Jesus, priceless Treasure,
Source of purest pleasure,
Truest Friend to me.
Ah, how long in anguish
Shall my spirit languish,
Yearning, Lord, for Thee?
Thou art mine, O Lamb divine!
I will suffer naught to hide Thee,
Naught I ask beside Thee.

In Thine arms I rest me;
Foes who would molest me
Cannot reach me here.
Though the earth be shaking,
Every heart be quaking,
Jesus calms my fear.
Lightnings flash and thunders crash;
Yet, though sin and hell assail me,
Jesus will not fail me.

Satan, I defy thee;
Death, I now decry thee;
Fear, I bid thee cease.
World, thou shalt not harm me
Nor thy threats alarm me
While I sing of peace.
God’s great power guards every hour;
Earth and all its depths adore Him,
Silent bow before Him.

Evil world, I leave thee;
Thou canst not deceive me,
Thine appeal is vain.
Sin that once did bind me,
Get thee far behind me,
Come not forth again.
Past thy hour, O pride and power;
Sinful life, thy bonds I sever,
Leave thee now forever.

Hence, all thought of sadness!
For the Lord of gladness,
Jesus, enters in.
Those who love the Father,
Though the storms may gather,
Still have peace within;
Yea, whatever we here must bear,
Still in Thee lies purest pleasure,
Jesus, priceless Treasure!

Just get me to Jesus

In two different conversations this morning, one with my wife and one with Steve Lammers ..... a theme emerged..... I/We need Jesus!!... and so this quote found traction in my heart. Maybe you'll benefit as well:

Faith may seem a slight thing to some; and they may wonder how salvation can flow from believing. Hence they try to magnify it, to adorn it, to add to it, in order that it may appear some great thing, something worthy of having salvation as its reward. In so doing, they are actually transforming faith into a work, and introducing salvation by works, under the name of faith. They show that they understand neither the nature nor the office of faith. It saves, simply by handing us over to the Saviour. It saves, not on account of the good works which flow from it, not on account of the love which it kindles, not on account of the repentance which it produces, but solely because it connects us with the Saving One. Its saving efficacy does not lie in its connection with righteousness and holiness, but entirely in its connection with the Righteous and Holy One … --Horatius Bonar, 1800's

a wedding & marriage prayer

O God, to those who here profess their vows of lifelong love, Grant joy and peace; their marriage bless with gladness from above.

Christ, grant that neither grief nor place nor life nor death may part

Those who, enjoying your sweet grace, in You are one in heart.

Spirit of God, whom we adore: preserve, protect, defend,

Increase, rekindle, and restore their love till life shall end.

Charles price and charles Wesley, music Caithness

I heard the voice of, Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light
Look unto me thy morn’ shall rise,
And all thy days be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found, In Him my star, my sun
And in that light of, life I’ll walk,
Till pilgrim days are done --Bonar.... hymn here

o by the way.... spurgeon this morning is incredible....

"Lord, here is my heart, my poor heart. Take it just as it is, and make it all that You would have it to be; cast it into Your mold, and let it receive and reflect Your image, Son of God, inexpressibly precious Jesus, Savior of sinners, Redeemer of my never dying soul!"

Jesus is the Fountain, yes, the Ocean, of living waters. We draw supplies from His infinite, inexhaustible fulness. "Lord, impart to me more of Yourself. Fill this heart with Your love, engrave Your image there, and let me not lose sight of You for one small moment."

Jesus is all in all to me. --Mary Winslow

Start Christmas BEFORE thanksgiving

Tomorrow night, Thursday November 15, you can help a child experience a wonderful Christmas present. There is a wrapping party to prepare the shoeboxes that will be assembled (i.e. stuffed) on Sunday morning.
details here

The Renewing Grace of Jesus

When worn with sickness, oft hast Thou
With health renewed my face;
And, when in sins and sorrows sunk,
Revived my soul with grace.

--When All Thy Mercies, O My God

The rule has been disproved
The stone it has been moved
The grave is now a groove
All debts are removed
Oh can’t you see what love has done? --U2, Window in the Skies

“Once you have accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines should be deliberately held before you mind every day. That is why daily praying, and Scripture reading and church going are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed…if you examined one hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?” C S Lewis, Mere Christianity

Hard-boiled Sinners

Martin Luther was concerned about a friend of his who felt like he had to get his life put together before he could come to church. Luther's response in 1544 screams loud and clear even today:
"My faithful request and admonition is that you join our company and associate with us who are real, great and hard-boiled sinners. You must by no means make Christ to seem paltry and trifling to us as though He could be our helper only when we want to be rid from imaginary, nominal and childish sins. No, no! That would not be good for us. He must rather be a savior and redeemer from real, great, grievous, and damnable transgressions and iniquities…"

"let the good times roll in case God doesn't show"

.... the following is either an advertisement for engaging popular culture with your children OR
an advertisement against same

This morning i heard my 6 yr old singing this line
let the good times roll In case God doesn't show

turns out w/ a little help from google that the song is by Fall out boy and called Thnks Fr Th Mmrs
Anywho... it struck me that this line is akin to saying

Stuff your face if the caterers don't show
Dance around if the band doesn't show
Throw me a pass if the football can't be found
Turn on the TV since the electricity is out.

It felt oxymoronic. And this is the way I spoke with my son.... there is no deeper conviction i have (see Hebrews 11 and acct of Moses' life) than that it if God "doesn't show (up)" then it is impossible to have a good time.
But in further reflection, perhaps this line is more like what Paul said
If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” What do you think?

Men's Road-trip, to Biloxi for Katrina relief

Here's all the info... some of it repeated... put together in the most spastic way I can....We leave Wed 7th at5pm and return Sunday the 11th around 1pm. The Gators have conveniently scheduled there game against Spurrier for Sat nite so that we can--after a hard days work--enjoy the game together over dinner.
We only need to bring towels, sheets and pillows. They provide a place to sleep and shower, food including water and power aide on the job.

We will be guided by 7 Rivers Pres of Crystal River. They've worked this area monthly for 2 years.

We will be leaving from the church house on Wednesday at 5:00 pm (try to be there at 4:45 pm)
We will head back Sunday morning and hope to be home around 1:00 pm
Please bring twin sheets, pillow, towel and blanket
Bring $90.00 for food and we will be sharing gas expense
Bring work clothes and basic hand tools if you have them
Bring clothes to go out to watch the game in

Basic schedule:
Wednesday: drive
Thursday & Friday: work all day & do some friendship-building, worship & bible study in evening
Saturday: work all day & watch Gator game while out at dinner
Sunday: worship together & hit the road pretty early

Who's going?

Rob Pendley,John Gallagher, Mike Marshall, Frank Stankunas, Frank Matthews, Ken French

"I will pour water upon him that is thirsty."

When a believer has fallen into a low, sad state of feeling, he often tries to lift himself out of it by chastening himself with dark and doleful fears. Such is not the way to rise from the dust, but to continue in it. As well chain the eagle's wing to make it mount, as doubt in order to increase our grace. It is not the law, but the gospel which saves the seeking soul at first; and it is not a legal bondage, but gospel liberty which can restore the fainting believer afterwards. Slavish fear brings not back the backslider to God, but the sweet wooings of love allure him to Jesus' bosom. Are you this morning thirsting for the living God, and unhappy because you cannot find him to the delight of your heart? Have you lost the joy of faith, and is this your prayer, "Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation"? Are you conscious also that you are barren, like the dry ground; that you are not bringing forth the fruit unto God which He has a right to expect of you; that you are not so useful in the Church, or in the world, as your heart desires to be? Then here is exactly the promise which you need, "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty." You shall receive the grace you so much require, and you shall have it to the utmost reach of your needs. Water refreshes the thirsty: you shall be refreshed; your desires shall be gratified. Water quickens sleeping vegetable life: your life shall be quickened by fresh grace. Water swells the buds and makes the fruits ripen; you shall have fructifying grace: you shall be made fruitful in the ways of God. Whatever good quality there is in divine grace, you shall enjoy it to the full. All the riches of divine grace you shall receive in plenty; you shall be as it were drenched with it: and as sometimes the meadows become flooded by the bursting rivers, and the fields are turned into pools, so shall you be--the thirsty land shall be springs of water. --Spurgeon, Morning & Evening Devotionals, morning for today, November 6

"I will pour water upon him that is thirsty." — Isaiah 44:3

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow'r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain.
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain. --William Cowper

“Sin is the sickness of the soul. It is deforming, weakening, disquieting, wasting, killing, but blessed be God, not incurable. Jesus Christ is the great Physician of souls. Wise and good men should be as physicians to all about them; Christ was so. Sin-sick souls have need of this Physician, for their disease is dangerous; nature will not help itself; no man can help us; such need have we of Christ that we are undone, eternally undone, without him. There are multitudes who fancy themselves to be sound and whole, who think they have no need of Christ, but that they can do for themselves well enough without him…Christ came not with an expectation of succeeding among the ‘righteous’, those who conceit themselves so, and therefore will sooner be sick of their Savior than sick of their sins, but among the convinced humble sinners; to them Christ will come, for to them he will be welcome.” Matthew Henry, Commentary on Matthew 9

Sex, Intimacy, and the Gospel

From time to time i like to post solid resources. Here are some good ones, particularly for the fellas... but also for ladies trying to support a man or raise a son.

• A Song of Joy: Sexual Intimacy in Marriage
  C.J. Mahaney (mp3)
• Sex, Romance and the Glory of God (Part 1)
  C.J. Mahaney (mp3)
• Sex, Romance and the Glory of God (Part 2)
  C.J. Mahaney (mp3)
• A Clean Heart, A Clean Mind: Restoring Sexual Purity in the Church
  H. Schaumburg (mp3)
• Men's Bible Study: Wise Sex (Part 1)
  Jay Sklar
• Men's Bible Study: Wise Sex (Part 2)
  Jay Sklar
• Sexual Purity and the Circumcision of the Heart
  Hans Bayer (mp3)
• Sexual Character - Treating Younger Women as Sisters With Absolute Purity
  Mark Dalbey (mp3) - 1 Timothy 5:1-2
• A Clean Heart, A Clean Mind: Restoring Sexual Purity in the Life of the Church
  Harry Schaumburg (mp3) - 1 Corinthians 5:1-8
• The Gospel and Sexual Sanity
  Scotty Smith (mp3) - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
• Sex and the Resurrection
  Richard Winter (mp3) - 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
• Be Still, O Wandering Eye - Keeping From Sexual Sin
  Dan Doriani (mp3) - Matthew 5:27-32

Owen quotes

Several asked about the John Owen quote. Here's one of them:

"God’s love is like Himself- it is equal and constant. And even the things which appear to show that God has changed His mind about us proceed from His love for us. We are so different- our love changes, yet God’s love is always the same.

Some may say.... ‘This comes nigh to that blasphemy, that God loves his people in their sinning as will as in their strictest obedience; and, if so, who will care to serve Him more, or to walk with Him unto well-pleasing?’ ‘But will not this encourage sin?’

He never tasted of the love of God that can seriously make this objection.” -John Owen.... more complete quote here

in the past year 2 guys (Kelly Kapic & Justin Taylor) have done amazing new re-edits of someof John Owen's work....

Communion with the Triune God & Overcoming Sin & Temptation .... at $15 they make excellent Christmas gifts

The compassion of Jesus

Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. --The Gospel of St. Matthew

Give Me Christ, or Else I Die

Gracious Lord, incline they ear; My requests vouchsafe to hear;
Hear my never-ceasing cry; Give me Christ, or else I die.

Wealth and honor I disdain, earthly comforts, Lord are vain;
These can never satisfy: Give me Christ, or else I die.

All unholy and unclean, I am nothing but sin;
On thy mercy I rely; Give me Christ, or else I die.

Thou dost freely save the lost; In they grace alone I trust.
With my earnest suit comply; Give me Christ, or else I die.

Thou dost promise to forgive, all who in they Son believe;
Lord, I know thou cannot lie; Give me Christ or else I die.

Words - William Hammond, 1719-1783

"Oh, that's easy. It's grace."

It is to the prodigals … that the memory of their Father's house comes back. If the son had lived economically he would never have thought of returning.
—Simone Weil

During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world were discussing whether any one belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. "What's the rumpus about?" he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity's unique contribution among world religions. In his forthright manner Lewis responded, "Oh, that's easy. It's grace." --from Phil Yancey