Category Archives: Living_in_the_Sacred

>On Total Depravity: The Place to Start

Posted on by
13

>

We all have heard the altar call “Come to Jesus, come, just like you are. He loves you and accepts you. You are special to Him. Come, come to Him. He is waiting for you to come into His arms.”
This is what I heard every Sunday for 15 years. But is it real? Really, Jesus loves people just the way they are? If so, why then did He have to come and die on the cross and bear the guilt of many and bear the wrath of God on Himself?
This powerful doctrine of The Total Depravity of men,  is really the place to start in our relationship with God. This the place where we come before a Holy, Holy, Holy God and take off our shoes and fall to the ground. This is the doctrine that humbles me the most and draws me close to Jesus, my Mediator; because it was because of my total depravity, my total inability that I had no hope except that He called my name and gave me life.
What is Total Depravity?
It means that my whole being is corrupted by sin, and that “corruption extends to every part of man, his body and soul; sin has affected all (the totality) of man’s faculties -his mind, will, etc.” [1]
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
(Romans 3:10-18 ESV)
As a result of this corruption, all men and women are incapable of drawing close to God They simply don’t want to come, they are, instead, fugitives. They are desperately running away from Him. No man, no woman, no child seeks God. But you might say, I have seen people, lost people seeking after God. The reality is that people do not seek God, they seek only the benefits, the blessings that come from God: health, prosperity, peace, joy, a healthy marriage, a way out of debts, hope, etc.
“The unregenerate man is dead, and his will is enslaved to his evil nature” [2] How true! This is where we see that God cannot accept men as they are. They need to be dragged by God into the light, they need to be born again.
Don Fortner says,
You will never seek the mercy and grace of God in Christ
until you are convinced of your sin, convinced that you
are without excuse, and convinced that you are personally
guilty before the holy Lord God.
We are, everyone of us, and every one of our children,
sinners, corrupt at heart, corrupt by nature, corrupt by
choice, and corrupt by practice. So vile, so corrupt
are we, that the thoughts of the human heart are only evil
continually (Gen. 6:5; Matt. 15:19-20).
So evil are we that we cannot and will not do good. If you
die without Christ, this is what you shall be forever in hell.
There will be no changes on the other side of the grave.
Whatever else hell may be, it is a place of ever-increasing
torment, blackness, darkness, corruption, and burning lusts,
without satisfaction. This is called “Total Depravity.”
We are depraved, spiritually dead sinners by nature, incapable
of changing our condition, or even wishing to change it.
Man is so depraved that it is utterly impossible for him ever
to escape the wrath of God, if left to himself.
But, blessed be God, that which is impossible with men is
possible with God! By the work of his sovereign, free,
distinguishing, effectual grace, some men and women are
made new creatures in Christ. May God be pleased to do
for you and me what we cannot do for ourselves.
Oh, may God be pleased to save us from ourselves,
for Christ’s sake!
When I see this, when I see that before regeneration I was dead (yes, dead, 100% dead) and God came and gave me life, when the only thing I deserved was hell, His grace grows and I am left undone.
When our relationship with God starts here, then we are always in awe of His grace; every single minute we remember that we did not deserve His saving grace yet, He came and gave us life, eternal life.
John Newton reminds us “that no doctrines or means can change the heart, or produce a gracious conversation, without the efficacious power of Almighty grace.”  [3]
So, it is my prayer that through Grace, through the efficacious power of the Almighty grace,  you may be called to repentance and fall to your knees before the Cross where your sins can be washed away and your nakedness will be covered with a robe of Righteousness.
Soli Deo Gloria

_______________

[1] The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented by Steele, Thomas and Quinn p. 19
[2] ibid. p. 19
[3] Via Grace Gems 

An excellent article which expands on this matter is one entitled A Jealous Love by Tim Challies. I highly recommend it to you.

 ***************************************
Today is the  last day to enter Christina’s giveaway, read more here. (Believe me the book she is giving away is ab excellent one!)

Have you signed in for Trisha’s great giveaway (perfect for moms with little ones!)?

If you haven’t go over there., read her post and leave a comment to enter the drawing. (click here) 
Don’t forget to check the resources’ page and sign in for the giveaway at the end of the month. (Including a Systematic Theology)
Are you just tuning in? Read what this series is all about here.
Consider sharing the goodness…
grab a button or join us on facebook.

A Prayer for a Gospel Saturated Lent by Scotty Smith -and some resources-

Posted on by
6

 

     Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. Mark 2:19-20

“Dear Jesus, it’s Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. For the next forty days we have the privilege of surveying your cross and preparing for the greatest of all celebrations—Easter Sunday, the foundation of our hope and the fountain of eternal joy.

For your glory and our growth, we ask you to inundate us with fresh grace in the coming weeks. We don’t want an ordinary Lenten season, Jesus. Saturate it with the gospel. It’s all about you, Jesus. It is all about you what you’ve done for us, not what we promise to do for you.

Sadly, I used to dread Lent like late summer football practice. A lot of striving and sweat mixed in with much uncertainty and fear. “What’s the coach think about my performance? Am I doomed to sit on the bench? Will I even make the team this year?” What a misuse of the season of Lent. What a complete misrepresentation of the gospel. What a dismal way to live the Christian life. We’re your betrothed bride, not a beleaguered people.

Indeed, Jesus, we begin Lent today anticipating our wedding, not our funeral. Jesus, for you’re the loving Bridegroom who died to make us your cherished bride. The work’s already done; the dowry has been pain in full; the wedding dress of your righteousness is already our; the invitations have been sent out; the date has been secured; you’ll not change your mind! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Over these next 40 days intensify our hunger, assurance, and longing for the Day of your return—the Day of consummate joy, the wedding feast of the Lamb. In light of that banquet, we choose to deny ourselves (fast) certain pleasures for this brief season. But we’re not looking to get one thing from you, Jesus, just more of you. Fill our hearts with your beauty and bounty, so very Amen, we pray, in your holy and loving name.”

Scotty Smith

 

*********************************

Our family meditates on the doctrine of the Incarnation during the Christmas season, and we set this time to meditate on the Cross and the Resurrection of our Lord.

Some books I love to study on this topic, and I would like to recommend you are:

Monergism

 

Monergism

 

Monergism
Monergism

 

Monergism

 

Monergism
Monergism

May we set a time apart to examine our heart who is deceitful above all things…

Under His shadow,

 

A quote from an interesting article by Douglas Wilson,

“God wants us to give certain things up too — things like sin, and self-righteousness, and superstition, and a number of other things that begin with s. He does not want us to give up chocolate, which begins with a c…

So beware. The devil loves it when he is the god of Lent, or of the sabbath, or of anything else we think we are offering to God.”

Grow in Grace

Posted on by
6

 

“Grow in Grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”       2 Peter 3:18
Am I growing in grace, Lord? 

 

“The question is always useful, but especially so at certain seasons. A Saturday night, a communion Sunday, the return of a birthday, the end of a year – all these are seasons that ought to set us thinking and makes us look within. Time is fast flying. Life is fast ebbing away. The hour is daily drawing nearer when the reality of our Christianity will be tested, and it will be seen whether we have built on the Rock or on the sand. Surely it becomes us from time to time to examine ourselves and take account of our souls? Do we get on in spiritual things? Do we grow?”
“When I speak of growth in grace I only mean increase in degree, size, strength, vigour and power of the graces which the Holy Spirit plants in the Believer’s heart. I hold that every one of those graces admits of growth, progress and increase. I hold that repentance, faith, hope, love, humility, zeal, courage, and the like may be little or great, strong or weak, vigorous or feeble, and may vary greatly in the same man at different periods of his life. When I speak of a man growing in grace, I mean simply this – that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, his spiritual mindedness more marked. He manifests more of it in his life. He is going on from strength to strength, from faith to faith and from grace to grace.”

J.C Ryle on Holiness

May this Lord’s Day be a day of examining ourselves, to see if we are growing in grace…

 

 

The Believer’s Happiness

Posted on by
4

 

Oh, that I knew where I might find HIM!” Job 23:3

The believer’s happiness consists very much in the presence of God, and a sense of His love. His happiness is not in place, or circumstances, or friends but in God Himself as revealed in Jesus.

Anywhere,
at any time,
in any condition,
alone or in any company,
we can be happy–if we realize that God is present, and can enter into communion with Him.

Real religion always . . .
centers in God,
feasts on God, and
is satisfied with God alone.

The teachings of the Holy Spirit brings us away from other sources of peace and satisfaction–to God alone. And in God, as made known in Jesus–we find . . .
all we want
all we wish,
all we can enjoy!

“You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand!” Psalm 16:11. Oh, blessed thought! Having been brought to set our hearts on God, to find our happiness in God–soon, very soon, we shall enjoy His perfect, perpetual presence; and shall never more sigh, or cry, “Oh, that I knew where I might find HIM!”

“And so we will be with the Lord forever!” 1 Thessalonians 4:17

James Smith (1860) (I encourage you to read the full article)

 

****************************

This is the kind of happiness I pursue, one that is rooted in Christ alone, the kind that only happens when you live in the Sacred, fully aware that all you do is because of Him and for Him; the kind that is  found in God’s presence alone.




May you have a happy weekend, dear friend!

 

>He Made Himself Nothing -P2R Week 7-

Posted on by
3

>

 

 

Week 7 :: Philippians 2:5-11

 

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.
 And being found in human form,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”
– Philippians 2:5-11

How can you repeat day after day these words without having a lump on your throat and not falling to you knees in prayer… “{He} made himself nothing…”

This is the mystery we just can’t grasp with our limited mind, yet it is a Truth we must believe if we are to be saved, and a model we are commanded to follow: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…”

John MacArthur says,

“In light of the profound reality of Jesus’ full and uncompromised deity, His incarnation was the most profound possible humiliation. For Him to change in any way or to any degree, even temporarily by the divine decree of His Father, required descent. By definition, to forsake perfection requires taking on some form of imperfection. Yet without forsaking or in any way diminishing His perfect deity or His absolute holiness, in a way that is far beyond human comprehension, the Creator took on the form of the created. The Infinite became finite, the Sinless took sin upon Himself. The very heart of the gospel of redemption is that the Father “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Although that infinitely marvelous and cardinal gospel truth is impossible to understand, it is necessary to believe.”

He descended to save sinners like me, He came to rescue me when I was running away from Him and did not look for Him. This is where Grace meets us, in our sin not in our self-righteousness!

I keep muttering these words, I meditate on them while cooking and walking. I am commanded to have this same mind, I am commanded to humble myself, to make myself nothing, to be obedient to the point of death.

This doesn’t come easy. I love my flesh, my skin…. isn’t this the way I was taught by the secular media and the modern evangelical churches in which I grew up? 

We don’t work toward having a good self- esteem, that is already there. Naturally we love ourselves more than God. We are never inclined to make ourselves nothing, to descend, to bow, to make ourselves servants.


Think of the moments your husband is sick, or when your children ask you to read them one more story, or when your neighbor needs help… does saying no to yourself comes easily? Not for me. 


The gospel calls us to live dying in our every day walk. It is not something mystic, it is there in your kitchen, in the marriage bed, in the moments that are woven together that we must make ourselves nothing. Yes, this seems like foolishness to the unsaved, but it is the message of the Cross. I must lay down my life, my minutes to God by serving those around me.


MacArthur says,

“It is the attitude of selfless giving oneself and one’s possessions, power, and privileges that should characterize all who belong to Christ. They should be willing to loosen their grip on the blessings they have, which they have solely because of Him. Christians are set apart from the world as children of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Yet they must not clutch those privileges and blessings. Instead, like the Lord, they must hold them loosely and be willing to sacrifice them all for the benefit of others”



and then he says,


“Christians obviously can’t empty themselves to the degree that the Lord emptied Himself, because He started so high and Christians start so low. Believers have infinitely less to empty themselves of. Even what they have is given to them by grace. Believers are obligated to follow the Lord’s example by emptying themselves of everything that would hinder their obedience and service to Him.”



Isn’t the home the perfect place to practice this? Isn’t among our family that we find the best opportunities to practice emptying ourselves so that His name might be exalted?

I am learning; I do not want to let these opportunities pass by …





>Celebrating the Mystery of Marriage -Borrowed Words-

Posted on by
2

>February is here and also beautiful paper heart garlands and boxes of chocolates wrapped in red festive paper; why not then, take this time to consider what is the Christian marriage. I will be posting several entries on this topic through out  this month (I will  also have some guests posting here too!), and I would love for you to join me, to join the conversation as we consider the great and beautiful mystery of marriage.

All Thursdays of Borrowed Words, during February, we will consider what other saints have said about marriage.

Gary Thomas in his book, Sacred Marriage, says:

“Christianity involves believing certain things, to be sure, but its herald, its hallmark, its  glory is not merely ascribing to certain intellectual truths. The beauty of Christianity is in learning to love, and a few life situations tests so radically as does marriage.
Yes. it is difficult to love your spouse. But if you truly want to love God, look right now at the ring on your left hand, commit yourself to exploring anew what that ring represents, and love passionately, crazily, enduringly the fleshy person who put it there.
It just may be one of the most spiritual things you can do.”

What about writing a letter to your husband telling him what does that ring that he put in your finger means… Yes… “it may be one of the most spiritual things” you could do this day.

“Giving respect is an obligation, not a favor; it is an act of maturity, birthed in a profound understanding of God’s grace”

Why not start TODAY looking for evidences of grace in your husband’s life? Why not falling in love again? Why not start focusing again on what God has done in him? Why not today?

“Contempt is conceived with expectations. Respect is conceived with expressions of gratitude. we can choose which one we will obsess over -expectations, or thanksgivings. That choice will result in a birth- and  the child will be named either contempt, or respect”

If you keep a gratitude journal maybe this month would be a great thing to focus in giving thanks for all that God has done and is doing in your husband; for all that he is; for all that he does for you and your children; for all that he means to you. Let us be obsessed with giving thanks for him!

“Marriage can force us to become stronger people, because if we want to maintain a strong prayer life as married partners, we must learn how to forgive. We must become expert reconcilers. Friction will inevitably develop. Anger will surely heat up the occasion. So we must learn to deal with conflict as mature Christians -or risk blowing off our prayer life in the process (see Matthew 5: 23-24)

Before saying that your prayer life is “missing something”, ask yourself if you have resentment against your husband; maybe your prayer life is weak and limp because of the lack of forgiveness towards your husband.

“Ask yourself this question: Would I rather live a life of ease and comfort and remain immature in Christ or am I willing to be seasoned with suffering if by doing so I am conformed to the image of Christ?…
Don’t run from the struggles of marriage. Embrace them. Grow in them. Draw nearer to God because of them. Through them you will reflect  more of the spirit of Jesus Christ. and thank God that he has placed you in a situation where your spirit can be perfected”

What do you do when struggles come to your marriage? Run away in despair or run to God asking Him to change you, to make you more than Christ? Struggles in marriage as in any other area in the life of the Christian have the purpose to help us grow in our sanctification and mortify the sin still trying to rule in us. If we are aware of this we will definitely deal differently during the hard times.

Being the wife I know God wants me to be and working towards that goal, is also part of what it means to Live in the Sacred, naked before a Holy God,  don’t you think?

Under His sun and by His grace,