Cross, love

Xtremely Loaded Meals served (1 Corinthians 1 & 2 posted)

Originally posted by lunadanipog at Xtremely Loaded Meals served (1 Corinthians 1 & 2 posted)
I've just started with my devotional blogs yesterday in my Tumblr account. (starting with 1 Corinthians 1) and tonight I've just posted 1 Corinthians 2. Tell you, each devotional blog is really Xtremely Loaded Meal.  Thank God greatly for granting us wisdom.  
I'd like to share it also with you.  You can access them on my Tumblr account (moondanpog.tumblr.com).




Or if you'd like to go directly to Xtremely Loaded Meal blogs, just click:

1 Corinthians 1 Xtremely Loaded Meal

1 Corinthians 2 Xtremely Loaded Meal


God bless us all!


SOLI DEO GLORIA!!!



Cross, love

GOD AS CREATOR: GRACIOUS SUSTAINER

Originally posted by lunadanipog at GOD AS CREATOR: GRACIOUS SUSTAINER

I have been dealing with the topic God as Creator in my previous posts.  I started with GOD AS CREATOR: a truth often taken for granted.  The article simply says that we should always go back to the truth that all we see with our naked eyes belong to God and are from from God (even we, ourselves).  Next is GOD AS CREATOR: Isaiah Amused by the Creator King.  Here we saw how Isaiah praised the God of Israel and how he emphasized how imporabale their God is (our God is)...how He sustains His creation.  No one is like our God.  I posted a song entitled "My Creator King" at the end of the article.
Today, we'll see another amazing character of God as the Creator of all.  Since He created all the things in heaven and on earth, He also graciously sustains everything.  Let us look at some verses which support this.
Again, from the book of Isaiah, it says in chapter 51:12-13, 15-16


12     The Lord says, "I am the one who strengthens you.  Why should you fear mortals, who are no more enduring than grass?
13      Have you forgotten the Lord who made you, who stretched out the heavens and laid the earth's foundations?  Why should you live in constant fear of the fury of those who oppress you, of those who are ready to destroy you?  Their fury can no longer touch you.


15    "I am the Lord you God; I stir up the sea and make its waves roar.  My name is the Lord Almighty!
16    I stretched out the heavens and laid the earth's foundations; I say to Jerusalem, 'You are my people! I have given you my teaching,
and I protect you with my hand'"


This is how God cares for His creation.  As for his concern for humans (to those whom He has chosen together with the Israel), He won't let any fury touch them.  His very own hands will protect them.


Let us see what the New Testament has to say with this.  It is said in Acts 14:17



"But He has always given evidence of His existence by the good things he does: he gives you rain from heaven and crops at the right times; he gives you food and fills your hearts with happiness."


God purposely sustains his creation to show His glory, His existence.  It's for his glory!  You can also see in this verse that He does and designs things to happen in order.  He knows when to pour out rain, so the crops may be for harvest 'at the right times' (He knows their time).  He gives us food (I believe this is not only for our physical bodies but for spiritual also).
Also in Matthew 6:25-34 (the famous passage about Worrying), Jesus (himself) testifies how God sustains everything - from the flowers, to wild grasses, to the birds,..and to us humans.


I would like to include here Psalm 104 because the whole chapter explains it all.  How God put His creations in order, how they are interdependent with one another and how He sustains all of them.





Psalm 104 "In Praise of the Creator"


  O Lord, my God, how great you are! 
   You are clothed with majesty and glory;
    2 you cover yourself with light. 
   You have spread out the heavens like a tent
    3 and built your home on the waters above.[a] 
   You use the clouds as your chariot 
      and ride on the wings of the wind.
 4 You use the winds as your messengers 
      and flashes of lightning as your servants.


 5 You have set the earth firmly on its foundations, 
      and it will never be moved.
 6 You placed the ocean over it like a robe, 
      and the water covered the mountains.
 7 When you rebuked the waters, they fled; 
      they rushed away when they heard your shout of command.
 8 They flowed over the mountains and into the valleys, 
      to the place you had made for them.
 9 You set a boundary they can never pass, 
      to keep them from covering the earth again.


 10 You make springs flow in the valleys, 
      and rivers run between the hills.
 11 They provide water for the wild animals; 
      there the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
 12 In the trees near by, 
      the birds make their nests and sing.


 13 From the sky you send rain on the hills, 
      and the earth is filled with your blessings.
 14 You make grass grow for the cattle 
      and plants for us to use, 
   so that we can grow our crops
    15 and produce wine to make us happy, 
      olive oil to make us cheerful, 
      and bread to give us strength.


 16 The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain— 
      the Lord's own trees, which he planted.
 17 There the birds build their nests; 
      the storks nest in the fir trees.
 18 The wild goats live in the high mountains, 
      and the rock badgers hide in the cliffs.


 19 You created the moon to mark the months; 
      the sun knows the time to set.
 20 You made the night, and in the darkness 
      all the wild animals come out.
 21 The young lions roar while they hunt, 
      looking for the food that God provides.
 22 When the sun rises, they go back 
      and lie down in their dens.
 23 Then people go out to do their work 
      and keep working until evening.



 24 Lord, you have made so many things! 
      How wisely you made them all! 
      The earth is filled with your creatures.
 25 There is the ocean, large and wide, 
      where countless creatures live, 
      large and small alike.
 26 The ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan, 
      that sea monster which you made.[b]



 27 All of them depend on you 
      to give them food when they need it.
 28 You give it to them, and they eat it; 
      you provide food, and they are satisfied.
 29 When you turn away, they are afraid; 
      when you take away your breath, they die 
      and go back to the dust from which they came.
 30 But when you give them breath,[c] they are created; 
      you give new life to the earth.


 31 May the glory of the Lord last forever! 
      May the Lord be happy with what he has made!
 32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles; 
      he touches the mountains, and they pour out smoke.



 33 I will sing to the Lord all my life; 
      as long as I live I will sing praises to my God.
 34 May he be pleased with my song, 
      for my gladness comes from him.
 35 May sinners be destroyed from the earth; 
      may the wicked be no more.


   Praise the Lord, my soul! 
   Praise the Lord!




Verses 27-31 are very powerful.  The psalmist gave emphasis on the total dependence of the whole creation to the great Creator.  Our lives come from HIm.  If He withhold his sustaining grace, WE'RE LOST! We die!


And in response to this, our sould shall forever praise His name! (verses 33-35).


Let me quote again Isaiah 40:26.  I really love it how Isaiah put it in astronomical language:








Soli Deo Gloria!

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GOD AS CREATOR: Isaiah amused by the Creator King (Isaiah 40:12-31)

Originally posted by lunadanipog at GOD AS CREATOR: Isaiah amused by the Creator King (Isaiah 40:12-31)
I'd like to share this passage from the book of Isaiah.  Isaiah 40:12-31 "Israel's Incomparable God".  This is my devotion for this day and it's related to my latest post GOD AS CREATOR: a truth often taken for granted.  In this passage, Isaiah tells Israel how great their God is.  He even gave emphasis to how God sustains His creation.  It really amazes me.

  
Israel's Incomparable God
 12 Can anyone measure the ocean by handfuls 
      or measure the sky with his hands? 
   Can anyone hold the soil of the earth in a cup 
      or weigh the mountains and hills on scales?
 13 Can anyone tell the Lord what to do? 
      Who can teach him or give him advice?
 14 With whom does God consult 
      in order to know and understand 
      and to learn how things should be done?

 15 To the Lord the nations are nothing, 
      no more than a drop of water; 
      the distant islands are as light as dust.
 16 All the animals in the forests of Lebanon 
      are not enough for a sacrifice to our God, 
      and its trees are too few to kindle the fire.
 17 The nations are nothing at all to him.

 18 To whom can God be compared? 
      How can you describe what he is like?
 19 He is not like an idol that workers make, 
      that metalworkers cover with gold 
      and set in a base of silver.
 20 Anyone who cannot afford silver or gold[a] 
      chooses wood that will not rot. 
   He finds a skillful worker 
      to make an image that won't fall down.

 21 Do you not know? 
      Were you not told long ago? 
      Have you not heard how the world began?
 22 It was made by the one who sits on his throne 
      above the earth and beyond the sky; 
      the people below look as tiny as ants. 
   He stretched out the sky like a curtain, 
      like a tent in which to live.

 23 He brings down powerful rulers 
      and reduces them to nothing.
 24 They are like young plants, 
      just set out and barely rooted. 
   When the Lord sends a wind, 
      they dry up and blow away like straw.

 25 To whom can the holy God be compared? 
      Is there anyone else like him?
 26 Look up at the sky! 
   Who created the stars you see? 
      The one who leads them out like an army, 
      he knows how many there are 
      and calls each one by name! 
   His power is so great— 
      not one of them is ever missing!

 27 Israel, why then do you complain 
      that the Lord doesn't know your troubles 
      or care if you suffer injustice?
 28 Don't you know? Haven't you heard? 
   The Lord is the everlasting God; 
      he created all the world. 
   He never grows tired or weary. 
      No one understands his thoughts.
 29 He strengthens those who are weak and tired.
 30 Even those who are young grow weak; 
      young people can fall exhausted.
 31 But those who trust in the Lord for help 
      will find their strength renewed. 
   They will rise on wings like eagles; 
      they will run and not get weary; 
      they will walk and not grow weak.
(Good News Translation)

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GOD AS CREATOR: a truth often taken for granted

Originally posted by lunadanipog at GOD AS CREATOR: a truth often taken for granted

My first official post here in LiveJournal says that It's Not About Us. I ended it with the introduction of 'God as our Creator'.

The book of Genesis clearly says that everything in this world comes from God. He is the author of it all, things in heaven and on earth. (Pls see Genesis 1&2). The universe is His, not only the 'known universe' or what is usually taught to us in our science classes, but all of "God's universe". Even scientists admit that they have not yet discovered the entirety of universe. Well simply because it's limitless...it's a limitless masterpiece of a limitless Creator.

Look, this is very basic but we often take this truth for granted. Living in a material world tempts people to think that they can do anything they want to do even without God. Or even deceive them that what they see with their naked eyes are but creations of man. There are so many gifts which we should be thankful for but we tend to love the gift more than the Giver.

On every day of God's creation, it is written always that "...God was pleased with what He saw..." Maybe we forget that this is what we are made for after all - "to please God". The creation is for His own glory, not ours. Let us give back to God the praises that He deserves.

In Psalm 24:1 it says, "The world and ALL that is in it belong to the Lord; the earth and ALL who live on it are His." The use of "ALL" in this verse is clear. There is no doubt that we have a great Author of life. We are His.
And in response, it says in Psalm 103:22 "Praise the Lord ALL His creatures in ALL the places He rules. Praise the Lord my soul!"
The psalmist acknowledged his Creator and gave Him praises. May we also have the same attitude and heart of David (the psalmist). Let us remember our God as our great Creator.

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  • etruth

Infant faith.


Alright, looking to revive some of LJ's reformed community: 

Can infants have saving faith?  I would contend they can.

In brief:

Faith is more trust than intellectual cognition.  The demons intellectually understand God exists but are not saved.  Likewise a child can trust his mother without truly understanding much about her.  Through the word and sacraments, in the same way we speak to infants eventually teaching them speech, God uses them to build faith even in infants. 

BTW, note this doesn't assume paedobaptism, though it may make more sense.  You could argue that infants may be regenerate but should be baptized until they demonstrate their faith.

x-posted to sovereigngrace
bottle

Salutations Brothers and Sista's in Christ Jesus

Name: Eppiffanie
Church: Christ Reform Church in Anaheim, Ca. 

I like very much the idea of a Reform Christian Community on LJ.  However, the purpose for this community was not readily apparent from the user info page.  

So the Question is:

What is your purpose?

I will hold my answer until the discussion warrents it.
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Solas and such...

Hi there.  
My name is Diane.  I am a single mother of a great two year old and almost, sortof, kindof, nearly engaged to an amazing man named Matt.  See all my gushing over this and other weighty issues of culture and church on my lj.  :o)  
I haven't always followed hard after Christ, regardless of my longstanding membership at my church and being raised in a conservative Christian home.  Nope...I was rather prideful (as all sin is) and walked far from my roots.

I came to know Christ truly around 22 years of age.  I hurried off into "ministry" since I couldn't see how else I was to use this new knowledge of truth.  I had no idea what the cultural mandate was or how I was to apply my faith to the culture.  i just abstained from it all.  I fell in love and equated (sadly) my blessings with God's favor and when that ended, a part of me thought I wasn't in God's favor, I stopped fellowshiping and fell back into familiar sin.

After a time, I tried to get back up...I cried out to God from my pit and asked Him to pull me out of my own self.  He used an nonconsensual situation and an unplanned pregnancy to hem me in and draw me close to Him.  New life breaks us in so many, many ways and I was determined to be taught by this.

Since then, I have walked fairly consistently and prayed for deeper, more-solid roots.  Then eventual outcome of all my searching and studying has led me to the reformed view and I see now so many things, by His grace alone, that I never saw prior nor could have imagined, it is so lovely.  

I also am acutely aware of the shift in our nation and world as a whole.  I know from reading the likes of Frances Schaeffer and now Nancy Pearcey (along with contemporaries RC Sproul, Ravi Zacharias, Os Guinness, and Del Tackett, etc.) that this is a long line of changes set in motion years ago and the church, having been relegated to the sphere of the "sacred" and apart from "reason" (which is a misnomer given that all truth and reason is of God), we have lost our voice in the culture unless we begin to exercise our knowledge that God has indeed spoken in the whole of our lives, in every area.  We have this treasure in jars of clay...

That said, I have been recently trained to lead the Truth Project 12-week comprehensive worldview study with Matt and we covet your prayers...not to mention any other worldview discussions/opinions/etc.  We are so very honored to do this and think this is a vehicle for much Truth to be learned and acted upon.
www.truthproject.org 

Anywho...check me out (lj) and friend me if desired...Im glad to be a part of the "discussion" (eh hem, the word "conversation" gives me the eebie-jeebies as of late, if you know what i mean!).
find the lord

Er, hello ...

I'm Lucy (yes, named after C. S. Lewis's character and Aslan's friend.)

When I heard that Wittgenstein was having words with the positivists, telling them that no, the noumenal things that didn't have words WERE the important things, I believed him. It made sense, and everything I knew pointed to the truth of that idea. But I didn't know how that felt, except in tiny little grains of unspeakability, until this weekend, when I finally claimed a call that's been probably twelve or fifteen years in the making (that is, most of my life.) It's strange how God makes the dreams come true that I've had for so long I thought those longings were just the way I was.

So that's what I'm on the edge of: saying yes to fear and trembling, because the fear was nothing compared to the pain of saying no. Freed from one fear into another. Awakened and new, the bits of who I had let myself become crumbling off like eggshell.


... I promise I'm not always this abstract (though I admit I often am). Really Important Life Events In The Life Of Me: I graduated from college about a month ago, I got back from Annual Conference (UMC, Missouri) yesterday and it was SO AWESOME, I'm writing a book (sort of), and in a few weeks I'm going to have a Real Job Doing Ministry At A Church (music, youth, care.) I like symbols and alternative worship.

SO HI.