Martin Luther

Text: Martin Luther Trans. by Frederick H. Hedge

A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevaling.
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side,
the man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth,
his name, from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.
And though this world,
with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim, w
e tremble not for him; his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours, thru him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
the body they may kill; God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.

The Wife Whom You Love

it's sunday afternoon. the kids and wife are napping. i'm reading.....

Ecc 9:9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.

I resolve to do so.

Heaven, a World of Love by Jonathan Edwards

"Charity never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." - 1 Corinthians 13:8-10

"That we may the better see how heaven is thus a world of holy love, I would consider, first, the great cause and fountain of love that is in heaven; second, the objects of love that it contains; third, the subjects of that love; fourth, its principle, or the love itself; fifth, the excellent circumstances in which it is there exercised and expressed and enjoyed; and, sixth, the happy effects and fruits of all this." - Jonathan Edwards

read - http://www.biblebb.com/files/edwards/charity16.htm

Grace Is Not Cheap

In order to better see God's love, let us see it in the light of his Holiness. Let's pool together all the attributes of God rather than isolating Love by its self. Some will only say God loves you in order to not offend anyone by saying harsh words like sin, hate, wrath, wretched, etc........ But if you leave out sin, and the absorbing of wrath by Christ on the cross, if you leave out blood, how can there be remission of sins? Without the hard truths of the bible, you don't get the full gospel. And a partial Gospel is no Gospel at all. If you refuse to preach the Gospel to the persishing, you only show your hatred for them. If you truly loved them, you'd think of their souls and not so much their feelings. I'm not against being cool. If you can have cool music, sit on a stool in a dark lit room while drinkin' java and preach the full Gospel and remain faithful to the word, and people are coming to Christ, then I'm all for it. Keep up the good work. Free Coffee For All!! But hanging with people is not necassarily loving them. The Gospel is word and deed. We have to care for people, and meet there needs, but we must also proclaim the good news (and yes, things like wrath, and sin are included in the good news, It shows what we are, and what Christ is saving us from) that we are utterly sinful, and God hates sin, and in order to reconcile us to himself, He sent his Son to die the death he didn't deserve on a cruel cross, in him we have the absorbing of wrath, by his stripes we are healed. There is LOVE!!! The glorious amazing thing about God is not that He damns, but that He'd save any of us who repent and place faith in His Son!!! I better understand the love that God has for me by examining His holiness. I better understand God's love, I am in awe, when I contemplate the fact that I am totally depraved, I can't do good, and yet, Christ died in order to remove my crimes, and was raised from the dead that I may now live life on mission. What a great Love with which God has loved us!! He is redeeming his enemies (you and I). My good friend Jared Pete recently said this...."When Jesus says to "love your enemies"...He is speaking from experience...Jesus loves His enemies."

This post was taken from an earlier post called "in response to @danielbeckworth"
Please enjoy it...again.

Sola Fide