Calvinistic Romance

Warning!!!

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ~ Romans 8:13

"Not to be daily mortifying sin is to sin against the goodness, kindness, wisdom, grace, and love of God, who has furnished us with a principle of doing it." ~ John Owen in On the Mortification of Sin

Something to be Grateful for!

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

Hebrews 12:28-29

How much will it cost me?

In J.C. Ryle's excellent book, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, & Roots he points out four things it will cost a man to be a true Christian:

1. To be a Christian it will cost a man his self-righteousness.
2. To be a Christian it will cost a man his sins.
3. To be a Christian it will cost a man his love of ease.
4. To be a Christian it will cost a man the favor of the world.

the good Bishop goes on "to give some hints which may help men to count the cost".

• Count up and compare the profit and loss, if you are a truehearted and holy Christian. You may lose the world, but you will gain the salvation of your immortal soul. Mk. 8:36
• Count up and compare the praise and the blame, if you are a truehearted and holy Christian. Men blame you, but you will be praised by the holy and living God.
• Count up and compare the friends and the enemies, if you are a truehearted and holy Christian. On the one side of you is the enmity of the devil and the wicked. On the other, you have the favor and friendship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jn. 15:15
• Count up and compare the life that now is and the life to come, if you are a truehearted and holy Christian. We must look beyond the life we now have to the promise of eternal life. 2 Cor. 4:16-18
• Count up and compare the pleasures of sin and the happiness of God's service, if you are a truehearted and holy Christian. the pleasures of this world tend to cloud our vision keeping us from seeing the treasures laid up for us in heaven.
• Count up and compare the trouble that true Christianity entails, and the troubles that are in store for the wicked beyond the grave. A single day in hell will be worse than a lifetime of carrying a cross.

May these words comfort, encourage and rebuke you where necessary.

Soli Deo Gloria

The Gospel Way

Blessed Lord Jesus,

No human mind could conceive or invent the Gospel.

Acting in eternal grace,

your are both its messenger and its message,

lived out on earth through infinite compassion,

applying your life to insult, injury, death,

that I might be redeemed, ransomed, freed.

Blessed are You, O Father,

for contriving this way,

Eternal thanks to you, O Lamb of God,

for opening this way,

Praise everlasting to You, O Holy Spirit,

For applying this way to my heart.

Glorious Trinity,

Impress the gospel on my soul,

Until its virtue diffuses ever faculty;

Let it be heard, acknowledged, professed, felt.

Teach me to secure this mighty blessing;

Help me

To give up every darling lust,

To submit heart and life to its command,

To have it in my will,

Controlling my affections,

Moulding my understanding;

To adhere strictly to the rules of true religion,

Not departing from them in any instance,

Nor for any advantage in order to escape evil,

Inconvenience or danger.

Take me to the Cross to seek glory from its infamy;

Strip me of every pleasing pretence of righteousness by my own doings.

O Gracious Redeemer,

I have neglected You too long,

Often crucified You,

Crucified You afresh by my impenitence,

Put You to open shame.

I thank You for the patience that has borne with me so long,

And for the grace that now makes me willing to be Yours.

O unite me to Yourself with inseparable bonds,

That nothing may ever draw me back from You,

My LORD, my Saviour

Valley of Vision

Witnesses of the King

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Acts 1:8