Our world is filled with ugliness. The ugliness caused by sin, caused by rebellion, by hatred of God and His truth. Ugliness caused by the perversion of God's goodness. Destroyed relationships, ruined marriages, are ugly. Lives marred by drug abuse and alcoholism---ugly.

Beautiful women living in constant debauchery, adultery and fornication--ugly. Abortion as a birth control method, greed ruining lives. Ugly. We cannot avoid seeing the ugliness that comes from the perversion of sin. But, we can refrain from wallowing in it. We can limit our exposure to it to that which God's calling in our lives demands: that is, the person who is called, and gifted, to face the ugliness of the world with regularity will be given the grace to handle the task. But it is the willful exposure of one's heart and mind to unnecessary ugliness that makes no sense. The more exposure we have, the less we will be appalled and repelled by it. "Think on what is lovely." In the context, this is not simply a command to enjoy the beauty of goodness, of holiness, of what is pleasing in God's creation. It is a part of the entire string of commands, and truly, we are given a good idea of what "lovely" here means by seeing it in light of what has come before.

God's creation is beautiful when it is in harmony with its Creator. The Christian who stares at the grandeur of creation can do so with an added level of depth that the one who remains in rebellion against God cannot. That which is righteous is lovely; that which is holy is pleasing to God, and to those who are at peace with God. When we are purposefully seeking to discipline our thinking, our minds, we will know when we are indulging the flesh and thinking upon that which is not pleasing to God, which reverberates with the rebellious tones of the world. We should truly seek to be sensitive to the Spirit in recognizing when things are lovely, of a good report, and when they are stained with the revolting stench of the world.

*Taken from Alpha and Omega Ministries Website. Link to article here.

Spurgeon Devotional: June 10th

"We live unto the Lord." Romans 14:8

If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality that we should tarry here. It is possible for a man to be taken to heaven, and to be found meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light, though he has but just believed in Jesus. It is true that our sanctification is a long and continued process, and we shall not be perfected till we lay aside our bodies and enter within the veil; but nevertheless, had the Lord so willed it, He might have changed us from imperfection to perfection, and have taken us to heaven at once. Why then are we here?

Would God keep His children out of paradise a single moment longer than was necessary? Why is the army of the living God still on the battle-field when one charge might give them the victory? Why are His children still wandering hither and thither through a maze, when a solitary word from His lips would bring them into the centre of their hopes in heaven? The answer is: they are here that they may "live unto the Lord," and may bring others to know His love. We remain on earth as sowers to scatter good seed; as ploughmen to break up the fallow ground; as heralds publishing salvation. We are here as the "salt of the earth," to be a blessing to the world. We are here to glorify Christ in our daily life. We are here as workers for Him, and as "workers together with Him." Let us see that our life answereth its end. Let us live earnest, useful, holy lives, to "the praise of the glory of His grace." Meanwhile we long to be with Him, and daily sing:

"My heart is with Him on His throne, And ill can brook delay; Each moment listening for the voice,'Rise up, and come away."

Pray for John Piper

For those of you who have been blessed by the ministry of John Piper-- please be in prayer for him regarding his recent cancer diagnosis. Piper has written on this subject probably better than any contemporary writer that I have read. His absolute trust in a sovereign God (even in pain and suffering) will certainly be a great testimony for the Body of Christ. Don't expect Piper to be one of those who "shakes his fist at God" demanding "why!" He (Piper) already knows why. You can read for yourself how he is handling this problem (go to: http://www.desiringgod.org).

One's theology does matter! If God is not in control of pain and suffering (sickness) then we are in big, big trouble. We all get sick, we all die. It is a fact of life. If we are not grounded in good Biblical teaching on the subject then we will find ourselves vulnerable to despair and a loss of faith. The Trinity Broadcasting Network and other "word-faith" proponents have done a lot of damage, to the church, in this area. But the errors in the church don't just stop in the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches--it is also prevalent in other segments of the broader Evangelical Church. Thank God for Piper's clear and thoroughly Biblical teaching on the subject!!

Grace and Peace

In the writings of the New Testament, particularly, the writings of the Paul, Peter, and John, we see the need of God's grace before any spiritual blessings or actions of believers. Before we can have the peace of God, we need to experience the grace of God. Before we can have salvation, we first need grace. Before we can do any work for God, we first need the grace to perform that task. That's why the Apostle Paul starts out with this grace and peace salutation in all of his epistles. John uses the same salutation in the Book of Revelation (Rev 1:4). Peter, likewise, starts with God's "abundant mercy" and then proceeds with praise (I Peter 1:3-6). Most notably is Paul's method of teaching doctrine in his epistles like Romans and Ephesians. The first part of the epistles start with Christ and what He has done for us, while the last part of the writings deal with what we should do as a result. If we are struggling with our service and devotion to Christ, then perhaps we need to take a fresh look at who He is and what He has done for us. God's grace must proceed any work that we do. It is the most distinct part of the Christian religion.

C.H. Spurgeon

I want to highly recommend to you C. H. Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening Devotions." You can go to: www.blueletterbible.org to access his daily devotional. Also, if you go to: www.spurgeon.org you can find a goldmine of writings from the Prince of Preachers.

If British Literature wouldn't have booted out Christian writers from their considerations in the early 19th century, then Spurgeon probably would still be required reading at most Universities and Colleges. Spurgeon came just a little bit too late. Writers of his kind were considered "outdated" due to his orthodox view of scripture and doctrine.

I cannot think of a Christian writer who uses the English language better than Spurgeon. He's doctrinal, but poetic. He's thoroughly Biblical, yet brings things home to the practical. He inspires you to sink more and more into the love and grace of God.