Spurgeon Quote

I have heard this quote from Charles Spurgeon referenced often, but I never knew where it came from, but today I found out where it came from and the context for the quote.  Enjoy…

“Once more, he who really has this high estimate of Jesus will think much of him, and as the thoughts are sure to run over at the mouth, he will talk much of him. Do we so? If Jesus is precious to you, you will not be able to keep your good news to yourself; you will be whispering it into your child’s ear; you will be telling it to your husband; you will be earnestly imparting it to your friend; without the charms of eloquence you will be more than eloquent; your heart will speak, and your eyes will flash as you talk of his sweet love. Every Christian here is either a missionary or an impostor. Recollect that. You either try to spread abroad the kingdom of Christ, or else you do not love him at all. It cannot be that there is a high appreciation of Jesus and a totally silent tongue about him.”

A Short Sermon by C.H. Spurgeon from the March 1873, Sword & Trowel

Antidote to Joyless Christianity

What’s the cure to joyless Christianity?  Hear Dr. Art Azurdia describe it here.

Immanuel, God With Us

“The first thing which we ought to consider in this name is the divine majesty of Christ, so as to yield to him the reverence which is due to the only and eternal God. But we must not, at the same time, forget the fruit which God intended that we should collect and receive from this name. For whenever we contemplate the one person of Christ as God-man, we ought to hold it for certain that, if we are united to Christ by faith, we possess God.” — John Calvin’s Commentary on Matthew

Join the War

If the Church gives the impression to the world that she is but a collection of people who are holding one another’s hands and saying nice, comforting, sentimental things, she is finished and useless in a world such as this is today.  The devil and his forces are active, and we need to fight!  The Church is not a place in which people do little but sympathize with one another; that is a totally wrong conception of the Christian Church.

Onward, Christians, onward go,

Join the war, and face the foe.

from Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones

This Is War

As we gathered last night to worship, and celebrate the advent of our Lord – I was introduced to a new song by Dustin Kensrue called “This Is War”.  I immediately looked him up this morning and found this music video.  It’s a brilliant Advent song! I hope you enjoy it. (Make sure you turn the HD on too, makes it twice a nice)

Are you content to follow Jesus from a distance?

Charles Spurgeon said:

Are you content to follow Jesus from a distance? O, let me affectionately warn you for it is a grievous thing when we can live contentedly without the present enjoyment of the Savior’s face. Let us work to feel what an evil thing this is – little love to our own dying Savior, little joy in our precious Jesus, little fellowship with the Beloved! Hold a true Lent in your in your souls, while you sorrow over your hardness of heart. Don’t stop at sorrow. Remember where you first received salvation. Go at once to the cross. There, and there only can you get your spirit aroused. No matter how hard, how insensible, how dead we may have become, let’s go again in all the rags and poverty, and defilement of our natural condition. Let’s clasp that cross, let’s look into those languid eyes, let’s bathe in that fountain filled with blood – this will bring us back to our first love; this will restore the simplicity of our faith, and the tenderness of our heart….The more we dwell where the cries of Calvary can be heard the more noble our lives become. Nothing puts life into men like a dying Savior.

TOMS Shoes

If you are not familiar with TOMS Shoes, you should be!  Watch this short video about this great company!

Redemption by Johnny Cash

From the hands it came down
From the side it came down
From the feet it came down
And ran to the ground
Between heaven and hell
A teardrop fell
In the deep crimson dew
The tree of life grew

And the blood gave life
To the branches of the tree
And the blood was the price
That set the captives free
And the numbers that came
Through the fire and the flood
Clung to the tree

And were redeemed by the blood
From the tree streamed a light
That started the fight
‘Round the tree grew a vine
On whose fruit I could dine
My old friend Lucifer came
Fought to keep me in chains
But I saw through the tricks
Of six-sixty-six

And the blood gave life
To the branches of the tree
And the blood was the price
That set the captives free
And the numbers that came
Through the fire and the flood
Clung to the tree
And were redeemed by the blood

From his hands it came down
From his side it came down
From his feet it came down
And ran to the ground
And a small inner voice
Said “You do have a choice.”
The vine engrafted me
And I clung to the tree

The Return

I just bought my new MacBook yesterday morning.  Expect the post to start rolling again…I’ve got tons of stuff stored up from the last couple of months!

MIA

Sorry everyone.  I haven’t abandoned my blog!  I just haven’t been able to post anything in the last several months.  This is largely because someone STOLE MY LAPTOP!!!!  So now I’m reduced to borrowing my roommates computer at opportune times and using my iPhone.  I hope to get a new computer soon, but the finances are just not available to me right now.

Quick update:  I’m living in Portland now.  I moved back there in September.  There’s a really long back story to all of this, but the short version is that God closed doors in Texas and opened doors in the Pacific NW.  So I’m back in PDX.  I’ll be finishing school at Western Seminary next year.  If you’ve ever want to come visit Portland, ring me up and I’d love to show you the city!

–Paul