What would Jesus buy?

Morgan Spurlock (creator of Super Size Me) has a new movie out about consumerism at Christmas.

"You never let go"

Perspective

“Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars.”
Frederick Langbridge

More Charles Wesley...

I'll be speaking on the Kingship of Jesus on Thursday during chapel. In preparation for it, another great hymn by Charles Wesley has come to mind:

"Rejoice, the Lord is King! Your Lord and King adore;
Mortals give thanks and sing, and triumph evermore;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

Jesus, the Savior, reigns, the God of truth and love;
When He had purged our stains He took His seat above;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

His kingdom cannot fail, He rules o’er earth and Heav’n,
The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus giv’n;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

He sits at God’s right hand till all His foes submit,
And bow to His command, and fall beneath His feet:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

He all His foes shall quell, shall all our sins destroy,
And every bosom swell with pure seraphic joy;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

Rejoice in glorious hope! Jesus the Judge shall come,
And take His servants up to their eternal home.
We soon shall hear th’archangel’s voice;
The trump of God shall sound, rejoice!"

Words: Charles Wes­ley, Mor­al and Sac­red Po­ems, 1744

Best Hymn Ever

And Can it Be by Charles Wesley

"1. And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior’s blood!
Died he for me? who caused his pain!
For me? who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

2. ‘Tis mystery all: th’ Immortal dies!
Who can explore his strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
to sound the depths of love divine.
‘Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
let angel minds inquire no more.
‘Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
let angel minds inquire no more.

3. He left his Father’s throne above
(so free, so infinite his grace!),
emptied himself of all but love,
and bled for Adam’s helpless race.
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,
for O my God, it found out me!
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,
for O my God, it found out me!

4. Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
my chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.

5. No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine;
alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach th’ eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’ eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ my own."

More on listening...

“The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when someone asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.”
Henry David Thoreau

Christmas Time...

Is it Christmas?


Maybe not, but Jennifer and I put up the tree yesterday and its only Christmas music from here on out.

D.C. Pictures

An important political commercial

Holy Pancakes

Some lady in Florida got these pancakes for breakfast recently. She was convinced that they were holy pancakes (picturing Jesus & Mary), and sold them on ebay for over $300.

James Brown

This is an unbelievable interview:

Thankful

“Jesus Christ has completely done the work of our redemption. He does not redeem us from some of our sins, and leave us to grapple with the rest. Oh, no! Christ makes a most complete work of it."

-Thomas Brooks, Paradise Opened

New invention

I wonder how many wedgies these kids endured before they invented these:

Christless attempts at change

David Powlison reminds us of how pointless and short-sighted are the attempts of truly successful living apart from the work of Christ. All the self-help books in the world fall short of really helping in this area.

"Successful living without grace describes mere self-reformation: get your act together, save your marriage, get off your duff and get a job. Failure in living describes failed self-efforts: when you can’t get a grip, you despair. Christless, grace-less attempts at change conclude either with the praise of your own glory or with your shame.”

-David Powlison, Seeing With New Eyes, pg. 48

or as Crowder says:

"Here we are
Bandaged and bruised
Awaiting a cure...
Here You are
Our beautiful King
Bringing relief...
You're the remedy..."

-David Crowder, Remedy

A new classroom rule

My newest classroom rule:

“Be silent, or say something better than silence.”
Pythagoras

The Revelation of a Mighty Living Being

Why I love Scripture so much:

"Cease to regard the Gospel as a mere collection of dry doctrines. Look at it rather as the revelation of a mighty living Being in whose sight you are daily to live. Cease to regard it as a mere set of abstract propositions and abstruse principles and rules. Look at it as the introduction to a glorious personal Friend. This is the kind of Gospel that the apostles preached. They did not go about the world telling men of love and mercy and pardon in the abstract. The leading subject of all their sermons was the loving heart of an actual living Christ. This is the kind of Gospel which is most calculated to promote sanctification and fitness for glory. Nothing, surely, is so likely to prepare us for that heaven where Christ’s personal presence will be all, and that glory where we shall meet Christ face to face, as to realize communion with Christ, as an actual living Person here on earth. There is all the difference in the world between an idea and a person.”

-JC Ryle, Holiness (Webster, NY: Evangelical Press, 2004), 191.

The Bridge

This is a moving video done by a church in our area:

"So you had a bad day"

"The Lord afflicts us at times; but it is always a thousand times less than we deserve, and much less than many of our fellow-creatures are suffering around us. Let us therefore pray for grace to be humble, thankful, and patient."
-John Newton (1725-1807)

The ministry of listening

I've been reminded of this recently. When I compare listening to speaking and think about the qualities of each, I'm much more impressed with the humble and loving nature of listening.

"The first service one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love of God begins in listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God’s love for us that He not only gives us His Word but lends us His ear. So it is His work that we do for our brother when we learn to listen to him."
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), Life Together [1954]

Repentance

It’s bad when you fail morally. It’s worse when you don’t repent.
-Luis Palau (b.1934)

Your salary in real time

Real time account of your earnings

Can't you see what love has done

What does your music glorify?

According to research given at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting, 33% of popular music contain lyrics concerning substance abuse.

Here's a more specific breakdown of their findings:

Rap: 77%
Country: 37%
R&B/Hip-Hop: 20%
Rock: 14%
Pop: 9%

Works don't work

We've been studying the doctrine of justification in my Romans class recently. In chapter 4, we've been looking closely at how works are not the way a person is justified before God.

"There is no Christian in his wits who will dare to adventure the everlasting safety of his soul upon the leaking vessels of his own holiness or services." -Thomas Brooks, A Cabinet of Choice Jewels

Stott on the Church

"Christ’s call to obedience is a call to be different, not conformist. Such a Church—joyful, obedient, loving, and free—will do more than please God: it will attract the world. It is when the Church evidently is the Church, and is living a supernatural life of love by the power of the Holy Spirit, that the world will believe."
-John R. W. Stott (b.1921), “Obeying Christ in a Changing World”

What I'll be taking to camp today...

I'm going on a middle school retreat today, and I can't motivate myself to pack. The only thing I know I want to take is shown in this video below:

Nouwen on Leadership

"The question is not: How many people take you seriously? How much are you going to accomplish? Can you show some results? but: Are you in love with Jesus?"
-Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1996), In the name of Jesus, p. 24

Blog is Back...

The blog has been down for a couple of weeks due to an injury to my computer. This is the first day I've had my computer back, so the blog should be up and running again!