“The first device that Satan has to keep souls in a sad, doubting, and questioning condition, and so making their life a hell, is by causing them to be still poring and musing upon sin, to mind their sins more than their Savior; yes, so to mind their sins as to forget, yes, to neglect their Savior, that, as the Psalmist speaks, ‘The Lord is not in all their thoughts’ (Psalm 10:4). Their eyes are so fixed upon their disease, that they cannot see the remedy, though it be near; and they do so muse upon their debts, that they have neither mind nor heart to think of their Surety. A Christian should wear Christ in his bosom as a flower of delight, for he is a whole paradise of delight. He who minds not Christ more than his sin, can never be thankful and fruitful as he should.”
- Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices
I had not thought of myself as a prodigal. But, truly, I am. Daily I choose my own way and not God’s. And God still claims me as His. What mercy! Though I beg for His chastisement daily, He holds out His grace still.
“We are all* prodigal sons, and not disinherited; we have received our portion, and misspent it, not been denied it. We are God’s tenants here, and yet here, he, our landlord, pays us rents; not yearly, nor quarterly, but hourly and quarterly; every minute he renews his mercy.”
- John Donne
*The context of the quote leads me to believe that this “all” refers to the body of believers in Jesus Christ, and indeed, there is no other group this particular “all” could indicate.
Addition: Here is a song that speaks of the mystery of God’s mercy. If you would prefer to not hear it, you can turn off your computer speakers and just read the words as they appear on the screen.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. -James 4:13-17
I would encourage you to visit the following links. It is good to be reminded of the brevity of life.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Notes from a discussion about Chapter 13 of Knowing God by J.I. Packer.
(” ” indicate quotes from the book)
“Grace is God’s riches at Christ’s expense.”
The purpose of everything is for the praise of the glory of His grace.
—–
Truths we must believe if we are to properly understand grace:
1) man is totally (in every aspect) depraved
2) even if it does not appear so in the immediate, God always judges sin
3) man is totally unable to fix the problem of his depravity
4) God is free to give and not give grace to whomever He wills
—–
The only thing we can claim from God is justice.? God always pours out justice. For His people, He poured it out on Christ.? In Christ, we have gone from infinite debt to infinite riches.
“Grace is free, in the sense of being self-originated and of proceeding from One Who was free not to be gracious. Only when it is seen that what decides each individual’s destiny is whether or not God resolves to save him from his sins, and that this is a decision which God need not make in any single case, can one begin to grasp the Biblical view of grace.”
—–
1. Grace is the source for the pardon of sin.
“Justification is the truly dramatic transition from the status of a condemned criminal awaiting a terrible sentence to that of an heir awaiting a fabulous inheritance.” (and this is an understatement)
2. Grace is the motive of the plan of salvation.
“Believers may rejoice to know that their conversion was no accident, but an act of God which had its place in an eternal plan to bless them with the free gift of salvation from sin.”
3. Grace is the guarantee of the preservation of the saints.
“I need not torment myself with the fear that my faith may fail; as grace led me to faith in the first place, so grace will keep me believing to the end. Faith, both in its origin and continuance, is a gift of grace.”
—–
“Love awakens love in return; and love, once awakened, desires to give pleasure. And the revealed will of God is that those who have received grace should henceforth give themselves to “good works”, and gratitude will move anyone who has truly received grace to do as God requires.”
“The Holy Spirit is no mere mechanical agent in the great work of a sinner’s deliverance. ‘I delight to do Your will’ is as true of the Spirit as the Son.
He loves the sinner; therefore He lays hold of him. He pities his misery; therefore He stretches out the hand of help. He has no pleasure in his death; therefore He puts forth His saving power. He is longsuffering and patient; therefore He strives with him day by day; and though ‘vexed,’ ‘resisted,’ ‘grieved,’ and ‘quenched,’ He refuses to retire from, or give up, any sinner on this side of eternity.
The extent to which we resist Him, and the amount of His forbearing love, we cannot know. This only we may say, that our stubbornness is something infinitely fearful and malignant, while His patient grace passes all understanding.”
Recently, listening to Sovereign Grace Music on Pandora has introduced me to some gems of songs. Praise God for the writing of lyrics that glorify Him and speak truth into our lives.
Below are the three songs referred to in the title of this post.
_________________________________________
There Is A Reason
late at night I wonder why
sometimes I wonder why
sometimes I’m so tired
I don’t even try
seems everything around me fails
but I hold on to the promise
that there is a reason
late at night, the darkness makes it hard to see
the history of the saints who’ve gone in front of me
through famine, plague and disbelief
His hand was still upon them
cause there is a reason
there is a reason
Good reminder that history proclaims God’s faithfulness.
he makes all things good
he makes all things good
there’s a time to live and a time to die
a time for wonder and to wonder why
cause there is a reason
there is a reason
I believe in a God who sent His only son
to walk upon this world and give His life for us
with blood and tears on a long, dark night
we know that He believed
that there is a reason
there is a reason
Christ is our example for enduring hardship while believing that there is a reason. I appreciate that this is brought out in the song.
for the lonely nights
and broken hearts
the widow’s mite
in the rich man’s hand
and the continent
whose blood becomes a traitor
for the child afraid to close their eyes
the prayers that seem unanswered
SEEM – interesting and meaningful wording
there is a reason
there is a reason
- Words and Music by Andrew Osenga and Randall Goodgame
Lead of Love
Looking back at the road so far
The journey’s left its share of scars
Mostly from leaving the narrow and straight
Looking back it is clear to me
That a man is more than the sum of his deeds
And how You’ve made good of this mess I’ve made
Is a profound mystery
Looking back You know You had to bring me through
All that I was so afraid of
Though I questioned the sky, now I see why
Had to walk the rocks to see the mountain view
Looking back I see the lead of love
Good reminder that one day we’ll look back with more understanding. Now, we must trust that He is guiding us no matter what it looks like.
Looking back I can finally see (I’d rather have wisdom)
How failures bring humility (than be)
Brings me to my knees (a comfortable fool)
Helps me see my need for Thee
- Caedmon’s Call
Shifting Sand
Sometimes I believe all the lies
So I can do the things I should despise
And every day I am swayed
By whatever is on my mind
I hear it all depends on my faith
So I’m feeling precarious
The only problem I have with these mysteries
Is they’re so mysterious
And like a consumer I’ve been thinking
If I could just get a bit more
More than my 15 minutes of faith,
Then I’d be secure
(Chorus)
My faith is like shifting sand
Changed by every wave
My faith is like shifting sand
So I stand on grace
What is your trust in? Your faith, or God’s grace?
I’ve begged you for some proof
For my Thomas eyes to see
A slithering staff, a leprous hand
And lions resting lazily
A glimpse of your back-side glory
And this soaked altar going ablaze
But you know I’ve seen so much
I explained it away
Waters rose as my doubts reigned
My sand-castle faith, it slipped away
Found myself standing on your grace
It’d been there all the time
