Congratulations Brandon and Christy!

Saturday, one of our blog authors joined his lady in holy matrimony. Brandon and Christy said, "I do" at St. Mark Methodist, and I had the honor of photographing their beautiful wedding. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes, we are so proud of you and are thrilled that God has brought you guys together as husband and wife to serve Him together as one. May He bless you beyond your wildest dreams! Congratulations! We love you!

Spurgeon Quotes

Those of you who know me, know that I love Charles Spurgeon. He was the man! So, I thought I would share some Spurgeon quotes that I really like. Enjoy!

"I take it that the highest proof of Christ’s power is not that he offers salvation, not that he bids you take it if you will, but that when you reject it, when you hate it, when you despise it, he has a power whereby he can change your mind, make you think differently from your former thoughts, and turn you from the error of your ways."

“Free will carried many a soul to hell, but never a soul to heaven.”

“None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves.”

“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”

“When you see a man with a great deal of religion displayed in his shop window, you may depend upon it, he keeps a very small stock of it within”

“A man who does nothing never has time to do anything”

“Nobody ever outgrows scripture; the Book widens and deepens with our years”

"Let this be to you the mark of true gospel preaching - where Christ is everything, and the creature is nothing; where it is salvation all of grace, through the work of the Holy Spirit applying to the soul the precious blood of Jesus."

“When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this. I can recall the very day and hour when first I received those truths in my own soul - when they were as John Bunyan says, burnt into my heart as with a hot iron; and I can recollect how I felt that I had grown all of a sudden from a babe into a man - that I had made progress in scriptural knowledge, through having found, once for all, the clue to the truth of God ... I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, I ascribe my change wholly to God.”

“If Christ on His cross intended to save every man, then He intended to save those who were lost before He died. If the doctrine be true, that He died for all men, then He died for some who were in Hell before He came into this world, for doubtless there were even then myriads there who had been cast away because of their sins. . . That seems to me a conception a thousand times more repulsive than any of those consequences which are said to be associated with the Calvinistic and Christian doctrine of special and particular redemption. To think that my Savior died for men who were or are in Hell, seems a supposition too horrible for me to entertain.”

“Learn to say 'No'; it will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin.”

“Sometimes we think we are too busy to pray. That is a great mistake, for praying is a saving of time.”

“There are no crown-bearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.”

"I would sooner bring one sinner to Jesus Christ than unravel all the mysteries of the divine Word, for salvation is the one thing we are to live for."

For he is a Prophet

Okay. So I have started back the infamous Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan that I started last year and never finished. I have high hopes this year since I will be going through most all of it with a wonderful bride by my side encouraging me and holding me accountable to reading.

When I started this plan this time around I asked and prayed that I would see Christ from beginning to end since after all scripture from beginning to end points to Christ. Well God delivered for me and I am thankful.

I'm in Genesis right now and have been reading about Abraham and his journeys. Have you ever thought about Abraham and his dealings with other people? I mean more specifically things that are happening not directly to Abraham, but to other people. Have you ever thought about how Abraham responds and acts towards the people he meets?

Think about how Abraham speaks to God on Lot's behalf and prays that God would not destroy the city of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of Lot. God listens because of His relationship with Abraham and because Abraham has favor with God. Lot is a beneficiary of Abraham's favor with God.

Think about Abimelech and how he takes Abraham's wife Sarah innocently as his own. Abraham and Sara are the ones that deceive Abimelech and yet God still inflicts upon Abimelech punishment for the sin that he apparently doesn't know he is committing. God speaks with Abimelech and even affirms that Abimelech has acted innocently because God had kept him from sinning with Sarah. Instead of removing the punishment from Abimelech and Abimelech's wife right then, he tells him to go speak with Abraham, "for he is a prophet". Abraham then prays on behalf of Abimelech and because of Abraham's favor with God Abimelech is healed along with his wife.

What about Ishmael the illegitimate son of Abraham? Abraham is told by Sarah to send Hagar and Ishmael away because she will not see Ishmael become a heir along with Isaac. So Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away which is basically into the dessert with nothing more than water and bread. The bible says Abraham was very displeased with this. God promises Abraham that he will take care of Ishmael and make him into a great nation. Why? Because of Ishmael's link to Abraham who has favor with God.

As I was reading the study notes in my bible the Lord showed me the greatness of the favor that Abraham had with God and the blessing that it was for others. The Holy Spirit then showed me that Christ is a prophet as well. Not only that but he is the greatest prophet and his relationship with the Father is unmatched. If God was pleased to listen to Abraham who was a mere sinful prophet, how much more will he listen to the perfect prophet Christ? This brought great joy and excitement because I was reminded that Christ is at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf! May Christ be glorified!

Not only that, but God also showed me the power of prayer and the blessing with which we can pray for others because of our link with God through Christ. I tend to shrink back from praying for good things for others because I sometimes feel as though God is bothered by our prayers for good things that we ask. Even I myself am hesitant at times to be honest with God about my desires and needs. How foolish have I been? Praise be to God through Christ that he has shown me my folly. I pray that God would here my prayers for others so that people around would know and see that favor which we have with God through Christ and so Christ would be exalted, for He is a Prophet! The Great Prophet!

Lord may you continue to renew my mind and others through the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ name. Amen

Frontline Missions - "Dispatches from the Front" Trailer

I could have sworn I already posted this but I searched the archives and couldn't find it. Well, let me remedy that problem.

Dispatches From the Front is a new video series put out by Frontline Missions (Facebook)that explores the Church on the 'frontlines' and documents ways that God is moving in countries most of us never stop to think about (much less pray for).

From the website:

Believers everywhere desperately need a renewed vision of Christ and the unstoppable advance of His saving work in all the earth. Often our view of God’s Kingdom is too small and limited to what we have experienced. Dispatches from the Front provides a rare glimpse into this work, highlighting the marvelous extent, diversity, and unity of Christ’s Kingdom in our world. The journal format of each episode underscores the daily unfolding of God’s activity on the “frontlines,” bringing viewers up-close with sights and sounds from distant corners of the Kingdom.

Check out the website here.

Buy Episode One: Islands on the Edge

"Collision" trailer

If you are at all tuned into the world you have most likely heard of the New Atheists. Not content to merely enjoy believing in no God (or god), a wave of "evangelistic atheism" has been sweeping the blogospheres and bookshelves of the world. There are several big names in the movement, including Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens.

In the new documentary, Collision, the filmmaker captures a series of debates between Christopher Hitchens and Doug Wilson. Everything I have read about it indicates the film itself doesn't lean one way or the other but rather allows two intellectual heavy weights from the opposing sides to slug it out - verbally, of course.

I love listening to a good, intellectual debate. I hate listening to people argue like idiots. Fortunately, this appears to be the former.

I am very much looking forward to watching this film and have already pre-ordered it from Amazon. Is anyone else looking forward to this film?





Extra: Here is a short link collection to useful resources.

HT: Desiring God National Conference, 2009

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Matt Chandler - 7 Miles

If you don't know who Matt Chandler is, I highly recommend checking out his sermons on iTunes. He is very much one of my favorite modern preachers. Just click the iTunes button below and you will be taken to the right place.



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And They Crucified Him