how to read and interpret the Old Testament

"Basically what happens in this Old Testament - New Testament relationship is the Old Testament asks the question and the New Testament answers it. The Old Testament paints a picture and the New Testament explains the picture. The Old Testament is prophecies and promises made and the New Testament is promises fulfilled."

-Matt Chandler, Ecclesiastes sermon series

how much sin have you been forgiven?

"People who have a weak view of there own sin... will carry a weak view of grace and love. When Jesus was at the home of Simon the Pharisee, watching the sinful woman wiping his feet with her tears, he said the one who has been forgiven much loves much. And those who have been forgiven little, love little (Luke 7:47). If we don't realize the magnitude of what we've been forgiven, we may identify more with the Pharisee than the woman."

J. Mack Stiles, Marks of the Messenger, p. 30-31

To whom (or what) is your worship directed?

"We worship our way into sin, and we have to worship our way out.
...the sin problem is just a symptom of the deeper worship problem. [Our] affections are set somewhere else. And wherever our affections are set is where our behavior will go."

- Jared Wilson, http://gospeldrivenchurch.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-do-you-cure-laziness.html

don't waste your mess

“The Gospel is not a sales pitch! It’s not a promise that everything is going to be neat and clean and you’re going to have your better life. It’s a promise that there will be trouble. There will be persecution. There will be trials… but God is going to meet you in the midst of it. If we embrace the mess of our lives, then we can embrace the SAVIOUR who is going to meet us in the midst of that mess!”

-Toby Kurth, sermon entitled Don't Waste Your Mess, Grace Church Frisco, 2009

the simple inexhaustible gospel

"The gospel is so simple that small children can understand it, and it is so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches."
-Charles Hodge

looking for the perfect church?

The day we find the perfect church, it becomes imperfect the moment we join it.
-Charles H. Spurgeon

good news if you're sick (or poor)...

Poverty and affliction take away the fuel that feeds pride.

—Richard Sibbes

today is a gift

"So here it is, another day. I did nothing to deserve it. I just woke up this morning, and there it was. I may have expected it to be there, but I had no right to. Just like Christmas morning, I got up to find a present waiting for me, a brand new day.Yes, today is a gift. And it has my name on the tag. This present from God has been custom-made for me. God has filled it with blessings, some obvious and some in disguise. Its difficulties and challenges are tailored to fit my size. It may not be exactly what I asked for, but it is exactly what I need."

-Russell Board, World Magazine, November 18, 2006

today is the first day of the rest of your life

" I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age."

-Jonathan Edwards July 8, 1723.

How To Glorify God

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him"

-John Piper

"God, ...what are you up to?"

"God is to be trusted when his providences seem to run contrary to his promises. God promised to give David the crown, to make him king; but providence ran contrary to his promise. David was pursued by Saul, and was in danger of his life, but all this while it was David’s duty to trust God. Pray observe, that the Lord by cross providences often brings to pass his promise. God promised Paul the lives of all that were with him in the ship; but the providence of God seemed to run quite contrary to his promise, for the winds blew, the ship split and broke in pieces. Thus God fulfilled his promise; upon the broken pieces of the ship they all came safe to shore. Trust God when providences seem to run quite contrary to promises."

-Thomas Watson, “The Providence of God” from A Body of Divinity

Christ cures broken hearts for free

It is not the healthy who need a doctor--but the sick. Luke 5:31

"Christ is the most cheap physician, he takes no fee. He desires us to bring nothing to him but broken hearts; and when he has cured us he desires us to bestow nothing on him but our love."

-Thomas Watson, from a sermon called "The Soul's Malady and Cure"

Praise God For True Gospel Preaching

"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."

-C. H. Spurgeon, from a sermon called The Cause and Cure of a Wounded Spirit, April 16th, 1885

Puritan Richard Sibbes on God's Love and Our Feelings

"Measure not God's love and favour by your own feeling. The sun shines as clearly in the darkest day as it does in the brightest. The difference is not in the sun, but in some clouds which hinder the manifestation of the light thereof."

-Richard Sibbes

Tozer on Biblical Paradoxes

"If all this appears self-contradictory - Amen, be it so. The various elements of truth stand in perpetual antithesis, sometimes requiring us to believe apparent opposites while we wait for the moment when we shall know as we are known. The truth which now appears to be in conflict with itself will arise in shining unity and it will be seen that the conflict has not been in the truth but in our sin-damaged minds."

A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, p.36

The Gospel: The Power of God for Salvation

"The work of conversion is completed by the ingenerating and acting of faith in God, by Jesus Christ... To this purpose it is necessary that the gospel, that is the doctrine of it concerning redemption, righteousness, and salvation by Jesus Christ, be declared and made known to sinners."

-John Owen, The Holy Spirit, p.240-241

Gospel Efficacy

"Trying to stop the gospel is like pouring water on a grease fire. The gospel explodes in the face of opposition."

-Steven Altrogge, Twitter (2010)

Church and politics

"It is for this reason that all the calls to "reclaim America for Christ" leave me cold. Our real need is to reclaim the church for Christ. When Christ is exalted in His church, when He is loved and revered and cherised with passion by those who bear His Name--in other words, when the church starts living like the church--then His body cannot help but make an impact on culture."

- Tom Ascol, http://www.founders.org/blog/2005/08/church-and-politics.html

God: the Reformer of our rebellious free will

" 'God worketh in us to will and to do' (Phil. 2:13). The act of willing is of God's operation, and though we ourselves will, yet it is he who causes us to will and to do of his own good pleasure."

-John Owen, The Holy Spirit, p.208

if we're not under the law, why does God still give us commands?

"... the gospel changes my view of God's commandments, in that it helps me to see the heart of the Person from whom those commandments come. When I begin my train of thought with the gospel, I realize that if God loved me enough to sacrifice His Son's life for me, then He must be guided by that same love when He speaks His commandments to me. Viewing God's commands and prohibitions in this light, I can see them for what they really are: friendly signposts from a heavenly Father who is seeking to love me through each directive, so that I might experience His very fullness forever."

-Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, p.18

The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to blind eyes

"The point of a spotlight is not to stand in front of it and stare into its bright light (that would blind you). A spotlight is useful only when it's pointed at others, enabling us to see them more clearly. And that's what the Spirit does. That's the most living, powerful thing he can do in our lives -help us to see and treasure Jesus Christ."

-Joshua Harris, Dug Down Deep, p.192-193

The self-sufficiency of God

Were all human beings suddenly to become blind, still the sun would shine by day and the stars by night, for these owe nothing to the millions who benefit from their light. So, were every man on earth to become an atheist, it could not affect God in any way. He is what He is in Himself without regard to any other. To believe in Him adds nothing to His perfections; to doubt Him takes nothing away.

-A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, p.33

‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men...'

(see Luke 18:9-14)

One person may be a relatively decent sinner and another may be a flagrant sinner, but both are sinners... If sixty is the passing grade... it does not matter if you scored forty and I scored twenty. We both failed to get a passing grade. There is no point in your boasting that your failing grade is superior to mine. The only thing that matters is that we both failed the exam...

This eliminates any room for comparison of ourselves with others who may appear more sinful - or at least less holy - than we are. So if we are to live by the gospel every day, all tendency to compare ourselves with other believers, not to mention unbelievers, must be put away. Rather we must measure ourselves against God's perfect standard and daily confess that we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

-Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace, p.52-53

He is Jesus lyrics

There’s a treasure great in beauty
Far surpassing earth’s great wealth
He is Jesus, Prince of Glory
Source of all grace, peace, and health
There’s a fountain ever flowing
Satisfying all who drink
He is Jesus, spring of joy
To all who hail Him as their King


There’s a power, holy power
Breaking bonds of captive men
He is Jesus, mighty Jesus
Holy warrior and sinner’s friend
There’s a Savior rich in mercy
Quick to pardon all our sins
He is Jesus, great Redeemer
Reconciling God and man


There’s a glorious Lord returning
And all will bow to Him alone
He is Jesus, King of nations
Reigning from His gracious throne
There is one to whom our praises
Will through every age ascend
He is Jesus, King forever
Whose wondrous rule will never end

-Stephen Altrogge, lyrics to "He Is Jesus", In a Little While (album), Sovereign Grace Music

God is sovereign over ALL

Proverbs 16:4 The Lord has made everything for its purpose,even the wicked for the day of trouble.

“Jehovah works everywhere, and all things are His servants.”
-Spurgeon, At the Master’s Feet, May 22.

what are we doing when we sin?

... "for to set our will against the will of God is to dethrone God and make ourselves supreme in the little kingdom of Mansoul."

-A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, p.30

which came first: your decision... or God's election?

“A man is not saved because he believes in Christ; he believes in Christ because he is saved.”

- Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (Philadelphia, PA: P&R Publishing, 1965), 101.

as stated to me today by a kind elderly woman, after talking my ear off for 20 minutes

blogger's note: though somewhat lacking in theological profundity, this quote will nevertheless remain one of my all time faves...

“Sorry I don’t look cute. If I’da knowed you was comin’ today, I’da put my teeth in.”
-friendly old lady named Rose

what is true joy?

A deep, durable, delight in the splendor of God, that ruins you for anything else.
-Sam Storms, sermon called “For Your Joy” 02-01-10, 2010 Desiring God Conference for Pastors

suffering: God's forge

Affliction is God’s forge where He softens the iron heart. You cannot work with iron while it remains cold and hard. Put it into the fire though, and make it red hot there and you may stamp upon it any figure or impression you please. Melted vessels are impressionable to any form. So it is with the heart of man, by nature it is cold and hard, and this is much increased by prosperity and the longsuffering of God toward sinners. The furnace makes the soul pliable to God’s counsel, and sometimes God is forced to make the furnace heated seven times hotter to work out the dross that renders men so resistant to the ministry of the Word.
-Thomas Case, as quoted by Eric Mason at Desiring God Conference for Pastors 2010

ELECTION: your will? or God's?

But there are some who say, "It is hard for God to choose some and leave others." Now, I will ask you one question. Is there any of you here this morning who wishes to be holy, who wishes to be regenerate, to leave off sin and walk in holiness? "Yes, there is," says some one, "I do." Then God has elected you. But another says, "No; I don't want to be holy; I don't want to give up my lusts and my vices." Why should you grumble, then, that God has not elected you to it? For if you were elected you would not like it, according to your own confession...
...You love this world's pleasures better than religion; then why should you grumble that God has not chosen you to religion? If you love religion, he has chosen you to it. If you desire it, he has chosen you to it. If you do not, what right have you to say that God ought to have given you what you do not wish for?...
...If you believe [these things] to be good and desire them, they are there for thee. God gives liberally to all those who desire; and first of all, he makes them desire, otherwise they never would. If you love these things, he has elected you to them, and you may have them; but if you do not, who are you that you should find fault with God, when it is your own desperate will that keeps you from loving these things—your own simple self that makes you hate them?
-C.H. Spurgeon, a sermon called “Election” on 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

God: far beyond all comprehension

To admit there is one who lies beyond us, who exists outside of all our categories, who will not be dismissed with a name, who will not appear before the bar of our reason, nor submit to our curious inquiries: this requires a great deal of humility, more than most of us possess, so we save face by thinking God down to our level, or at least down to where we can manage Him. Yet how He eludes us! For He is everywhere while He is nowhere, for "where" has to do with matter and space, and God is independent of both. He is unaffected by time or motion, is wholly self-dependent and owes nothing to the worlds His hands have made.
-A.W Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, pp.26-27

major in the Gospel!

The gospel isn’t one class among many that you’ll attend during your life as a Christian – the gospel is the whole building that all the classes take place in! Rightly approached, all the topics you’ll study and focus on as a believer will be offered to you ‘within the walls’ of the glorious gospel.
-C.J. Mahaney, The Cross Centered Life, 75-76

what are we saying about God?

When I complain, I'm informing the world that God isn't very good at running my life.
-Stephen Altrogge, on Twitter, 2009

here's your medicine

I find great help in thinking about the Bible as God’s guidebook to joy. Isn’t the Bible a Divine Prescription of how to cure us from all unhappiness in the long run? Now, the medicine that the Bible prescribes is not always fun to take. It might involve suffering. But the cure, the cure that it brings, is infinite and eternal joy at God’s right hand.
-John Piper, sermon called Get Wisdom, 5-24-1981

breathe the gospel!

Over the course of time, preaching the gospel to myself every day has made more of a difference in my life than any other discipline I have ever practiced...
I have also found that when I am absorbed in the gospel, everything else I am supposed to be toward God and others seems to flow out of me more naturally and passionately. Doing right is not always easy, but it is never more easy than when one is breathing deeply the atmosphere of the gospel.
-Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians, p.6

need help?

This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: “I will help thee.” “It is but a small thing for me, thy God, to help thee. Consider what I have done already. What! not help thee? Why, I bought thee with my blood. What! not help thee? I have died for thee; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help thee! It is the least thing I will ever do for thee; I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began I chose thee. I made the covenant for thee. I laid aside my glory and became a man for thee; I gave up my life for thee; and if I did all this, I will surely help thee now. In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have bought for thee already. If thou hadst need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it thee; thou requirest little compared with what I am ready to give. 'Tis much for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. ‘Help thee?’ Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat; and thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all-sufficiency. ‘I will help thee.’”
-Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, January 16, Morning

the best is yet to come

The life of the godly is not a straight line to glory, but they do get there. The life of the godly is not an Interstate through Nebraska, but a state road through the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee. There are rock slides and precipices and dark mists and bears and slippery curves and hairpin turns that make you go backwards in order to go forwards. But all along this hazardous, twisted road that doesn't let you see very far ahead there are frequent signs that say, "The best is yet to come." And at the bottom right corner written with an unmistakable hand are the words, "As I live, says the Lord!"
-John Piper

The Most High speaks

But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

- The Lord Jesus Christ, Luke 6:27-28

what about GOD?

What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us...
A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well. It is to worship what the foundation is to the temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb the whole structure must sooner or later collapse. I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God.

-A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, 1-2

better news

“To run and work the law commands,
Yet gives me neither feet nor hands;
But better news the gospel brings:
It bids me fly and gives me wings.”

- Attributed to John Bunyan, quoted by Jason C. Mayer in The End of The Law (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing, 2009), 2.