If souls please thee, let them be loved in God; for they also are mutable, but in Him are they firmly established, else would they pass, and pass away. In Him, then, let them be beloved; and draw unto Him along with thee as many souls as thou canst, and say to them, “Him let us love, Him let us love; He created these, nor is He far off. For He did not create them, and then depart; but they are of Him, and in Him. Behold, there is He wherever truth is known. He is within the very heart, but yet hath the heart wandered from Him. Return to your heart, O ye transgressors, and cleave fast unto Him that made you. Stand with Him, and you shall stand fast. Rest in Him, and you shall be at rest. Whither go ye in rugged paths? Whither go ye? The good that you love is from Him; and as it has respect unto Him it is both good and pleasant, and justly shall it be embittered, because whatsoever cometh from Him is unjustly loved if He be forsaken for it. Why, then, will ye wander farther and farther in these difficult and toilsome ways? There is no rest where ye seek it. Seek what ye seek; but it is not there where ye seek. Ye seek a blessed life in the land of death; it is not there. For could a blessed life be where life itself is not?”
Sep 22nd by joshA conversation between me and a friend of mine last night has led me to think a lot about the way that we are so selective with what we choose to condemn and what we choose to justify. St. Augustine said, “Pride is the mother of all sin. Pride gives birth to all other sin.” The second that we look past the log in our own eye to tell our neighbor about the speck in his, we have become prideful and arrogant. In the Bible, homosexuality is never divorced from any other forms of sexual immorality. This leads to John 8:7 where Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her”. We are not to throw stones or cast judgment because we ourselves have sin in our lives. I am almost willing to bet that anyone who would condemn homosexuals has their own sexual sin that they have not addressed. I am also willing to bet that anyone who is tolerant of homosexuality, is so because they know that they have their own sexual sin in their life that they have not overcome, and therefor know that they cannot cast a stone. Ephesians 5:3 says: “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” So if we are all sinners and no one has the right to address sin, what’s a christian to do? If both sides are sinful, what’s the answer?
Sep 12th by josh“It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the songs of fools.”
The rebuke of the wise causes humility that leads to repentance. The songs of fools leads to taking life too lightly and thinking everything is good fun, including sin. The songs of fools, or the “fun” of fools quickly make light of sin, as I saw at the Christian Camp I worked/lived at in Santa Cruz. People began to drink and swear and smoke and talk dirty, and I remember a friend of mine saying (about those things), “I think Jesus would think it’s funny and laugh too”. Now I realize that he most certainly would not! And it’s only through the rebuke if the wise that I have realized this. Through the rebuke from pastors such as Alistair Begg and Mark Driscoll and John Piper. I now understand the importance of surrounding myself with the wise, and letting my intake weigh heavily on the side of wisdom and teaching, as opposed to entertainment and folly. (Continue Reading)
Aug 27th by josh
Once upon a time there was a boy who loved oranges. He ate oranges almost every day. In fact, he loved oranges so much that he knew exactly how to pick just the right orange. Whenever he went to the grocery store he would look through all the oranges. He would turn them over, examine them very closely, feel them, and smell almost every that looked good, so that he found the biggest, juiciest, best looking and tasting oranges you ever saw. He took pride in picking his oranges, and he enjoyed every one.
Jul 10th by josh