Draw God

Later I would learn that Uccello painted the Battle of San Romano with tempera on wood panel in 1435, a scene recounting the victory of the Florentines over the Sienese.

But walking through the Louvre that day I didn’t know any of that. Frankly, the painting’s spirited clash of metal, charging horses, flapping banners appealed little to my pastoral, peace-loving sensibilities. But it was that boy sitting there….

If it hadn’t been for that cross-legged boy sitting on the floor of the gallery, a few feet from this masterpiece that purportedly once hung in Napoleon’s bathroom, I likely wouldn’t have given the work more than a passing glance.

But when I realized what this child attempted in the circling of tourists and foreign languages and the clicking of shutters, I lingered long, intrigued.

What I witnessed brushed me, dyed me, soaked into the fabric of me.

Actually, the young boy didn’t gaze on Uccello’s painting either. I never saw him look directly at it. Instead, this boy of perhaps ten turned slightly to peer at the canvas beside him. An artist had propped up an easel in front of Uccello’s Battle of San Romano, carefully dipped her brush into the palette atop a stool, and painstakingly copied every stroke of Uccello’s unto her canvas.

And this boy copied every stroke of hers.

By Ann Voscamp

Read the rest here.

Keep My Heart

Father, you know the secret thoughts of my heart;
You know how easily from your truth I part.
Keep my heart focused on you, I pray,
And still in your presence throughout each day.
Let my heart not be troubled by cares and worry,
But rather be at rest and mindful of eternal glory.
Show me how to reject discontent and pride,
And in your love and grace continually abide.
Oh, Lord, be keeper of my heart!
Take it today, each and every part,
That the issues of my life may flow from you,
And your precious Spirit season all I do.

Found here.

Life in the Midst of Mess

Chapter One of The Grace of Catastrophe by Jan Winebrenner (2005) appears by permission of Moody Publishers.

God is what He is in Himself. He does not become what we believe. 'I Am that I AM.' We are on safe ground only when we know what kind of God He is and adjust our entire being to that holy concept.
A. W. Tozer

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
Ephesians 1:18-19

Desperation makes us do strange things—things like sit up all night in a cheap motel and read the Bible out loud.

It’s not something I’d usually do after a day on the road. On my best day, I’d probably watch a little TV, read a novel, then turn out the lights, and get to sleep early.

But let a catastrophe strike, and God has my attention.

The rest is here.

We Can't Even Imagine!

(John Newton, "The present and future rest of true believers")

Our most enlarged ideas of our future glory, are faint and imperfect. Who can describe or conceive the happiness of heaven? It will be as unlike as possible--to this wilderness of sin and sorrow where we are now confined. Here on earth, we are in a warfare--but then we shall enter into perfect rest. We now cry out, "O that I had wings like a dove! For then would I flee away and be at REST." (Psalm 55:6)

Heaven will be a rest from all SIN. No 'unclean thing' shall ever defile or disturb us forever! We shall be free from all indwelling sin. This alone would be worth dying for! Indwelling sin is a burden under which all the redeemed must groan, while they sojourn in the body.

And those who are most spiritual--are most deeply affected with shame, humiliation, and grief, on account of their sins--because they have the clearest views of the holiness of God, the spirituality of His law, the love of Christ, and the deceitfulness of their own hearts! Therefore the Apostle Paul, though perhaps in grace and talents, in zeal and usefulness, was distinguished above all saints--accounted himself the 'chief of sinners,' (1 Timothy 1:15) 'less than the least of all saints,' (Ephesians 3:8) and cried out under the disparity he felt between what he actually was--and what he desired to be, "O wretched man that I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin!" (Romans 7:24)

But we shall not carry this burden of sin beyond the grave. The hour of death shall free us from our inbred enemies (the inseparable attendants of this frail perishing nature) which now trouble us, and we shall see them no more forever!

Heaven will also be a rest from all outward AFFLICTIONS, which, though necessary, and, under the influence of Divine grace, are profitable--yet they are grievous to bear. But in heaven, they will no more be necessary. Where there is no sin--there shall be no sorrow. Then, "God will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever!" (Revelation 21:4)

Heaven will also be a rest from SATAN'S TEMPTATIONS. How busy is this adversary of God and man--what various arts and schemes he employs! What surprising force, what constant assiduity does he employ to ensnare, distress, and terrify those who by grace have escaped from his servitude! He says, like Pharaoh of old, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will destroy!" (Exodus 15:9) He follows them to the last stage of life--but he can follow them no farther. The moment of their departure out of the body--shall place them beyond his reach forever!

Heaven will also be a rest from UNSATISFIED DESIRES. Here on earth, the more we drink--the more we thirst. But in heaven, our highest wishes shall be crowned and exceeded! We shall rest in full communion with Him whom we love; we shall no more complain of interruptions and imperfections, and a careless heart.

Here on earth--we obtain a little glimpse of His presence, when He brings us into His banqueting-house, and spreads His banner of love over us! And how gladly would we remain in such a desirable frame! How unwilling are we to 'come down' from the mount! But these pleasing and holy seasons are quickly ended, and often give place to some sudden unexpected trial, which robs us of all that sweetness in which we lately rejoiced. But when we ascend the holy hill of God above--we shall never again 'come down'! We shall be forever with the Lord, never offend Him, and never be separated from Him again! "I will see Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be fully satisfied with Your presence!" (Psalm 17:15)

Here on earth--we find a mixture of evil in our most holy moments! When we approach nearest to God, we have the liveliest sense of our defilement, and how much we fall short in every branch of duty, and in every temper of our hearts. But when we shall see Jesus as He is--we shall be fully transformed into His image, and be perfectly like Him!

"Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when He comes--we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is!" 1 John 3:2

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined--what God has prepared for those who love Him!" 1 Corinthians 2:9

A Tribute to My Dad

Make a Smilebox greeting

It's Good Friday

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

Today is Good Friday. How can the worst day in human history be described as good? This is the day that Our Lord was crucified. It is the day he hung on the cross for all our sins. It is the day of darkness at noon.

The story of the last days of Jesus' ministry should be familiar to all. Knowing he would be killed, our Lord entered Jerusalem on the back of a colt. He was hailed by the multitudes, who lay their cloaks in his path, who spread palm fronds before him. "Hosanna to the Son of David," they cried. How quickly that would all change.

When Jesus was betrayed by a kiss, . . . more

from Tony Perkins' Washington Update

Website © 2009 Family Research Council

Address: 801 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001Toll-free: 1-800/225-4008

Sunday

I'm thinking about Sunday. Resurrection Day. I'm looking ahead. Can't wait, really. Here's what's ringing:

CROWN HIM WITH MANY CROWNS

Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own!
Awake, my soul and sing
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity.

Crown Him the Lord of life,
Who triumphed o’er the grave,
And rose victorious through the strife
For those He came to save.
His glories now we sing,
Who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring
And lives that death may die.

Crown Him the Lord of Lords,
Who over all doth reign,
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word
For ransomed sinners slain
Now lives in realms of light
Where saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night,
Their God, Redeemer, King.

Crown Him the Lord of heaven,
Enthroned in worlds above;
Crown Him the King to whom is given
The wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns
As thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns
For He is King of all.

Text: Matthew Bridges, 1851
Tune: DIADEMATA, George J. Elvey, 1868

Exalting the "Main Thing"

Never Let the Gospel Get Smaller

March 17, 2009
By: John Piper

Here is a simple exhortation that I have been trying to implement in our family:

Seek to see and feel the gospel as bigger as years go by rather than smaller.
Our temptation is to think that the gospel is for beginners and then we go on to greater things. But the real challenge is to see the gospel as the greatest thing—and getting greater all the time.

The Gospel gets bigger when, in your heart,

grace gets bigger;
Christ gets greater;
his death gets more wonderful;
his resurrection gets more astonishing;
the work of the Spirit gets mightier;
the power of the gospel gets more pervasive;
its global extent gets wider;
your own sin gets uglier;
the devil gets more evil;
the gospel's roots in eternity go deeper;
its connections with everything in the Bible and in the world get stronger;
and the magnitude of its celebration in eternity gets louder.

So keep this in mind: Never let the gospel get smaller in your heart.

Pray that it won’t.
Read solid books on it.
Sing about it.
Tell someone about it who is ignorant or unsure about it.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel....

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received:

that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,

that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

(1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

The Cross and Criticism

by Dr. Alfred J. Poirier, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Peacemaker Ministries


On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger and its crew embarked on a mission to broaden educational horizons and promote the advancement of scientific knowledge. The most outstanding objective of the Challenger 51-L mission was the delivery of educational lessons from space by teacher Christa McAuliffe. A lesson was, indeed, delivered, but not one which anyone expected.

Just 75 seconds after liftoff, tragedy struck. Before a watching world the shuttle suddenly erupted overhead, disintegrating the cabin along with its crew. The debris of metal, blood and bones plummeted to earth, along with our nation's glory.

What had gone wrong? That was the pressing question everyone asked. As teams of researchers examined the wreckage, the specific cause was soon found. The problem was with the O-rings (circular rubber seals), which had been designed to fit snugly into the joints of the booster engine sections. Evidently, the O-rings had become defective under adverse conditions, and the resulting mechanical failure led to the tragedy. Was that the whole story?

The truth eventually got out. The New York Times put it frankly: the ultimate cause of the space shuttle disaster was pride. A group of top managers failed to listen carefully to the warnings, advice and criticisms given by those down the line who were concerned about the operational reliability of certain parts of the booster engine under conditions of abnormal stress. Just think: heeding criticism could have saved seven human lives.

As a pastor, church leader, and lecturer for Peacemaker Ministries, I am blessed with the opportunity to minister to people and congregations in conflict. Among the many things I've come to learn is the dominant role that giving and taking criticism has in exacerbating conflict. Yet, even more, I've learned that the remedy wonderfully provided by God requires us to return to the cross of Christ. For our present purposes, I want us to look at the problem of taking criticism.

The rest is here.

This article originally appeared in the Spring 1999 issue of The Journal of Biblical Counseling, (Vol. 17, No. 3). It is also available in booklet form.

God's People Have Work to Do

More Americans say they have no religion
By RACHEL ZOLL
AP Religion Writer
Mon Mar 9

A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.

Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.

Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no religion, at 34 percent. Still, the study found that the numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state.

"No other religious bloc has kept such a pace in every state," the study's authors said.

In the Northeast, self-identified Catholics made up 36 percent of adults last year, down from 43 percent in 1990. At the same time, however, Catholics grew to about one-third of the adult population in California and Texas, and one-quarter of Floridians, largely due to Latino immigration, according to the research.

Nationally, Catholics remain the largest religious group, with 57 million people saying they belong to the church. The tradition gained 11 million followers since 1990, but its share of the population fell by about a percentage point to 25 percent.

Christians who aren't Catholic also are a declining segment of the country.

In 2008, Christians comprised 76 percent of U.S. adults, compared to about 77 percent in 2001 and about 86 percent in 1990. Researchers said the dwindling ranks of mainline Protestants, including Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians, largely explains the shift. Over the last seven years, mainline Protestants dropped from just over 17 percent to 12.9 percent of the population.

The current survey, being released Monday, found traditional organized religion playing less of a role in many lives. Thirty percent of married couples did not have a religious wedding ceremony and 27 percent of respondents said they did not want a religious funeral.

About 12 percent of Americans believe in a higher power but not the personal God at the core of monotheistic faiths. And, since 1990, a slightly greater share of respondents — 1.2 percent — said they were part of new religious movements, including Scientology, Wicca and Santeria.

The study also found signs of a growing influence of churches that either don't belong to a denomination or play down their membership in a religious group.

Evangelical or born-again Americans make up 34 percent of all American adults and 45 percent of all Christians and Catholics, the study found. Researchers found that 18 percent of Catholics consider themselves born-again or evangelical, and nearly 39 percent of mainline Protestants prefer those labels. Many mainline Protestant groups are riven by conflict over how they should interpret what the Bible says about gay relationships, salvation and other issues.

The study found that the percentage of Americans who identified themselves as Muslim grew to 0.6 percent of the population, while growth in Eastern religions such as Buddhism slightly slowed.

More.

A Prayer from Ligon Duncan

In line with Packer's prayer on God's attributes and the gospel, Ligon Duncan offered this prayer at church on Sunday:

O Lord – Living, True and Triune God,
We love you more than the world.
We need you more than life.
We are not here today as a diversion,
or to go through the motions,
we are here in the midst of a dread battle,
because we need to be together with one another
with the Captain of our salvation, more than we need food.

We are here because of your grace,
Otherwise we would be somewhere else destroying our own lives.

We are here not because we are good, or because we are better than others;

rather we are here because
you found a way to justify the unjust justly;

we are here because
in your love you gave your Son to bear death’s agony for us;

we are here because
in your justice you made your Son, as our substitute, to suffer the sentence that our disobedience deserved;

we are here because
with your power you have bought us back from sin, selfishness and Satan,
and united us to the risen Christ,
renewed our hearts,
freed us from sin’s bondage,
and moved us to repent and believe;

we are here because
in your faithfulness you have kept us from falling, as you promised to do, until you bring us safe home, triumphantly to our final glory, and yours.

This is all of your doing, all of your grace, and so all to your glory.

Because of this, we want men and women and boys and girls
from every tribe, language, people, and nation to know, love, and worship you.
Do this thing, O Lord.

Lord God, draw near to us then, now.
Hear our prayers. Receive our praise. Open and draw our hearts.
Speak Lord, your servants listen – and we hang on your every word.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Attributes of God and the Glory of the Gospel

(from Justin Taylor's blog at:
http://theologica.blogspot.com/2009/02/attributes-of-god-and-glory-of-gospel.html)

I (JT) can't resist reproducing one more quote from Packer's Praying the Lord's Prayer. It's vintage Packer -- Pauline in both its length and theology:

By wisdom God found a way to justify the unjust justly;
in love he gave his Son to bear death's agony for us;
in justice he made the Son, as our substitute, suffer the sentence that our disobedience deserved;
with power he unites us to the risen Christ, renews our hearts, frees us from sin's bondage, and moves us to repent and believe;
and in faithfulness he keeps us from falling, as he promised to do, till he brings us triumphantly to our final glory. (page 43)

From A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God:

O God, I have tasted Your goodness,

and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more.

I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace.

I am ashamed of my lack of desire.

O God, the Triune God,I want to want You;

I long to be filled with longing;

I thirst to be made more thirsty still.

Show me Your glory, I pray,

so I may know You indeed.

Begin in mercy a new work of love within me…

Give me grace to rise and follow You up from this misty lowland

where I have wandered so long.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

None But Jesus

In the quiet, in the stillness
I know that You are God
In the secret of Your presence
I know there I am restored --

When You call, I won't refuse
Each new day again I'll choose --

There is no one else for me!
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free --
Now I live to bring Him praise.

In the chaos, in confusion
I know You're sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will

When You call I won't delay
This my song through all my days

All my delight is in You, Lord
All of my hope, all of my strength
All my delight is in You, Lord --
Forevermore.

(Hillsong)