Song of the Day - White Dove by Andrew Osenga

I saw Andrew Osenga in concert about a month ago. I love artists that proclaim the gospel without the 'required words' in most CCM songs. I think he is one of the best. Here is my favorite song from his new album 'The Morning.'

O Mother, please don’t worry
O my lover, please don’t cry
Never pin your hopes to the ground
When they’re meant for the sky

With the pharisees campaigning
Against the signs of the times
Where did the good news go
I heard as a child?

I am waiting, waiting for a white dove
I am waiting, waiting for a real love

Though it feels a dam is breaking
Like the second coming of the flood
But the promise was not only justice
But mercy and love

There is nothing to be afraid of here
If we stand or if we fall
There is no fear in love
There is no fear in love at all

And all of this
And all of us
Are an arrow
Pointed at the heart of God
Shot though and pierced his side
Blood and water
Blood and water
Bread and wine

Every sad thing will become untrue

Every sad thing will become untrue

Every sad thing will become untrue

Summertime in the Bryant Home - Go Cubs!!!

That's Absolutely Crazy, Diane!!!

I don't want to criticize, but the host of the program is a yellow hat away from being this guy. I''m sorry.

Not Exactly a Quote, but a Comment from a class on Jonathan Edwards

I was listening to a classroom lecture on the life and theology of Jonathan Edwards and the teacher made this comment (or something like it).

"The reason God is willing to give the wicked riches and fame is because he see how worthless those things really are."

I posted last time about Adam and Eve hiding behind fig leaves. This quote from Edwards reminded me there is a day coming where there will be no more fig leaves to hide behind. May God give us more grace to see what really matters and not be fooled by the riches and values of the world.

Lived by the Sword - Died by the Sword

Hebrews 4:12-13

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

If that doesn't terrify you read it again.

Everything is laid bare before the eyes of God. He knows every thought and intent. He knows the ones we aren't even aware of ourselves. And he is judging them. His judgment is based on his holiness which he has revealed to us in his word (the sword that is sharper than any two edged sword and cuts much deeper).

When David was confronted with this terrifying truth he wrote this:

Psalm 139

1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

David responded the way every human has since the fall. God knows everything about me. I better get away and hide.

In Genesis 3 we are told the story of Adam and Eve disobeying God by eating the forbidden fruit from the forbidden tree. Their eyes were opened, their nakedness exposed, and their new default (fear and hiding) applied. They tried to hide behind fig leaves, but God covered them with animal skins and sent them away from the garden.

What kept Adam and Eve from reentering the garden? An angel holding a flaming sword. There would be no entrance into the garden without passing through God's justice symbolized by the sword.

So we're back to Hebrews and facing that sword again. The amazing thing is that the section in Hebrews about the sword and being naked and exposed before God is actually in the middle of a section on God's rest. How can we possibly rest when the bible teaches us that a righteous and holy God is going to judge our every thought and intent based on his perfect law?

The gospel.

Hebrews 4:14-16

Jesus the Great High Priest

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Jesus, our high priest, has passed through the sword. He came to earth as a man and completely fulfilled every 'dotted i' and 'crossed t' of the law. He obeyed God's law and lived by the sword in every respect. Instead of receiving the blessings promised to those who obey God's law he was mutilated by the same sword he obeyed. God's justice slew him on our behalf. Christ received the curse of the covenant so we could receive the blessings.

Hebrews speaks of God's rest in the same way Romans speaks of God's righteousness. It is a rest that comes from believing God's promises. We are told to cease from our works. God wants us to quit trying to cover ourselves with fig leaves and let him cover us with the blood of Christ.

Psalm 32 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

He was made naked so his people could be clothed. He was made poor so his people could be rich. He was made hungry and thirsty so his people could be filled. He was crushed by the sword and banished from rest so his people could go back to Eden.

Fix your eyes on Jesus. Enter the rest he freely gives his own.

Sermon of the Week - Blessed are the Poor - Tim Keller

Blessed are the Poor

Hymn of the Day - Lift Up Thy Bleeding Hand by Cecil Alexander

Lift Up Thy Bleeding Hand

When wounded sore, the stricken heart
Lies bleeding and unbound,
One only hand, a piercèd hand,
Can salve the sinner’s wound.

When sorrow swells the laden breast,
And tears of anguish flow,
One only heart, a broken heart,
Can feel the sinner’s woe.

Lift up Thy bleeding hand, O Lord,
Unseal that cleansing tide;
We have no shelter from our sin
But in Thy wounded side.

When penitential grief has wept
O’er some foul dark spot,
One only stream, a stream of blood,
Can wash away the blot.

’Tis Jesus’ blood that washes white,
His hand that brings relief,
His heart that’s touched with all our joys,
And feels for all our grief.

Hymn of the Day - All I Owe by Robert Murray McCheyne and Matthew Smith

All I Owe

When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When we stand with Christ in glory,
Looking o'er life's finished story,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.

All I owe you paid for me
From all I owe I’ve been set free
And all I owe proves your great mercy to me

When I stand before your throne,
Dressed in beauty not my own,
When I see you as you are
Love you with unsinning heart,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.

All I owe you paid for me
From all I owe I’ve been set free
And all I owe proves your great mercy to me

Chosen not for good in me,
Wakened up from wrath to flee,
Hidden in the Savior's side,
By the Spirit sanctified,
Teach me, Lord, on earth to show,
By my love, how much I owe.

All I owe you paid for me
From all I owe I’ve been set free
And all I owe proves your great mercy to me

Quote From Sunday's Sermon

One of my pastors, Mike Smith, said this Sunday.

"I have a hard time believing God accepts me because I know me. I don't have a hard time believing God accepts Jesus."

Colossians 2:9-15

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Sermon of the Week - Kevin Twit - Conditions for Community - The 2nd Commandment

I am planning on posting a sermon each week that has impacted me. This week's is one from Kevin Twit (Belmont RUF).

Enjoy.

New Link - African Leadership

A few weeks ago I posted about the tendency of humans (even and maybe even especially Christians) to want law instead of relationship. A perfect example of that tendency is found in Luke 10:25-37.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."

28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."

Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."


The expert in the law wanted the law. He wanted self-justification. His question could be translated, “Tell me what I have to do.” Jesus answer was astonishing and terrifying. What you have to do to inherit eternal life is to cross every racial, economic, commonsensical, cultural, and religious barrier and completely empty yourself, change your life, and change your plans in order to help those in need.

The parable should have, and hopefully did, crush the man’s misconception that eternal life could be earned by doing good deeds. There is only one who has fulfilled the requirements given in this parable. Jesus is the true and greater hero of the story. Jesus came to earth and rescued his enemies – not at the risk of his life, but at the cost of it.

The way to love our neighbors as ourselves is not to view it as a way to earn God’s favor. Any effort in that respect is selfish and not done in faith (sin). All true love is motivated from a heart that has been transformed by the sacrifice of Christ.

2 Corinthians 8:9

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Look to your Savior. Look at him pouring out himself so that you and I could be saved. Let that be the motivating influence in your life to empty yourself so others may be rich.

I have added a new link to the website. It is African Leadership. You can watch a short video about some of the things African Leadership is doing in Darfur by clicking the play button on the video screen.

My Heart’s Ache

I am breaking a rule I made for myself when I began this website. I promised myself I wouldn’t write about me. The whole idea of a public diary makes me uncomfortable. That being said, this subject has been running through my mind for weeks. I thought I would make an exception. Please bear with me.

I was reminded last weekend why I started this website. Rebecca and I went to lunch with a few friends, and I was telling one of them about Abundant Redemption. He asked why I started the site and I couldn’t remember. I said something to the effect of “I like to write about Jesus and the gospel.” Another friend was sitting there and said, “Didn’t you start it to try to help people who have left your old church?” I had completely forgotten my original motivation.

Many of you know my story. I am sure many of you don’t. I was raised in a pseudo – Christian church that denied (and continues to deny) the full deity of Christ. They also deny that Christ’s death and resurrection are enough to accomplish full salvation. The group shares no doctrinal convictions with Orthodox Christianity. I could elaborate, but I believe the two doctrines listed above are the errors from which all the others stem. When I was fourteen the group moved from Southern California to Middle Tennessee because the pastor told us God wanted us to move. My family (some of which still belong to the group) moved here with about two to three hundred other people.

I can say without exaggeration that there is not a day of my life when I don’t think about them. My memories of childhood (from birth to seventh grade) consist almost exclusively of people from the group. The memories are bittersweet. You don’t move thousands of miles with a group that small (or large depending on how you view it) without developing some special friendships and making some special memories.

Since leaving I have attempted several strategies in sharing the true gospel with my old friends. Some have been foolish lapses in my judgment. Since I have left I have found myself walking a strange line of wanting to share the gospel with those still there and at the same time wanting to warn others about them.

Recently I found out that a group of four or five churches were partnering together with my old group for a cancer benefit. One of my hopes and prayers is that other Christian churches would take a stand against the false doctrines of the group. I contacted the churches and warned them about the list of beliefs that are contrary to the biblical gospel. Only two responded. One told me they would send the message to the pastor. The other church had their pastor call me, but he was unwilling to remove his own church from the partnership.

All this to say, my heart is aching. When I realized my old friends would not listen to me and what I had to share about the gospel, I hoped other Christian churches would step up and warn them about their false doctrinal beliefs. So far, most have not. Some individuals have tried to share the gospel with them, but they have been turned away as well. It seems all that has happened is they have taken biblical terms used by Orthodox Christians and tried to make them fit their own false beliefs.

In Romans Paul writes, “For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race.” I can’t claim that amount of self-sacrifice, but I can relate. I want my friends to know the Savior. I want them to be saved and enjoy the fellowship only the true gospel can produce.

This post may not make much sense to a lot of you. It is a strange story with a lot of strange details that have been left out. Please pray for my old friends. Pray that God will open their eyes and hearts. Pray that God will give them the faith and the grace they need to believe the gospel.

Thanks for bearing with me.

Prayer Request Updates on Al and Allison

I have received two emails today about Allison and Al.

Here are some of the details. Please continue to pray.

Elizabeth and I had a very huge scare last night. Allison had a vomiting fit approximately at 12:20 am last night, she recovered momentarily and then lost all color (she was stark white) her eyes rolled back in her head and she became limp. At this point, I proceeded to call 911 and get help for Allison. At the same time, Allison was limp and would roll her eyes back into her head. Elizabeth kept giving Allison mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to keep her alive until the paramedics got to the house. We ended going to the hospital last night and were admitted and we will be staying there until her heart catheterization on Thursday. They are doing a test today on her upper GI and a swallow test to see what could be causing the vomiting. Please keep us in your prayers. We really think it was over last night. I personally thought I saw her take her last breath of this life last night. Thankfully she hung in there and I know God was definitely helping her.

What a faithful God we have!!
Al is doing a lot better. He has made progress healing, so much so that he
is alert and trying to communicate with family.

The doctors are actually discussing rehabilitation and his recovery. He was
moved out of ICU into a regular room this weekend. His pneumonia is still
there and the antibiotic is working on his infection. He is still on the
ventilator and on morphine, but they are slowly weaning him off.
This weekend is the most progress we have seen in the month since the
accident.

Martin Luther Quote

People don't earn God's approval or receive life and salvation because of anything they've done. Rather, the only reason they receive life and salvation is because of God's kindness through Christ. There is no other way.

Many Christians are tired of hearing this teaching over and over. They think that they learned it all long ago. However, they barely understand how important it really is. If it continues to be taught as truth, the Christian church will remain united and pure — free from decay. This truth alone makes and sustains Christianity. You might hear an immature Christian brag about how well he knows that we receive God's approval through God's kindness and not because of anything we do to earn it. But if he goes on to say that this is easy to put into practice, then have no doubt he doesn't know what he's talking about, and he probably never will. We can never learn this truth completely or brag that we understand it fully. Learning this truth is an art. We will always remain students of it, and it will always be our teacher.

The people who truly understand that they receive God's approval by faith and put this into practice don't brag that they have fully mastered it. Rather, they think of it as a pleasant taste or aroma that they are always pursuing. These people are astonished that they can't comprehend it as fully as they would like. They hunger and thirst for it. They yearn for it more and more. They never get tired of hearing about this truth.