What are we within our souls? Do we truly know? If we find any good, might we be deceiving ourselves unto damnation? How do we know truly that we have any good? Are we not desperately wicked and our hearts deceitful above all things? What is our hope? What is our purpose?
The answer to all these questions I always find to be Christ. Though my heart despairs, He is always my hope. And my final question, why do I not love Him enough?
Soli Deo Gloria
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Death
Death ought to be embraced by the Christian. And I know that sounds a little insane, but come let us reason together. Look here at what our blessed Lord did for us in His mercy while we were yet in our transgressions and at enmity with Him? Christ died for us while we hated him, showing undeniable love. Thus we we were bought by blood. By His death, we live.
But lo, death is still our lot. Look, as Adam ate the forbidden fruit we all have been cursed to die once. That curse we must still yet bear, but for God's blessed gift in the sacrifice of His Son, we no longer bear the condemnation of death. Now that we are children of God, our flesh will one day die but we shall rise to our Saviour to praise Him forever in eternity! Now death is our hope and anticipation. For to live is Christ and to die is gain.
In the mean time we must daily crucify the flesh. We must mercilessly slay all that is evil in our corrupt and sin bound bodies. Until we are given a new body, our flesh shall be our mortal enemy until the day it dies. This is the Christian life, to deny ourselves for the blessed Christ. Let us seek Him daily, which itself crucifies the flesh and glorifies our Risen Saviour. Let all praise Him!
Soli Deo Gloria
But lo, death is still our lot. Look, as Adam ate the forbidden fruit we all have been cursed to die once. That curse we must still yet bear, but for God's blessed gift in the sacrifice of His Son, we no longer bear the condemnation of death. Now that we are children of God, our flesh will one day die but we shall rise to our Saviour to praise Him forever in eternity! Now death is our hope and anticipation. For to live is Christ and to die is gain.
In the mean time we must daily crucify the flesh. We must mercilessly slay all that is evil in our corrupt and sin bound bodies. Until we are given a new body, our flesh shall be our mortal enemy until the day it dies. This is the Christian life, to deny ourselves for the blessed Christ. Let us seek Him daily, which itself crucifies the flesh and glorifies our Risen Saviour. Let all praise Him!
Soli Deo Gloria
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Y(A Poem)
Death draweth nigh.
I'd call me Christian
But for sin within.
Sigh. Lord, what am I?
Hear my sullen cry.
Lord, Why?
Know I Thy Will?
Why Thou wilt forgive
And Thou wilt kill
And some still live?
Know I the day
Nor the hour?
Know I Thy power?
What canst I say,
Thou doth give
And take away.
Lord Why... Why... Why!?!
Question I Thy Will?
Lord, what am I
To Him who feeds
Them of the sky
And keeps their needs;
See the Raven,
Bread from heaven,
Birds of a feather
Five Thousand together
Lord Why?
Him who adorns
Them of Thorns
Those He knows
The fielden flower
In the flows
Of the River
The Jordan River
The Lamb's Blood.
Lord what am I
To Him “I Am”;
My Adoni?
Praise God on High!
For me, didst Christ die
And for Him am I.
My sin forgiven,
I am a Christian;
Death passeth by!
Neo Puritan
SDG
I'd call me Christian
But for sin within.
Sigh. Lord, what am I?
Hear my sullen cry.
Lord, Why?
Know I Thy Will?
Why Thou wilt forgive
And Thou wilt kill
And some still live?
Know I the day
Nor the hour?
Know I Thy power?
What canst I say,
Thou doth give
And take away.
Lord Why... Why... Why!?!
Question I Thy Will?
Lord, what am I
To Him who feeds
Them of the sky
And keeps their needs;
See the Raven,
Bread from heaven,
Birds of a feather
Five Thousand together
Lord Why?
Him who adorns
Them of Thorns
Those He knows
The fielden flower
In the flows
Of the River
The Jordan River
The Lamb's Blood.
Lord what am I
To Him “I Am”;
My Adoni?
Praise God on High!
For me, didst Christ die
And for Him am I.
My sin forgiven,
I am a Christian;
Death passeth by!
Neo Puritan
SDG
Monday, July 20, 2009
What If I Had Not Christ
What would I do without the passion of my heart? What would I do without the fiber of my being? What would I do without the very meaning of my life? A question not oft considered but terrible in its passing. As I think on these things, I quake in fear for what would I do without Christ?
The answer is simple but terrible, heaven forbid. Without Christ, I would do nothing. My soul would be but a cold corps and my life would be an empty shell. I would be as dead. I would breathe like the student to the left of me, but I would be as lifeless as the table upon which I write. My life would be as meaningless as the filth trodden under my shoe. Without Christ, I would live for myself, and to live for one self is not to live at all.
I dread the thought of continuing this great play we call life as a lifeless entity without purpose. What harrowing torture to know that I would continue life as one dead only to end life sealed in a death inescapable. And to face God thereafter in the full knowledge that I had transgressed His Holy Laws, without hope or means of escape. Oh the fear of standing before God Almighty with only a horrible prospect of damnation before me. But this is not so, for I do have Christ who has taken upon Himself the punishment of my sins on that Cross two thousand years ago. I do have Christ who rose from the dead to stand as my propitiation. I do have Christ who covers me with His Holy righteousness that I might stand before God covered in His innocence. Yes, I do have Christ who lives in me and gives me hope for every passing day, for “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
The answer is simple but terrible, heaven forbid. Without Christ, I would do nothing. My soul would be but a cold corps and my life would be an empty shell. I would be as dead. I would breathe like the student to the left of me, but I would be as lifeless as the table upon which I write. My life would be as meaningless as the filth trodden under my shoe. Without Christ, I would live for myself, and to live for one self is not to live at all.
I dread the thought of continuing this great play we call life as a lifeless entity without purpose. What harrowing torture to know that I would continue life as one dead only to end life sealed in a death inescapable. And to face God thereafter in the full knowledge that I had transgressed His Holy Laws, without hope or means of escape. Oh the fear of standing before God Almighty with only a horrible prospect of damnation before me. But this is not so, for I do have Christ who has taken upon Himself the punishment of my sins on that Cross two thousand years ago. I do have Christ who rose from the dead to stand as my propitiation. I do have Christ who covers me with His Holy righteousness that I might stand before God covered in His innocence. Yes, I do have Christ who lives in me and gives me hope for every passing day, for “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Edward From Twilight is Anti-Christ
There is a gentleman in our midst. This vampire is not that gentleman but is an anti-Christ, an angel of light intended to deceive. Let me first explain who Christ is. He, our Sovereign, is the bridegroom of the Church. The Bible describes Him as thus and is thus that Knight in Shining Armour who is to sweep you ladies off your feet and rescue from the demons of this world; from Original Sin, from the sins of the flesh, and from the righteous dungeons that await for these sins. Christ threw Himself before very death that you might not suffer eternal death out of perfect love for you. He died in your place, denying Himself completely out of pure love. He did this all for you. Then, like a prince charming, He mysteriously conquered death that He might ride to you, sweep you off your feet and take you to be with Him forever in His Palace Beautiful.
Edward, on the other hand, is romantically in love with Bella. He keeps himself from her because her blood is so tantalizing to his carnal, demonic desires. Ah, what a gentleman, denying himself for the love of this girl. Lets all take a deep breath and faint. Hold up. Take a step back and look. The man/boy/dog wants to consume this girl. He lusts after her blood. Is there not something wrong with this picture? This hero not only lusts in his heart but also desires blood, a murderer in heart. This is opposite of Christ in that Edward desires these sinful things where Christ desired no evil thing in His love of us.
Edward saves Bella mystically. Why? For his own selfish interest in this girl. Yet Christ came to save and loved us while we were yet sinners and enemies of God. God had no reason to love us, yet out of the goodness of His heart, He had mercy on us. Edward saves Bella out of the selfish desires of his heart. He is a hedonist and does nought but that which brings him pleasure, ultimately. The only reason why Edward denies his blood lust is because the lust of flesh is strongest in his wicked heart. This isn't love.
Further, Edward is an ancient demon, making him a pedofile and an enemy of God. Ultimately, all of Edward's desires are gratified in Bella's sacrifice. Not only does this freak get to eat her blood but he also gets the girl for all eternity. Let me explain something. Christ sacrificed Himself for us, but, like with all anti-Christs, man is sacrificed to the pleasure of the devil (Edward). Don't be lead astray, dear sisters, by this angel of light, he lays a snare at your feet. Rather, seek ye the true Prince of your heart who loves you purely, Jesus the Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria
Edward, on the other hand, is romantically in love with Bella. He keeps himself from her because her blood is so tantalizing to his carnal, demonic desires. Ah, what a gentleman, denying himself for the love of this girl. Lets all take a deep breath and faint. Hold up. Take a step back and look. The man/boy/dog wants to consume this girl. He lusts after her blood. Is there not something wrong with this picture? This hero not only lusts in his heart but also desires blood, a murderer in heart. This is opposite of Christ in that Edward desires these sinful things where Christ desired no evil thing in His love of us.
Edward saves Bella mystically. Why? For his own selfish interest in this girl. Yet Christ came to save and loved us while we were yet sinners and enemies of God. God had no reason to love us, yet out of the goodness of His heart, He had mercy on us. Edward saves Bella out of the selfish desires of his heart. He is a hedonist and does nought but that which brings him pleasure, ultimately. The only reason why Edward denies his blood lust is because the lust of flesh is strongest in his wicked heart. This isn't love.
Further, Edward is an ancient demon, making him a pedofile and an enemy of God. Ultimately, all of Edward's desires are gratified in Bella's sacrifice. Not only does this freak get to eat her blood but he also gets the girl for all eternity. Let me explain something. Christ sacrificed Himself for us, but, like with all anti-Christs, man is sacrificed to the pleasure of the devil (Edward). Don't be lead astray, dear sisters, by this angel of light, he lays a snare at your feet. Rather, seek ye the true Prince of your heart who loves you purely, Jesus the Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Marriage Missional
What is marriage? What does it mean? What is it for? Our society has asked these questions and, as a result, we find the institution of marriage destroyed with homosexual relationships, pre-marital "love", and a trend of couples living together. It seems our society has found that the traditional reasons for marriage, such as to populate the earth and love, not enough reason to uphold it as foundational to human society.
We Christians cannot be like this nor can we imitate it. We know from whence marriage comes, and this would be the greatest defense of heterosexual marriage against homosexual relationships. Simply, God made it and God defines it as between a man and a woman. This institute of marriage we see from Adam and Eve to the New Testament Church. Now we know what marriage is and where it came from, let us look into what it means and what it is for.
Too often we, like the world, confuse matrimony as the "happily ever after" end of a labyrinth of love. From the Christian perspective, this is not so. Look at how the world defines love; a feeling of strong emotion for someone. And look how Christ has defined love; on a Cross. Does it not stand to reason that, as the world has misshaped our perspective on love, can it not also have misshaped our view of marriage, so closely related? Indeed it has.Marriage is just this, a symbol of the love of Christ for His Church. We, as men, must reflect the same passionate love Christ had for His bride. Look at what He has done, even unto death. Do this! You must humble yourselves! Bring yourselves low and know that you are servants just like Christ came to serve. Your marriages are a picture of the salvation of Christ and they proclaim Him. This leaves no room for divorce, pride, or selfishness! This means that your marriage is not about you, yay, it is about the Christ Jesus. Your marriage is a gospel track! Go and proclaim Jesus in your matrimonial love! God be praised!
We Christians cannot be like this nor can we imitate it. We know from whence marriage comes, and this would be the greatest defense of heterosexual marriage against homosexual relationships. Simply, God made it and God defines it as between a man and a woman. This institute of marriage we see from Adam and Eve to the New Testament Church. Now we know what marriage is and where it came from, let us look into what it means and what it is for.
Too often we, like the world, confuse matrimony as the "happily ever after" end of a labyrinth of love. From the Christian perspective, this is not so. Look at how the world defines love; a feeling of strong emotion for someone. And look how Christ has defined love; on a Cross. Does it not stand to reason that, as the world has misshaped our perspective on love, can it not also have misshaped our view of marriage, so closely related? Indeed it has.Marriage is just this, a symbol of the love of Christ for His Church. We, as men, must reflect the same passionate love Christ had for His bride. Look at what He has done, even unto death. Do this! You must humble yourselves! Bring yourselves low and know that you are servants just like Christ came to serve. Your marriages are a picture of the salvation of Christ and they proclaim Him. This leaves no room for divorce, pride, or selfishness! This means that your marriage is not about you, yay, it is about the Christ Jesus. Your marriage is a gospel track! Go and proclaim Jesus in your matrimonial love! God be praised!
Soli Deo Gloria
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Marriage
Too many marriages are ending in divorce these days. And, sadly, it is the Christian marriages that are leading the way in this trend. It seems everyone is closely related to a divorce in some way or another. The question for those of us who are single is, how do we stop this trend from pervasively poisoning our marriages? The answer is simple but by no means easy.
Let me first state the problem, as any good doctor diagnosis the disease ere he prescribes the cure. The reason why so many marriages are falling apart is because we found too much on the emotions of love. Sadly, we expect too much from our respective spouses. Marriage is not a give and take. When you dive in, it is all give and no take. Indeed, love is not an emotion but an action. Let us take the greatest of examples, Jesus the Christ. He loved His bride even unto the point of death. Is this how we love?
But this is not the ultimate problem. It is but a symptom. This is really just a spawn of the fact that we love ourselves too much. There can only be one true object of love and if that object is ourselves, we will be consumed by it and ultimately destroyed by this self devotion. Further, our spouse will be left out.
The solution is not pure love of your spouse for this can never be achieved but for true love. And true love only comes from the love of Christ. You must love Christ and Him ALONE. And if you love Him, and you build your relationships and your marriage on the foundation of Christ and His Holy Word, you will have an ever certain reliance through the rough times ahead. Love Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria
Let me first state the problem, as any good doctor diagnosis the disease ere he prescribes the cure. The reason why so many marriages are falling apart is because we found too much on the emotions of love. Sadly, we expect too much from our respective spouses. Marriage is not a give and take. When you dive in, it is all give and no take. Indeed, love is not an emotion but an action. Let us take the greatest of examples, Jesus the Christ. He loved His bride even unto the point of death. Is this how we love?
But this is not the ultimate problem. It is but a symptom. This is really just a spawn of the fact that we love ourselves too much. There can only be one true object of love and if that object is ourselves, we will be consumed by it and ultimately destroyed by this self devotion. Further, our spouse will be left out.
The solution is not pure love of your spouse for this can never be achieved but for true love. And true love only comes from the love of Christ. You must love Christ and Him ALONE. And if you love Him, and you build your relationships and your marriage on the foundation of Christ and His Holy Word, you will have an ever certain reliance through the rough times ahead. Love Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Miss California
It is rather comic, I think, to begin my blog with so controversial a subject. But it is so. Indeed, I have had such a blog in mind for some time; however, it was this subject that has ultimately propulsed me into the bloggosphear.
Let me first make clear three facts. (1)Miss California is right about marriage. (2)This post is not about that specific issue. And (3), I'm a Christian dude.
That said, I am outraged at some of what I am seeing on this topic. Yes, Miss California took a spot on stand in favour of heterosexual marriage; however, her opinion is too terribly spotted in that she typifies the opposite extreme. I will be plain. Homosexuality is a sin, and so Heterosexuality outside the confines of Biblical Matrimony and the standards set forth by God Almighty in the Ten Commandments and by Christ, our Sovereign, in His sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5) is also a sin. Simply, Miss Cali says marriage is between one man and one woman but her flaunting says something else altogether. I shall not leave it to speculation what it is; her near nude body simply says marriage can be between one man and hundreds of fantasy women (or even the reverse as well as both).
This brings me to my main point. Namely, SHAME on you Christian men of the bloggosphear! You, of all men, should know how devastating this evil can be and is! There are two evils here and we need not jump to the opposite evil simply to show we are not of the other. This is foolishness.
And please know this. God does not choose "the lesser of two evils". Rather He punishes all evil as equally reviling to His Holiness. God can have no blemishes before Him, though one blemish is the opposite colour of another. I therefore beseech you! Conduct yourselves in holy reverence and in abhorrence of both sins. Please, my Christian brothers, I beg you to pray also for those in both sins that God might pluck them as He has plucked me from the putrid sins of our rebellion. Pray for Miss California. Pray for the Homosexual judge. And pray for one another in this great time of unbridled sin.
Peace and God be with you.
Sola Deo Gloria
The Puritan
Let me first make clear three facts. (1)Miss California is right about marriage. (2)This post is not about that specific issue. And (3), I'm a Christian dude.
That said, I am outraged at some of what I am seeing on this topic. Yes, Miss California took a spot on stand in favour of heterosexual marriage; however, her opinion is too terribly spotted in that she typifies the opposite extreme. I will be plain. Homosexuality is a sin, and so Heterosexuality outside the confines of Biblical Matrimony and the standards set forth by God Almighty in the Ten Commandments and by Christ, our Sovereign, in His sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5) is also a sin. Simply, Miss Cali says marriage is between one man and one woman but her flaunting says something else altogether. I shall not leave it to speculation what it is; her near nude body simply says marriage can be between one man and hundreds of fantasy women (or even the reverse as well as both).
This brings me to my main point. Namely, SHAME on you Christian men of the bloggosphear! You, of all men, should know how devastating this evil can be and is! There are two evils here and we need not jump to the opposite evil simply to show we are not of the other. This is foolishness.
And please know this. God does not choose "the lesser of two evils". Rather He punishes all evil as equally reviling to His Holiness. God can have no blemishes before Him, though one blemish is the opposite colour of another. I therefore beseech you! Conduct yourselves in holy reverence and in abhorrence of both sins. Please, my Christian brothers, I beg you to pray also for those in both sins that God might pluck them as He has plucked me from the putrid sins of our rebellion. Pray for Miss California. Pray for the Homosexual judge. And pray for one another in this great time of unbridled sin.
Peace and God be with you.
Sola Deo Gloria
The Puritan
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