Spread His Fame

Is this a Gregorian chant for the 21st century? I especially like the lines:

Lord of all continents,
Source of all consciousness,
His compliments are the consequence of His accomplishments
Every sphere of life, He’s the Lord of it
And every other power is either fraudulent or subordinate.

Shai Linne with "Spread His Fame." from Grace EV Free on Vimeo.

Dual Citizens by Jason Stellman

Dual Citizens - by Jason Stellman, Part 1 of 2 from Ligonier Ministries on Vimeo.

Dual Citizens - by Jason Stellman, Part 2 of 2 from Ligonier Ministries on Vimeo.

Suffering well: Faith tested by pastor's cancer

The Associated Press released an article today on Matt Chandler, a young pastor in Texas who is suffering with brain cancer.

HT: Between Two Worlds

The Lord's Day

When we think of the Sabbath, our minds often go back to ancient Israel who was given the commandment to honor the Sabbath and to keep it holy. However, this pattern of six and one goes back all the way to creation, where God worked for six days and rested on the seventh.

God could have made man without any need for rest, but he didn’t. Man is a creature who must rest. Every day man needs sleep, and as God’s image bearer man is to reflect the same pattern of work and rest in creation; the pattern of six and one. Six days in a week God has given us to work and to accomplish our tasks, but one day is to be set aside for rest, worship, and focus upon our God. The Hebrew word for Sabbath means to cease or to pause.

Israel worked six days and rested on the seventh, but the resurrection of Christ brought about a monumental change. As the Princeton theologian B.B. Warfield wrote, “Christ took the Sabbath into the grave with him and brought the Lord’s Day out.”

Christians begin the week with rest. Not only is this rest a physical rest but it is a resting in what God has provided in Christ. Christ is our rest, it is he who is our Sabbath, and those who are in him have in a sense already entered their rest though they await the greater rest God will give in the age to come. There remains a rest for the people of God.

Christian, have your rest today. Rest from your sins in the sweet mercies of Jesus Christ. Today, let your mind cease from all you need to accomplish, and find rest in what Christ has accomplished for you.

Hanging in There

After back to back national titles the Florida Gator men's basketball team has failed to make the big dance for the past two years, being left out of the NCAA tournament. Will they miss the cut three years in a row? Maybe, but as of now they are hanging in there by a thread. At the end of the day wins are matter most and two of those wins have come via a Chandler Parsons buzzer-beater, one from 70 feet.

A Fallen Sparrow

I guess it just flew right into the side of the house. On the way out to dinner this evening, the boys and I noticed something on the ground, something that was not a part of the landscape. A dead sparrow lay there on the ground and we wondered how it got there. A few minutes later Christen was able to help us put the pieces together when she recalled hearing an unexplained "thump" outside the kitchen early this morning. Camdyn and Cayde were amazed to see wildlife up close and personal even if it was just a dead sparrow. We disposed of the bird and quickly headed out for some barbecue with some close friends, but this occasion provided great conversation for us as a family. My mind quickly ran to the following passage of Scripture:

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. Not one. Not even the one that falls two millenia later in Southeast Georgia when flying into someone's home. God is sovereign, absolutely sovereign, and he governs the universe by his providence.1 Even the smallest of details in the smallest of creatures are all governed by the Sovereign Lord. The very hairs of our heads are numbered, Jesus says.

What do we gather from this? Comfort. It is not comforting to know that God is sovereign; it is comforting to know that God is good in his sovereignty. It is comforting to know what Jesus says, that we are not to fear for we are of more value than many sparrows. What freedom we have in this knowledge of God's sovereign goodness! The King who upholds all things cares for us. We know this, not because of a dead bird, but because of a dead Son. There was never a more heinous crime than the murder of the Son of God, yet the Father decreed the slaughter of Jesus and he did so for our sake in order to reconcile us to himself.

1. Q. 11. What are God’s works of providence?
A. God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.

The New Ipad (funny)

The iPad - watch more funny videos

Sweet and Bitter

The blessed union of Christian marriage. The picture of Christ and his Church. Great food. Great location on the water. Great Music. My five year old "getting down" on the dance floor. Adults acting in ways that aren't quite normal for them because of the special occasion. Great fun.

Brandon and Amy's wedding last Friday had everything, well almost. It was pretty clear to us that something, better someone, was missing from the wedding party. Cecil, Brandon's grandfather (also grandfather of my wife and great grandfather of my children), was admitted to the hospital on the day of the wedding because of suffering a mild stroke. The night before he walked down the aisle with everyone else during the rehearsal and stood in his proper place with the other groomsmen, but his place was vacant on the night of the wedding. As enjoyable as the occasion was, it was not perfect. Enjoying the event then became a great challenge, for no one knew at the time the extent of Cecil's problems.

We were reminded Friday Night of the sweet and bitter taste of life and death. Fortunately for Cecil, he was able to come home five days later and return to life as usual for an 84 year old man, whatever that may mean.

This life is full of its joys and disappointments. Many gathered to enjoy a wedding ceremony, and even more so a wedding reception. What a reminder this was to the blessings of life we have been given. Even our Lord attended at least one wedding, but not only did he attend, he sweetened the occasion with the water that was made wine. By the extension of God's common grace to all men, Christian or not, we delight ourselves in the joys of life when we are able to witness events like the joining of man and woman in marriage or the birth of a new child. But again, nothing is ever perfect here. Do you remember that we were not able to partake of the tree of life but we suffer from the curse of God because of our disobedience to his revealed command? If it weren't for reminders such as Cecil's absence Friday night we may not remember. In God's good providence we enjoyed Brandon and Amy's wedding, but also in God's good providence we suffered the absence of Brandon's grandfather. Perhaps it was for this very reason, that we are prone to look for Heaven on earth and to forget the realities of suffering and death brought upon us because of our own sin. No matter how much time and planning we invest, our most joyful events fall short of complete satisfaction and often disappoint us. God often uses suffering to remind us of the fading character of this life and to re-focus our vision upon him and his promises to us in the gospel.

"Lord, disappoint us with everything but Thine Own Self."

Charles Spurgeon writes of life on earth contrasted with life in Heaven:

Here, my best joys bear “mortal” on their brow;
My fair flowers fade;
my dainty cups are drained to dregs;
my sweetest birds fall before Death’s arrows;
my most pleasant days are shadowed into nights;
and the flood tides of my bliss subside into ebbs of sorrow.

“But there,” he writes, “everything is immortal”:

The harp remains in tune,
the crown unfading,
the eye undimmed,
the voice unfaltering,
the heart unwavering;
and the immortal being is wholly absorbed in infinite delight.

HT: Justin Taylor

What is the White Horse Inn?

The White Horse recently celebrated 20 years of broadcasting Gospel-centered conversation. If you have never listened and are curious about the program, you can learn more by listening to the 20th anniversary specials.

20th anniversary special part 1

20th anniversary special part 2

New Basketball League - "Whites Only"

This is not a joke, it's for real. Read Story. The All American Basketball Alliance is set to tip off in June. Players must have been born in the United States to Caucasian parents.


For the annual slam dunk contest the rim will be set at 7'.
(Ok, now that really is a joke)