Memorization Monday - Expected Fruit - Joy

John 15:11 [Jesus said], "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

Memorization Monday - Expected Fruit - Faith

Romans 4:20, 21 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

Hymn of the Week - Come We That Love the Lord

Come We That Love the Lord by Isaac Watts

Come, we that love the Lord,
And let our joys be known;
Join in a song with sweet accord,
Join in a song with sweet accord
And thus surround the throne,
And thus surround the throne.

Refrain

We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.

The sorrows of the mind
Be banished from the place;
Religion never was designed
Religion never was designed,
To make our pleasures less,
To make our pleasures less.

Refrain

Let those refuse to sing,
Who never knew our God;
But favorites of the heavenly King,
But favorites of the heavenly King
May speak their joys abroad,
May speak their joys abroad.

Refrain

The God that rules on high,
And thunders when He please,
Who rides upon the stormy sky,
Who rides upon the stormy sky,
And manages the seas,
And manages the seas.

Refrain

This awful God is ours,
Our Father and our Love;
He will send down his heav’nly powers,
He will send down his heav’nly powers,
To carry us above,
To carry us above.

Refrain

There we shall see His face,
And never, never sin!
There, from the rivers of His grace,
There, from the rivers of His grace,
Drink endless pleasures in,
Drink endless pleasures in.

Refrain

Yea, and before we rise,
To that immortal state,
The thoughts of such amazing bliss,
The thoughts of such amazing bliss,
Should constant joys create,
Should constant joys create.

Refrain

The men of grace have found,
Glory begun below.
Celestial fruits on earthly ground
Celestial fruits on earthly ground
From faith and hope may grow,
From faith and hope may grow.

Refrain

The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heav’nly fields,
Before we reach the heav’nly fields,
Or walk the golden streets,
Or walk the golden streets.

Refrain

Then let our songs abound,
And every tear be dry;
We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground,
We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground,
To fairer worlds on high,
To fairer worlds on high.

Refrain

Biblical Manhood - Part 2

As we think about God’s Pattern for Christian Manhood we are thinking through how we can reflect the glory of God. We were made in His image and likeness and are to make Him look good. As Christian men we need to think seriously about this. Paul said that when he became a man he put away childish things (I Corinthians 13:11). We men tend to hang on to our childish ways. I’m sure most of us have seen the bumper sticker that says the only difference between the man and his boys is the price of the toys.

Dr. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Seminary, has compiled a list of 13 marks that distinguish a boy from a man. I would strongly encourage you to read over that list and evaluate your progress by some of the markers he includes there. http://www.albertmohler.com/2005/04/21/from-boy-to-man-the-marks-of-manhood-part-one/

Another thing the Bible tells us to do is to lay aside every weight and sin that hinders us in our race (Hebrews 12:1) The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:4 that a good soldier does not entangle himself with the affairs of everyday life so that he may please him who has called him to be a soldier. The point is that we as Christian men need to avoid those things which entangle us and hinder us from being everything God would have us be for His glory. As you look at your life, try to think through what those things are that might be a hindrance. Once you have identified them, take steps to reduce and eliminate them from your life so that you can run the race God has laid out for you.

Biblical Manhood - Part 1

We were created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). We were made out of mere dirt in a form that would reflect God’s likeness. Think about that! That is why He made us – to show forth His glory. The fall, of course, messed up that likeness. God’s image is still there but there are many blotches on the image and it’s our responsibility to pursue Godliness so that the world will see what He is like.

God also wanted a relationship with us. There had been a loving relationship among the members of the trinity in eternity past and that relationship and fellowship was intended to extend to mankind. After the fall, when God came to walk and talk with Adam as He normally did, Adam hid himself. Sin had put a separation between God and man. (Isaiah 59:2)

Our challenge as men is that in the middle of a world marred by sin and with personalities wounded by sin, we are still to reflect God’s glory and have a relationship with God and with other human beings.

What then does God want from me? In Deuteronomy 6:5 God says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.” Jesus added “and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39. He goes on in Deuteronomy to say that these words are to be in our heart.

Loving God is a command. That means it’s not just an emotional warm feeling. It is something we are to do. It requires action. Loving God involves our whole being. If we are to love God with our heart, that implies the emotional side of our being. Loving with our soul implies the psychological side. Loving God with our strength means there is energy and power behind it. And if we are to love God with our mind, that means our focus and whole rational being is involved. The Scripture adds to the intensity of the command by using the word “all”. We are to love with all of our soul, all of our mind, all of our strength and all of our heart. That’s a tall order and one that should bring with it a great deal of humility as we realize how totally impossible it is to do this perfectly.

When we think about the chief ways to love God, we need to consider these passages: Deuteronomy 5:10; John 14:15; John 14:21 and Luke 6:46. I think if you read these verses carefully you will discover that loving God is closely associated with obedience. We can’t really say we love God and then refuse to do what He asks. So if we are to pursue loving God with our whole being, we are going to have to pursue obedience with our whole being as well.

Jesus said that the second commandment is to love our neighbor as our self. That too is a difficult assignment. Just think about the many ways we show love for ourselves. We make sure we are well fed and generally cared for. We make sure we have enough sleep and enough leisure. Jesus said that we are to look after our neighbor in the same way. Immediately when we hear that we begin to make excuses as to why He can’t really mean that since we do have to take care of our own job and our own home and that leaves very little time to focus on those same areas in the life of our neighbor. As I think about myself, I’m amazed that I have so little concern for those around me. It’s pretty convicting to think about.

If you're looking for some good passages to help you sort through what other basics God requires of you, look at Micah 6:8 and Hebrews 12:1-14. Make a list of the challenges that God gives to us men to help us live lives that are faithful to Him.

Here are some questions you could ask yourself to check on your progress in these important areas:

What steps can I take to increase my love for God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength?

How can I follow the challenge of Deuteronomy 6:8, 9 to keep God’s commandments a focus in my life and home?

How well do I respond to the discipline God brings into my life?

How can I be more obedient in loving others the same way I love myself?

Biblical Manhood - Intro continued

I got to thinking about the fact that God tells us that we were created in His image and likeness. I remembered that Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 11:7. He is talking about head coverings which I don’t want to get into right now, but he says, “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since (and here is the part I want to focus on) he is the image and glory of God.” Here God is saying that man is the image and glory of God. The word behind image is “icon” and the word behind glory is “doxa”. Most of us know what an icon is. It is a picture or representation of something. We are that image of God. We are the picture and representation of God in the world! We get the word doxology from doxa. A doxology is a word of praise. We are the glory or praise of God!

Most of us don’t feel like we do a very good job of representing God as His image and glory, but the Bible says that that is what we are. How can we improve; make the image clearer? In 2 Corinthians 3:18 Paul writes that we, “with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

In that verse you see the same two words – image and glory. The key to showing that image and glory more clearly is to gaze on the glory of the Lord Jesus in His Word and as we do that more and more the Spirit of the Lord transforms us (the word is metamorphosis) into His image from one stage of glory to another. There are not a lot of secret steps here. It's a matter of spending time reading, thinking about and reflecting on scripture, the Word of God. It's a pretty simple concept really.

Biblical Manhood - Introduction

As a Christian, I look to the Bible to explain to me my purpose in life as a human being, but also to teach me what it means to be a man, a male human being. I believe that there is a God and that he is the only one that has the ability to explain to me why he made me and how he plans that I should honor him the most as a man. So the purpose of these few articles on Biblical Manhood is to explore some of the basics of God's design.

When we read the first few chapters of the book of Genesis we discover something right away. That is that God created us for a purpose and yet Adam’s sin brought a curse upon us that changed everything.

First we learn in Genesis 1:26 that God created us in His image and in 2:7 we learn that we are made of the dust of the ground. First of all that is difficult to comprehend. How can God take the dust of the earth and create something that is in His image and likeness? Being in the image of God implies responsibility and requires obedience in order to display that likeness. After the fall, this became much more difficult and requires more diligence and discipline relying on the Spirit of God within us to provide what is needed to accomplish this.

Second we learn in Genesis 1:26-28 that we have been given dominion and are to subdue the earth. This means we are to have leadership and are accountable to manage what God has given us. The fall of course made this much more difficult since the creation resists our management of it. This shows up in the fact that weeds grow much more easily than the vegetables we’re trying to grow in our garden. It also shows up in the fact that things wear out, break down and in other ways cause us frustration and toil.

Finally, God commanded us to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. Everything God had made He said was good except He said that it is not good that man should be alone. So we learn that marriage and family are part of God’s plan. In this area also the fall has taken its toll. It’s not easy to maintain the kind of marriage relationships and family relationships required to carry out God’s plan.

So, with these three areas we have the outline of where we are headed with the God’s Pattern for Christian Manhood study. We are going to look at what we must do to glorify God has we show forth His character and likeness. We are going to look at our dominion and leadership in the world which includes our vocation, money management and time management. And finally we are going to look at the need for moral purity and maintaining healthy and godly relationships in marriage and family.

Memorization Monday - Expected Fruit - Faith

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Hymn of the Week - All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name

All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name! by Edward Perronet

All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.

Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre, and as they tune it, fall
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all.
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye morning stars of light, who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all.
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God, who from His altar call;
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.

Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race, ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.

Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line, whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all.

Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.

Let every tribe and every tongue before Him prostrate fall
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.

[John Rippon add­ed this verse in 1787]

O that, with yonder sacred throng, we at His feet may fall,
Join in the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all,
Join in the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all!