Oh so Sweet...

I am continually amazed by the inconsistencies that characterize my life.  The hypocrisy, lying, cheating, and blatant rebellion disgust me to the point of tears sometimes.  I know that even this realization of the deep state of my sin is only by the grace of God as well.  

I have grown to enjoy those precious moments when the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes ever so clear to me.  There is nothing better than those times when I am broken by my sin and shortcomings, only to find full acceptance by God and unmerited favor brought about by the blood and sacrifice of His Son.  Every day I must pray that God make these truths so real to me, otherwise, when those moments of condemnation come I will crumble under its weight.

The gospel must be my foundation, and its truths the author of my faith.  To borrow words from the artist Steve Fee, "Its all because of Jesus I'm alive."  What a simple but truly comforting statement!

Listen to Spurgeon's wonderful words of truth and encouragement, "Jesus is to believers  the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have.  he has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for Him; to His glory we would live, and in the defense of His gospel we would die;  He is the pattern of our life, and the model after which we would sculpture our character."

-Kyle-

It's interesting how as soon as you think you're doing well and are walking steadily on a smooth path, you suddenly find yourself sprawled out on the rocky face of a mountain. This description isn't literal for me (well it could be =), but it depicts how I have felt very recently. I think I had become familiar with my surroundings and was able to navigate through daily life pretty well, but when I was placed in a new location, with a new routine and unexpected situations, I have seen that I did not walk things out as I should have. I was less of an encourager, I was less eager to serve, I was quicker to judge, I was quicker to anger, I was quicker to pride. Though I do believe that God's grace sustained me through many instances, I did not embrace it as I should have. I believe that in many ways I completely went against 1 Corinthians 13:4-8,

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."

I lacked love last week because I sometimes lacked patience and kindness; I lacked love because I'm sure I was arrogant and rude; I lacked love because I know there were instances where I wanted my own way; I lacked love because I became irritable and resentful; I lacked love by being passive about certain things and not seeking after truth hard enough; I lacked love when I didn't bear all things, believe all things, hope in all things and endure all things. My heart is saddened when I consider the many ways I have failed, but I know that God is faithful and is continuing His amazing work in each one of us as He promises. All I can do now is seek after Him harder and pursue the kind of love in 1 Corinthians until it is effortlessly pouring out of me and blessing others. My desire is to be Christ to others and glorify the Lord in all that I do. I am deeply grateful for all the precious brothers and sisters the Lord has blessed me with and how the Lord has used them to reveal things in my life. My prayer for the future is that I will be able to beautifully portray the verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."

"We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself." - Romans 15:1-3

~Heavenly Father, you are so patient with me and my numerous failings. Help me to grow to be more like you as I walk out my days on this earth. Help me to demonstrate the kind of love that you have called me to and help me desire the things above more than the things of this world. Thank you for Your sustaining grace and for continuing Your work of sanctification in me. May You be glorified and others be blessed through my life. Amen~

-Lana-

Ski Trip Photos

Huckabee Ads...

-Kyle-

The Power of the Gospel

Romans 1:16  "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the jew first and also to the greek."

Paul is eager to preach the gospel because he knows what it is capable of.  He has personally witnessed the conversion of hundreds of sinners.  He is fully aware that it is the power of God.  Without doubt, Paul understands that the Spirit works and changes lives regardless of circumstances.

Lately in my life I have lacked faith in the power of God to save the lost.  I have forgotten that God works miracles and there is no person who is outside the realm of salvation.  God's plan for the redemption of his people has been declared open to "all who will believe".  He has not shut the door.  The Lord has even specifically designed the Gospel to open the eyes of unbelievers and bring them out of the darkness. 

The purpose of the gospel is this:  to "bring salvation to everyone who believes."  Historically, this great mercy was first provided  to the jews.  However, God now calls all people to his name.  How dare I doubt the creator?  How dare I lack faith in an all-powerful God.  There is no excuse but to pray to God to grant me His faith and make me fully aware of His power to save.  This morning God showed me how he saved one of THE greatest persecutors of the church of all time.  God intervened in Paul's life and changed him from a pharisee to the most well-known apostle of all time.  God even used Paul to write His Word!  No doubt, God has the infinite capability to not only save those who we think are beyond saving, he can raise them to be great leaders in the church.  Let us never doubt the power of the Spirit to change.

Father, I pray you will make my heart as Paul's.  Let me not be ashamed of your gospel.  Let me delight in the riches of salvation and have faith in your power to save the lost.  I pray that I never doubt the depths of your mercy nor the strings of love that you attach to the elect as you call them into grace.  Soli Deo Gloria

-Kyle-

Merry Christmas

This post is a day late but necessary all the same.  Spurgeon has some great thoughts here on the birth of Christ:

'Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel'

Isaiah 7:14

"Let us today go down to Bethlehem, and in company with wondering shepherds and adoring magi, let us see Him who was born King of the Jews, for we by faith can claim an interest in Him, and can sing, 'Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given'.  Jesus is Jehovah incarnate, our Lord and our God, and yet our brother and our friend; let us adore and admire.  Let us notice at the very first glance His miraculous conception.  It was a thing unheard of before, and unparalleled since,  that a virgin should conceive and bear a Son.  The first promise ran thus, the seed of the woman, not the offspring of the man.  Since venturous woman led the way in the sins which brought forth paradise lost, she, and she alone, ushers in the Regainer of Paradise.  Our Saviour, although truly man was as to His human nature the Holy One of God.  Let us reverently bow before the holy Child whose innocence restores to manhood its ancient glory; and let us pray that He may be formed in us, the hope of glory.  Fail no to note His humble parentage.  His mother has been described simply as 'a virgin', not a princess, or prophetess, nor a matron of a large estate.  True the blood of kings ran in her veins; nor was her mind a weak and untaught one, for she could sing most sweetly a song of praise; but yet how humble her position, how poor the man to whom she stood affianced, and how miserable the accommodation afforded to the new-born King!

Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with Him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendor."

Charles Hadeon Spurgeon

-Kyle-

Pictures of the Year

Time Magazine has published their pictures of the year for 2007.  You can view them here

-Kyle-

Father Daughter Dinner

For those of you who don’t know… The single guys in our Church had a formal dinner for all the single girls and their fathers. Yes they cooked and yes it was delicious.

Thanks guys for such a memorable evening!

Here are a few pictures…..


All the gals

After the hilarious "Pride and Prejudice" skit

The servers and the girls

Silly Picture

all the fathers and their daughters

-Candace-

The Power of Scripture Memorization

Here's a gem from Piper's When I Don't Desire God:

"I believe in the power of the [memorized] Word of God to solve a thousand problems before they happen, and to heal a thousand wounds after they happen, and to kill a thousand sins in the moment of temptation, and to sweeten a thousand days with the 'drippings of the honeycomb.'"

-Amber-

The Best National Anthem Ever

-Kyle-

The Prosecuter and the Judge

God has presented His case before me: He is the prosecutor and the judge. Throughout history He shows me how my sins are no different from the sins of His people, Israel. He allows me to see how He has dealt with these sinners; He pronounces them guilty, and then proceeds to destroy them for their abomination (1 Kings 16).

Once He has gone out of his way to prove my guilt and display His righteousness, He proceeds to pronounce judgment upon my blasphemous, sinful self. What is His verdict? Not Guilty.

Just as he has gone to the depths to show me my sin and guilt though His law, He has also persuaded me of His love by providing my salvation though the obedience of His Son Jesus Christ.

In these acts the depth of his character is displayed. Not merely just his wrath, or just his mercy, or just his righteousness. But all of His glorious attributes intertwined in one magnificent plan of redemption for His glory. In the midst of all this is little old me. Forgotten by God at this point, right? Emphatically, no. He has graciously included me in the greater plan for His ultimate glory. What a great God we serve!

-Kyle-

Huckabee on Hardball

Here is an excellent clip from Mike Huckabee's recent interview by Chris Matthews, a well-know liberal journalist. Huckabee really has some great answers to Matthew's questions. He wasn't confusing or contradictory, he was clear, concise and honest. Just what America needs!



-Kyle-