My depravity

Psalm 51:1-6
1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

What an amazing prayer of repentance by David! The really cool thing that captures me in this passage is his understanding of his sinful nature in verse 5 - "I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." For me, knowing my depravity, makes me all the more rely on our Sovereign Lord.

Lord, I pray, help us to see how depraved our hearts and minds are, and help us to focus on the cure - You! You are our strength and our fortress. Comfort us in these desperate times. Thank you for your Holy Spirit who guides us. In Christ's name, Amen.

God elects national leaders, not man.

Romans 13:1-7
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Interesting passage, is it not?

Regardless of who is placed in office, remember that Christ is still on the throne. He alone is sovereign in all things.

Should a study of End Times be important to the believer?

I would say 'yes.'

Now, I'll preface my answer with this: to get bogged down into all the details of how and when the second coming will take place will cause one to lose the focus on Jesus Christ and affect your overall attitude and behavior. Believe me when I say that for I was a living example of such..... ;)

But I would say it is essential in that the believer should always be prepared for His coming. This is real and it will happen sooner than you probably think.

Our salvation isn't complete without the coming of Christ in the last days. Romans 8:32 talks of our "adoption as sons, and the redemption of our bodies." Our new bodies will be glorious as He is glorious.

Just as Jesus says in Matthew 24:44, "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Are you ready?

Owen's view of mortification of sin

I'm reading John Owen's The Mortification of Sin, and something captured me while spending some time in Chapter 2:

Where sin, through the neglect of mortification, gets a considerable victory, it breaks the bones of the soul; and makes a man weak, sick, and ready to die, so that he cannot look up. And when poor creatures will take blow after blow, wound after wound, foil after foil, and never rouse up themselves to a vigorous opposition, can they expect any thing but to be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, and that their souls should bleed to death?

Now, I might also add to Owen's view that this isn't a legalistic thing to do in the Christian walk. Mortifying the deeds of the flesh is for all believers. 1 John 3:6 states that those who abide in Him keeps on sinning; for those who keep on sinning do not know Him. The idea implied here is mortification.

It's part of being a Christian. Be like Jesus. The more and more you focus on Him, the less you care about that former life you led.....

In Christ,
jason

A Mighty Fortress is Our God!

A mighty fortress is our God,A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foeDoth seek to work us woe;
His craft and pow'r are great,And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His name, From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And tho' this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph thro' us.
The Prince of Darkness grim — We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, For lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly pow'rs, No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours Thro' Him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, This mortal life also; The body they may kill: God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

I love this hymn. Probably my favorite out of all the hymns.

Some history about this hymn: Reformer Martin Luther wrote it in 1529. Inspired by the Psalm 46 verse 1, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

To me, the song gives the believer a great comfort. To turn their eyes from their afflictions and look upon their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - our Mighty Fortress.

Thought it best to make my first post about what we all should lean on - our God.