The Big Move June 24, 2008
Posted by Jeremy in life update.2 comments
I’ve been spending the last several days loading a uhaul, cleaning our apartment, driving through two states, unloading a uhaul, and beginning to unpack all our stuff in our new house. For those of you that don’t know, my wife, son, and I moved from our apartment in Newport News Virginia to a house in Boone North Carolina yesterday. I am going to be the staff worker for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Appalachian State University and Lees Mcrae. It has been a crazy past few days….we are exhausted from the lack of sleep and just being overwhelmed with the whole moving process. But we are happy to be done with most of the moving, now we just how to unpack our lives. I don’t know what we would have done without all the help we got from everyone at By Grace who helped us load the uhaul. The meals, hands, prayers, time, and
Let me just say how awesome our last week was in Newport News. The time I got to spend on Wednesday and Friday night with several of the guys I’ve known since my freshman year of college (sharing stories, black & milds, etc.). The time Tracy got with several of her friends that she has come to care so much about while living in NN. All in all, we could not have asked for anything more. We truly felt loved and cared for by our community. It’s crazy to think that we are no longer there. It will definitely take a little while to get adjusted and used to not being in the News.
Christ and the Sabbath (part 2) June 15, 2008
Posted by Jeremy in Christ and Sabbath, Thoughts and Theology.add a comment
continued from my previous post….if you haven’t read it you should check it out before reading this one. This answers question 1 posed in that post. Each Sunday I will post the next question that is asked in that post.
What does this verse teach us about the 4th Commandment?
Leviticus 23:3 begins with an exhortation to work 6 days a week. God commanded His people to honor Him with their time by being diligent in their labors for 6 days and then setting apart the 7th day to be a Sabbath. God established this pattern at creation. He marked out 6 days creating and filling the heavens and earth, doing His marvelous work of speaking the world into existence, forming man out the dust of the ground, breathing life into him and creating woman out of man. Then, on the 7th day, He rested from His work.
Following this pattern from creation, man was to keep track of time and take time to do fruitful labor and to regularly in the framework of a week, stop and rest. Notice this verse calls this “a solemn rest.” In Hebrew the word “Sabbath” comes from a root meaning “cease” or “rest.” That word occurs twice here in this verse, grammatically tied together to intensify the noun. Literally it is a rest of rest—a Sabbath of Sabbath. The NKJV conveys the intent of the grammar here by calling it a “Sabbath or solemn rest.” In other words this was rest with a purpose and holy intention. The verse states, “You shall do no work on it.” It is a day to cease from work. But this was not a day to cease from work in order to be idle or lazy or carefree—this was a day to cease from work in order to give time to remembering the works and splendor of God and worshiping and delighting in Him.
Notice also that worship on this day is not described as in terms of just private worship or family worship—it is called a “holy convocation.” That is—a gathered assembly of the people of God for the purpose of worshipping Him. Worship on this day was to be corporate.
The idea that one could honor the Sabbath Day by going off somewhere by himself or just spending time with immediate family would have been utterly foreign in Old Testament Israel. This was a day to gather with the people of God and amplify His praise by sharing and hearing testimony with others of what God is doing in midst of His own. The Sabbath is a day for gathering and joining voices—a day for corporate worship.
This is the testimony of the psalms. Consider the words of David:
Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together (Psalm 34:3).He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD (Psalm 40:3).I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O LORD, You Yourself know.
I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly (Psalm 40:9–10).I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You (Psalm 22:22).Praise the LORD!
I will praise the LORD with my whole heart,
In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation (Psalm 111:1).
We could go on and on with verses illustrating this point (Psalm 35:17–18, 27–28; 107:31–32; 149:1–2; etc.). The Sabbath is a day to join in and share in the lives of one another. We need this!
Notice also in Leviticus 23:3, the Sabbath is to be a day focused on the LORD. It is a Sabbath of the LORD. It is not a day we can call our own, not a day we should treat like other days and fill with our own agendas. The day is His and He has given it to His people as a stewardship and commandment for our good and for His glory.
The verse concludes with the phrase “in all your dwellings.” This was to be observed wherever God’s people lived, in every household. This is what the verse says concerning the Sabbath.
Valley of Vision June 14, 2008
Posted by Jeremy in Thoughts and Theology, puritan prayers, valley of vision.add a comment
Contentment from Valley of Vision
Heavenly Father, if I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty, make my heart prize Thy love, know it, be constrained by it, though I be denied all blessings. It is Thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants, for by these trials I see my sins, and desire severance from them. Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations, if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil, and be delivered from it with gratitude to Thee, acknowledging this as the highest testimony of Thy love.
When thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul instead of sin He became more dear to me than sin had formerly been; His kindly rule replaced sin’s tyranny. Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued I must not only labour to overcome it, but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it, and He must become to me more than vile lust had been; that His sweetness, power, life may be there. Thus I must seek a grace from Him contrary to sin, but must not claim it apart from Himself.
When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me by showing me that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch, but in Christ I am reconciled and live; that in myself I find insufficiency and no rest, but in Christ there is satisfaction and peace; that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good, but in Christ I have ability to do all things. Though now I have His graces in part, I shall shortly have them perfectly in that state where Thou wilt show Thyself fully reconciled, and alone sufficient, efficient, loving me completely, with sin abolished. O Lord, hasten that day.
Wartime Lifestyles June 8, 2008
Posted by Jeremy in John Piper, Thoughts and Theology.add a comment
Valley of Vision June 7, 2008
Posted by Jeremy in Thoughts and Theology, puritan prayers, valley of vision.1 comment so far
Openness from Valley of Vision
Lord of immortality, before whom angels bow and archangels veil their faces, enable me to serve Thee with reverence and godly fear. Thou who art Spirit and requirest truth in the inward parts, help me to worship Thee in spirit and in truth. Thou who art righteous, let me not harbour sin in my heart, or indulge a worldly temper, or seek satisfaction in things that perish.
I hasten towards an hour when earthly pursuits and possessions will appear vain, when it will be indifferent whether I have been rich or poor, successful or disappointed, admired or despised. But it will be of eternal moment that I have mourned for sin, hungered and thirsted after righteousness, loved the Lord Jesus in sincerity, gloried in His cross. May these objects engross my chief solicitude! Produce in me those principles and dispositions that make Thy service perfect freedom.
Expel from my mind all sinful fear and shame, so that with firmness and courage I may confess the Redeemer before men, go forth with Him hearing His reproach, be zealous with His knowledge, be filled with His wisdom, walk with His circumspection, ask counsel of Him in all things, repair to the Scriptures for His orders, stay my mind on His peace, knowing that nothing can befall me without His permission, appointment and administration.
Limited Atonement? June 5, 2008
Posted by Jeremy in TULIP, Thoughts and Theology.3 comments
This is an excerpt from the video Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism. It’s a great DVD if you are interested in ordering it you can get it from Monergism. I recommend checking it out.
Holiness June 3, 2008
Posted by Jeremy in Holiness, J.C. Ryle, Thoughts and Theology.add a comment
“Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14).
The text which heads this page opens up a subject of deep importance. That subject is practical holiness. It suggests a question which demands the attention of all professing Christians: are we holy? Shall we see the Lord?
That question can never be out of season. The wise man tells us, “There is . . . a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Eccl. 3:4, 7); but there is no time, no, not a day, in which a man ought not to be holy. Are we?
That question concerns all ranks and conditions of men. Some are rich and some are poor, some learned and some unlearned, some masters and some servants; but there is no rank or condition in life in which a man ought not to be holy. Are we?
I ask to be heard today about this question. How stands the account between our souls and God? In this hurrying, bustling world, let us stand still for a few minutes and consider the matter of holiness. I believe I might have chosen a subject more popular and pleasant. I am sure I might have found one more easy to handle. But I feel deeply I could not have chosen one more seasonable and more profitable to our souls. It is a solemn thing to hear the Word of God saying, “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14).
A man may go great lengths and yet never reach true holiness. It is not knowledge—Balaam had that; nor great profession—Judas Iscariot had that; nor doing many things—Herod had that; nor zeal for certain matters in religion—Jehu had that; nor morality and outward respectability of conduct—the young ruler had that; nor taking pleasure in hearing preachers—the Jews in Ezekiel’s time had that; nor keeping company with godly people—Joab and Gehazi and Demas had that. Yet none of these were holy! These things alone are not holiness. A man may have any one of them and yet never see the Lord.
~Holiness by J.C. Ryle
So what is true practical holiness?
Christ and the Sabbath (part 1) June 1, 2008
Posted by Jeremy in Christ and Sabbath, Thoughts and Theology.add a comment
Christ and the Sabbath by Ken Puls
from the Founders Journal – Spring 2007
Leviticus is a book of law. Almost the entire book is made up of regulations dictated by God to Moses. It begins with the words, “Now the LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying…” And then it moves directly to regulations concerning the sacrifices. Chapter by chapter this book reveals to us the pervasiveness of the law in all its detail and precision and rigor. It was committed to the tribe of Levi, who had the responsibility in the Old Testament for caring for the Temple, leading in worship and teaching the people of God the law of God. Leviticus is a manual written down for Israel to teach them how to live and serve and obey a holy God.
Leviticus is a book of law, but it is also a book rich with the gospel. Leviticus speaks of Christ. Christ is proclaimed all through the Old Testament. In Luke 24:44 Jesus told His disciples, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
In Leviticus 23 God gave Moses an outline of the feasts and festivals that were to shape the yearly calendar of the nation of Israel. The festivals are part of the ceremonial law in the Old Testament that includes the temple and sacrifices—that part of the law that applies the first four of the Ten Commandments to Israel’s worship of God. Through the feasts and festivals God reminded Israel of the great works He had done for them as their Provider and Creator, and He pointed them to the greater work He would accomplish in sending Christ as Messiah and Redeemer.
God instructs Moses in the first two verses of Leviticus 23 to speak to the children of Israel and proclaim to them, “The feasts of the LORD.” But before Moses introduces the list of feasts beginning in verse 4, he inserts a declaration of the 4th commandment in verse 3:
Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings (Leviticus 23:3).
As we focus this verse in the context of this passage, we need to ask five questions:
1) What does this verse teach us about the 4th Commandment?
2) Why is the Sabbath Commandment here in this passage?
3) How has Christ fulfilled the Sabbath?
4) In light of Christ’s fulfillment of the Sabbath and the presence of the 4th Commandment here in this passage, is the Sabbath part of the Old Covenant that has “grown old and vanished away” (Hebrews 8:13)?
5) In light of Christ’s fulfillment of the Sabbath, do we have an obligation to the Sabbath Commandment as believers in Christ?
