to the Valley

My Greek professor reminded us of the Valley of Vision. He encouraged us to pray through it on a regular basis. I remembered and started this morning by opening to the back (because I already read most of the beginning prayers). The Puritans had a way with words that I only wish I could mimic in writing let alone my prayers.

Father of Mercies, Hear me for Jesus' sake.
I am sinful even in my closest walk with thee; it is of thy mercy I died not long ago;
Thy grace has given me faith in the cross by which thou hast reconciled thyself to me and me to thee, drawing me by thy great love, reckoning me as innocent in Christ though guilty in myself.
Giver of all graces,
I look to thee for strength to maintain them in me, for it is hard to practice what I believe.
Strengthen me against temptations.
My heart is an unexhausted fountain of sin, a river of corruption since childhood days, flowing on in every pattern of behavior.
Thou hast disarmed me of the means in which I trusted, and I have no strength but in thee.
Thou alone canst hold back my evil ways, but without thy grace to sustain me I fall.
Satan's darts quickly inflame me, and the shield that should quench them easily drops from my hand:
Empower me against his wiles and assaults.
Keep me sensible of my weakness, and of my dependence upon thy strength.
Let every trial teach me more of thy peace, more of thy love.
Thy Holy Spirit is given to increase thy graces, and I cannot preserve or improve them unless he works continually in me.
May he confirm my trust in thy promised held, and let me walk humbly in dependence upon thee, for Jesus's sake.

Preaching Christ

Faith is not a "feeling of dependence" that focuses upon a personal "Jesus." The Scriptures, Jesus said, "are they which testify of me" (John 5:39), and they are the touchstone by which all expressions of faith are to be examined. The Jesus of the Scriptures is true God and true man, two natures in one Person. He is the Son of God equal in power and glory to the Father and the Holy Spirit. He was in a state of humiliation, but now is in a state of glory. He may be found at the right hand of God where He continues to exercise the three offices of Prophet, Priest, and King. That is the only Jesus Christ there is or ever will be, and He is the only Savior. There can be no power in preaching that fails to proclaim this Christ and exhorts men to put their trust in Him. 

~Geoffrey Thomas, Powerful Preaching (emphasis original) cited in The Preacher and Preaching

Who am I to preach this Christ?

Who am I to keep silent about this Christ? 

I pray this Christ is the object of my faith and the One who stirs my deepest affections and utmost adoration.

Psalm 103

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
~Psalm 103:1-5 ESV

I love these five verses. They answer two important questions: What should I do? and Why should I do it? I know I need such a reminder each and every morning.

I am to bless the Lord with everything I have, internal and external. His name is holy and worthy of all praise. I to remember all the wonderful things He has done. And this provides the answer to the second question.

The psalmist lays out five works of the Lord which should lead me to bless His name. God has forgiven, healed, redeemed, crowned, and satisfied me. There is nothing I am lacking. Who I was is no longer who I am. I am completely forgiven.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

my story (according to Deuteronomy)

Every time I read Deuteronomy my love for the book grows. It's a rehashing of Israel's history up until their entrance into the Promise Land. It's a reminder for the people of the Lord's work and their faithlessness. It's a call for them to be faithful to their God who is forever faithful to Himself and His people. It's the story of covenant.

It is the story of my salvation which is offered in spite of my insignificance because of God's choosing love...


For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations...~Deuteronomy 7:6-9 ESV

It is the story of my continual rebellion despite God's salvation and promise...

...then you rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God and did not believe him or obey his voice. You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you. ~Deuteronomy 9:23-24 ESV

It is the story of God's forgiveness, mercy, grace, love, and discipline extended to me daily as well as His call for me to grow in holiness and affection for my Savior.

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe...~Deuteronomy 10:12-17 ESV

the power of God

I used the following excerpt as the conclusion to the sermon God graciously allowed me to give this morning. It's been running through my heart and head for most of the weekend. Our God continues to remind me He is far greater than anything I can possibly imagine!

Outside of heaven, the power of God in its highest density is found inside the gospel. This must be so,for the Bible twice describes the gospel as the “power of God.” Nothing else in all of Scripture is ever described in this way, except for the Person of Jesus Christ. Such a description indicates that the gospel is not only powerful, but that it is the ultimate entity in which God’s power resides and does its greatest work. Indeed, God’s power is seen in erupting volcanoes, in the unimaginably hot boil of our massive sun, and in the lightning speed of a recently discovered star seen streaking through the heavens at 1.5 million miles per hour. Yet in Scripture such wonders are never labeled “the power of God.” How powerful, then, must the gospel be that it would merit such a title! And how great is the salvation it could accomplish in my life, if I would only embrace it by faith and give it a central place in my thoughts each day!

~Milton Vincent, Gospel Primer, pp. 14-15

Christ in Numbers

The Bible reading plan has me moving through the book of Numbers. And the book unfolds as a microcosm of the whole of Scripture. Israel continually ignores and breaks the law of God, which brings God's wrath and mercy. In the different accounts, Numbers foreshadows the coming, role, and need of Christ.

One account in particular comes in Numbers 16 after God punishes Korah, Dathan, and Abiram for their rebellion against Moses. The people continue in the spirit of rebellion by grumbling against Moses bringing about the death of these men, their families, and their followers. God then brings punishment upon the people by means of a deadly plague. It begins making its way through the people, which leads Moses and Aaron to intercede on behalf of guilty Israel.

And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Get away from the midst of the congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." And they fell on their faces. And Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun." So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. (16:43-48)

As Hebrews reveals, Christ is our perfect High Priest who intercedes and makes atonement on our behalf before God. Christ's sacrifice on the cross placed Him between the living and the dead. His sacrifice was the pleasing aroma going up before God on our behalf. His blood made atonement to cover our sin of rebellion against God.

Aaron running into the midst of the people with an offering to satisfy the wrath of God provides a physical depiction of what Christ has done for us. But all the more amazing, Christ stands before the living and the dead once and for all. He doesn't need to keep making sacrifices as Aaron and the priests after him would have to do. He was the perfect sacrifice and has forever removed God's wrath for those covered in His blood.