"Wash My Feet, Lord"


I am a sinner, saved by grace, loving and loved by the Saviour, and striving to live the words of Scripture throughout my sanctification. I need to be convicted and changed more into the image of Christ. I desire to share with you, within this blog, all that I am daily learning. I want to serve Christ and become more and more like Him. I don’t want to live a legalistic life, but I do want to live a holy one. I want to see God receive the glory He deserves. I want to see the depth and richness of the Gospel come back to the Church. I want to see God’s people encouraging and building one another up in Christ. I want to encourage young people, and be encouraged by them, to live a set-apart life. I want to give up my life for the sake of the Kingdom and it’s King.
May you accept what is written here, if it truly honors the Lord, as coming from a heart that purely wants to honor Jesus Christ, my Savior. As He teaches me, rebukes me, corrects me, and trains me in righteousness, I hope to grow in my knowledge and love for Him. May everything that is said here bring Him glory. If I stray from the truths of Scriptures, please tell me. May my words be full of grace, as though seasoned with salt. May "the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Ps. 19:14)

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

O Great God by Sovereign Grace Music

He is Mighty to Save!

“Unbelief says, ‘Some other time, but not now; some other place, but not here; some other people, but not us.’ Faith says, ‘Anything He did anywhere else He will do here; anything He did any other time He is willing to do now; anything He ever did for other people He is willing to do for us!’” A.W. Tozer

“Mighty to Save” Isaiah 63:1

“Christ is not only ‘mighty to save’ those who repent, but He is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but He is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of His name to bend the knee before Him….Believer, here is encouragement. Art thou praying for some beloved one? Oh, give not up thy prayers, for Christ is ‘mighty to save.’ You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm and rouse it to put forth its strength…Whether to begin with others, or to carry on the work in you, Jesus is ‘mighty to save;’ the best proof of which lies in the fact that He has saved you.” Charles Spurgeon

Monday, November 29, 2010

The Wait Poem by Russell Kelfer

Do you ever feel like God is not hearing your prayers? Do you ever get tired of praying for something or someone, when there seems to be no change? I think we all have experienced that. I hope this poem encourages you to continue to "wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord."(Psalm 27:14)


Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said,"Wait."

"Wait? You say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!"
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I relate,
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to Wait?"
I'm needing a 'yes,' a go-ahead sign.
Or even a 'no,' to which I'll resign.

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply.

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting . . . for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me,
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

You'd never experience the fullness of love,
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask,
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

You'd never know should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But oh, the loss if I lost what I'm doing in you.

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see,
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still "WAIT".

Monday, October 18, 2010

Taking up our Cross

"Peace, joy, a home in heaven, prosperity. These
are the kinds of things we tend to focus on in our modern-day
evangelistic efforts: Come to Jesus, and He'll get rid of all your
problems.

But Jesus called His followers to take up their cross and follow
Him--to suffer for His sake. By ignoring that calling, I think we've
produced a generation of soft, flabby disciples who don't have much
stomach for the battles of the Christian life. When they encounter
trials and temptations, they whimper and whine and make a dash for
the quickest escape route.

The apostle Paul understood that suffering is essential. He said that
we must walk through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God.

So when you face trials, remember it doesn't mean that God has let
you down. If you'll let Him, He will actually use those trials as a
means to bless you and make you more like His Son."

With Seeking Him, Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Resolved 2010 / Jesus

Steve Lawson

“Who is Jesus Christ?”

Colossians 1:15- 23
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities –all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach – if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven.”

Who is Jesus Christ and do you know Him?

1. Jesus is God

“He is the image of the invisible God...” Jesus is the perfect image and the exact likeness of God. It is a statement of His own deity. None of us have ever seen God because He is invisible; He is Spirit. Jesus wrapped human flesh around Himself and became a man, yet remained God. He came as the God-Man. He was not 50% God and 50% man. He was 100% God and 100% man. He came to be the image of the invisible God. Philip said to Jesus, “Show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” And Jesus said, “Have I been with you so long and you have not come to know Me? He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Either Jesus Christ was a liar, or He was a lunatic, or He was Lord. Either He was deceived, or He was a deceiver, or He was Deity. There are no other options. Jesus Christ is fully God. Everything is built upon this foundation: He is eternal God who has existed in eternity past, Who is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father. There is no deity in any angel. There is no deity that resides in any man. Verse 19 of Colossians 1 goes on to say, “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him.” There you have it: Jesus Christ is God! This is the point of departure between Biblical Christianity and every heresy, every false religion, every cult and every religious movement that is outside of the Kingdom of God. This is the point of departure every time it is the person and work of Christ and it begins with the departure from the deity of Jesus Christ. This is not incidental, this is fundamental. Unless we say that Jesus Christ is God, there can be no true saving faith in Christ.
Why do we believe that Jesus Christ is God? We need to be equipped with answers. Proof that He is God:

a. Divine attributes: Jesus posses the attributes that only God possesses. Jesus is omnipotent: all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me.” Jesus is omniscient. He knows all men. Jesus is Omnipresent: “lo, I am with you always.” Jesus is truth. Jesus is immutable: the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus is Sovereign. Again and again, we see the attributes that belong to God alone are in Jesus Christ.

b. Divine works: Jesus performs the works that only God can perform. Jesus creates out of nothing. Jesus sustains and maintains the universe. Jesus forgives sin. Jesus raises the dead. Jesus is the Judge of all men. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit. Jesus does what only God can do.
c. Divine names: Jesus is called the names that only God is called. Jesus is called God in Hebrews 1:8. He is called Lord umpteenth times in the Scripture. He is called King of kings and Lord of lords. He takes the name “I AM who I AM” and takes it to Himself and says “I AM the Bread of Life”, “I AM the Light of the world,” “I AM the Resurrection and the Life,” “I AM the Way, and the Truth, and the Life,” “I AM the True Vine.” Only God could make that plain.

d. Jesus receives the worship that only God can receive: Hebrews 1:6 shows us that Jesus is worshiped by the angels. There is never any interruption. There is never any statement to those angels “Don’t do that.” Jesus is worshiped by men. Jesus will be worshiped at the end of time. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

e. Divine equality: There are multiple passages where Jesus is assigned equality with the Father. There is no question that the Bible speaks with one voice in declaring the full deity of Jesus Christ. John 1:1 “The Word was God.” John 20:28, Thomas cried out, “My Lord and my God!” Romans 9:5, Paul writes, “Christ, God blessed forever.” Titus 2:13, Paul writes, “Our great God and Savior Christ Jesus.” 2 Peter 1:1, we read, “Our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” 1 John 5:20, “Jesus Christ, this is the true God.” This is where Biblical Christianity begins: with the strongest affirmation of the absolute full, eternal, infinite deity of Jesus Christ. All the fullness of deity dwells in Him. Everything else we say is built upon this. He cannot be our Savoir if He is not God. He cannot be head of the Church if He is not God. He cannot be the Creator of all that there is, except He be God. If not, He is just another created being. When you look at Jesus, you are seeing undiminished Deity.
Paul goes on to say in Colossians 1:15 that Jesus is “the firstborn of all creation.” The cults love to jump on this. They say, “See, Jesus is a created being. He was the first created being by God and He is over creation as the head of creation.” That is absolutely impossible! In the very next verse we read that “by Him all things were created. If Christ was a created being then He would have created Himself. No one can create themself. Jesus is not a created being. Jesus is the Creator of all that there is. So what does this mean, “the firstborn of all creation”? This is a Messianic term speaking about the throne rights of the One who would come and the promise of the Father: the Lord Jesus Christ. When we read “firstborn of all creation” it means that Jesus has all of the prerogatives and all of the authority that belongs to a firstborn son. Psalm 89:27, “I also shall make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.”That’s what it means to be the firstborn. It means to be the highest of all kings. (King of kings and Lord of lords) It is an astonishing statement of the unrivalled, unrestricted supreme authority of Jesus Christ that all authority in Heaven and earth belongs to Him. This makes some very serious demands upon us. That when He speaks He speaks as with the sound of many waters. He drowns out every other human voice and every other opinion. There is but one voice that we hear in life that has all authority. It is the voice of Christ speaking to us through pages of Scripture. If Jesus Christ is God, then every one of us must worship Him. We must adore Him. We must bow before Him. We must reverence Him. We must give to Him allegiance and loyalty every moment of every day. We must recognize that He’s not making suggestions for our lives. He’s not giving us helpful hints on how we can get ahead in the world. He speaks. He roars as a lion from His throne above with unrivalled authority. He is God! He has every right to make demands upon our lives. And any departure from this point is heresy, cults, false religion, hell, and damnation. This is the high ground of Christianity.

2. Jesus is Creator

If He is God, He is Creator, because only God can create everything out of nothing. Verse 16 of Colossians 1 shows us three prepositional phrases: a. “By Him all things were created,” b. “through Him,” and c. “and for Him.” “By Him” speaks of the sphere of creation. “Through Him” speaks of the means or the agency of creation. And “for Him” speaks of the purpose or goal of creation. Everything about creation is from Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. We have been made by Him and for Him. The purpose of every one of our lives is to know Him, to worship Him, because it is He who has created us. Everything He has created: the devil, the demons, the angels, the universe, the human race, the world upon which we stand. We are literally breathing His air and drinking His water. “For by Him all things were created,” and He created it all out of nothing. There is no such thing as an evolution. That is a total distraction and departure and denial of this great truth that Jesus on six days of creation said, “Let there be light” and there was light. Everything has this stamp on it: “Made by Christ.” He created things visible and invisible. That contains it all. John 1:10 says, “He (Jesus) was in the world, and the world was made through Him.” Everything has come into being in, by, and through Christ. Could we possibly have a higher estimate, a more enlarged exaltation of Christ than this affirmation? Jesus created everything for His own purposes and His own glory, for the radiance of His own attributes. He is the reason that we are here. He is the reason He has made you, and for you to live your life disconnected from Christ, to live your life and not know Him personally is for you to miss the entire aim of why you are on this planet. He has made you for Himself. J. Burnham McGee used to say, “Now friends, this is God’s universe, and so you have to do things God’s way. You may think you have a better way, but you don’t. Go created your own universe if you want to do things your way!” The fact of the matter is that we are created beings, and we have been created by our Creator for the purpose of glorifying Him and honoring Him and magnifying Him. That is why we are here. There is a grand design for your life. There is a master purpose. There is a chief aim. You have been created by Christ for Himself. And this really becomes the number one interpretive key for you to know what God’s will is for your life. Where should you go to school? What should you major in? What should you study? Who should your friends be? Whom should you marry? Where will you live? The number one way to understand these questions is what will most honor and glorify Jesus Christ? That’s why He made you. And the entire Bible gives us the specifics on the path that we are to take. Jesus is Creator and He has made you for Himself.

3. Jesus is Sustainer

Vs 17 says, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Jesus upholds every moment of every day; all that He has created. There is nothing random. Everything is under the direction and the government of the Lord Jesus Christ who is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He is ordering and orchestrating the entirety of all there is. Every moment of every day He is upholding the laws of thermodynamics, the laws of gravity, and the laws of inertia. All of the physical laws are being upheld by Christ. And He is upholding all moral laws as well. And He is upholding your life. He doesn’t even have to take your life, He can just stop giving it. “He is before all things.” Jesus Christ is previous to everything. He is pre-existent before all time and before all created matter. He is without beginning. He is the uncreated Creator. He is before all things. He is the first cause of which everything else is the subsequent effect. Isaiah 9:6, “His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father.” Micah 5:2 says, “His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” That is to say that Jesus came stepping out of eternity into time when He came here. John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word.” This is to say for your life: Jesus Christ goes before you. He has prepared all things. He has predestined good works for you to walk in. He has already scripted tomorrow. He has gone ahead of us into the future . He has already laid His plans, and He will never amend or alter His plans. He is before all things! He will never follow us. We will always be the ones who follow Him. “In Him all things hold together.”All that He has created He holds together. Hebrews 1:10. He is the One upholding your life. He is the One upholding your faith. He is the One upholding your marriage, your ministry, your church. Hebrews 12:2 calls Him “the author and perfector of our faith.” He is the One who created saving faith in you, and He is the One who is upholding saving faith in you. That is why no true believer will ever become an unbeliever. It is absolutely impossible because Christ is the One who is upholding all things! Whatever is God’s will for your life, He will uphold you, He will empower you, He will enable you to do what will glorify Himself. You put your weak life into His strong hands and He will uphold you even if you walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

4. Jesus is Lord

He rules over all that He sustains. Vs 18 says, “He is also head of the body, the church.” Jesus is not in a supportive role. He is in the supreme role in the church. To say that Jesus is the head is to say that Jesus is directing all things, Jesus is governing all things, He is sending His impulses into the body to direct the body by His exclusive initiative. Jesus is our exalted head. He is Lord over us, and we are but His slaves. He is Master over us, and we are but His servants. He is Ruler over us, and we are but His subjects. The entirety of our Christian life is left to us to submit to Him, to serve Him, and to sacrifice for Him. Listen, we must be willing to go wherever He sends us, to do whatever He requires, and to give whatever He demands. There are no conditions in our following the Lord Jesus Christ because He is our exalted head. We give to Him our unconditional surrender. We follow wherever He directs. Let me tell you this about the Christian life, if you please Him, it does not matter whom you displease, and if you displease Him, it does not matter whom you please. The Christian life is very simple: please the Lord Jesus Christ! Follow the Lord Jesus Christ! Obey the Lord Jesus Christ! He is Lord!
Vs 18 goes on to say, “He is the beginning.” He is the source of the Christian life; the source for the life of the Church. He is the beginning. Everything is flowing out of Him. We were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. We were predestined in Him. We were purchased by Him. He is the life of the Church. He is the Source. He is the Origin, and so therefore, He gives to us all we need. This is a statement of the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ. You do not have a need but that He is the Source. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” He gives us power, wisdom, direction, guidance, instruction, forgiveness, gifts, patience, the Fruit of the Spirit, and everything we need that pertains to godliness.
“The firstborn from the dead.” He is raised from the dead. The grave could not hold Him. Of all those who have been raised from the dead and of all those who will ever be raised from the dead, Jesus is the greatest of them all. This is saying that Jesus is the greatest of all who have ever come out of the grave. “So that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” If Jesus Christ is still in the tomb, then nothing matters, but if Jesus Christ has come out of that tomb, then nothing else matters! And because He has been raised from the dead, He must have first place in every aspect of our lives. First place in our families, marriage, profession, mission, ministry, time, money, conversation, pleasure, eating, playing, athletics, what we watch, in art, in music, in worship. Jesus Christ is jealous to have first place in every inch and every ounce of our lives! And He has the throne rights to make such a demand of us.
Vs. 19 says, “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him.” Jesus was not 90% God, 75% God, or 50% God. He was 100% God. “All the fullness to dwell in Him.” Vs. 20, “And through Him to reconcile all things to Himself.” This is a universal reconciliation. “All things”: visible or invisible; everything. Philippians 2:9-11 says, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” There will be no atheists in hell. There will be no unbelievers in that sense in hell. Everyone will confess and acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ and it is because He humbled Himself unto death, even death on a cross. God, therefore, highly exalted Him! This is saying that because of the Son’s obedience unto death, He has been so exalted by the Father that all things in the entire universe have been brought into submission under the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ: the universe, the human race, angels, Satan, demons, everything and everyone by His obedience at Calvary’s Cross. He has been so highly exalted that the entire created order which He Himself created is now in a position of submission under His feet. He is Lord!
Vs20, “Through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” That is the means by which those who believe upon Him will be reconciled to the Father. Have you bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you come to recognize His Lordship over your life? In the truest sense, none of us can make Him Lord, He is already Lord! All we can do is recognize and acknowledge and respond to His exalted Lordship. No one will ever be saved until they say “Jesus is Lord.” No one will ever enter the Kingdom of Heaven except by coming to this place of repentance and saving faith by which we yield and surrender our lives to His Lordship.
5. Jesus is Savior
Jesus is God. He is Creator. He is Sustainer. He is Lord. Jesus is Savior.
This designation for Christ, beginning in verse 21, is the result of the four previous titles in verses 15-20. Only One who is God, Creator, Sustainer, and Lord could be qualified to reconcile us to the Father. Vs. 21 talks about our past when we were outside of Christ. These were our BC days: before Christ. Paul says, “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds.” None of us entered this world reconciled to God. None of us came into this world in a saved state. We were all alienated from God. We all were at enmity with God. Alienated means we were separated from Him and against Him. We were cut off from Him; without a relationship with Him. We did not know Him. We were distant from Him. We were detached from Him; strangers of Him. “And hostile in mind.” This was true of every one of us. We had hateful thoughts towards God. We resisted the demands that He was making upon our lives. We were “engaged in evil deeds.” This is the inevitable result of being “hostile in mind.” Our evil deeds flowed out of a hostile mind, and not only were we against God, but God was against us! God is a holy God, and God is a God of absolute purity, and God cannot be neutral towards sin. And as we were in a state of sin, it’s not that we were just alienated and hostile towards God, but God was hostile towards us. “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.”(Romans 1:18) But in vs. 22, “yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” This speaks of His death upon the Cross. When Jesus Christ went to the Cross, He did many different things in that one death. In His death, He propitiated the anger of God towards us; He satisfied the righteous indignation of God towards us. He appeased God’s righteous anger towards us with His death. When He died upon the Cross, He redeemed us, and He bought us out of the slave market of sin. He purchased us and paid the debt of our sins. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) But not only did Jesus satisfy the Father and redeem us, He also reconciled us to the Father. That is to say that Jesus, upon the Cross, He was the mediator who take Holy God in one hand and unholy sinners in the other hand, and by His death on Calvary’s Cross, He has reconciled us and brought us to a Holy God. There is now no condemnation for them who are in Christ Jesus. He did this in His fleshly body. He did this as He bore our sins in His body. He did this as He suffered the wrath of God within Himself as He hung suspended upon that Cross “in order to present you before (God).” He died in order to present us before the Father. Jesus’ death has changed our relationship with God. Once we were foes, now we are friends. Once we were enemies, He has now made us sons and daughters and He has reconciled us so that He might present us to the Father “holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”He will present us free of all charges; free of all accusations that could be brought against us through the perfection of His atoning death upon the Cross. And we know that this is real in our lives by what Paul says in vs. 23. This is the assurance that we have been truly reconciled to God, for not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He says, “If indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” The faith that fizzles before the finish had a flaw from the first. It is not real. And so Paul says that those who have been truly reconciled to God are those who continue in the faith.

Jesus Christ is God. He is Creator. He is Sustainer. He is Lord. He is Savior.

We cannot be wrong about this and be right with God, and we must come to the place where we entrust our lives to this Christ and to recognize Him for who He truly is: the Son of God; the Son of Man.

At the end of his life, Napoleon Bonaparte, that little general of war, the dictator of France, was exiled in his latter days to St. Helen’s Island. Alone, he had only a Bible, and Bonaparte began to read that Bible carefully and slowly. And he became captivated with the central character of the Bible, Jesus Christ. And Bonaparte wrote these words:

“I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a mere man.
Superficial minds may see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires
and the gods of other religions.
That resemblance does not exist.
There is between Christianity and every other religion the distance of infinity.
We can say to the authors of every other religion, ‘You are neither gods nor the agents of deity. You are but missionaries of falsehood, moulded from the rest of mortals.’
But Jesus Christ stands alone!
And it is the uniqueness of Jesus Christ that sets apart Christianity from all the other religions of the world.”


Have you come to see and have you come to know that Jesus Christ is God, fully God? Do you see that He is the One who has created you for Himself? And do you understand that He is upholding and maintaining and sustaining your life? That He is Lord over your life? And that He died upon the Cross that all creation would be subjected under His feet? And that He has made peace with God through the blood of His Cross, if we will but believe upon Him, He will reconcile us to the Father, and He will present us to Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach. Have you come to commit your life to Him? Have you repented of your sins? Have you come to confess that Jesus is Lord? The Bible says that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I beg you; I plead with you. If you have never surrendered your life to the King of kings and to the Lord of lords, march under no other banner. Follow no other imposter. There is only one Savior. There is only one Lord. He is Jesus Christ! May you give your life to Him, and if you do, He will lead you through this life, He will never lose you, and He will present you in Heaven to the Father to be His son or daughter forever and ever and ever. There is salvation in no other name, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by where we must be saved.

This is Jesus, our Lord.

Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken - Music Video

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

"The power of the incarnation is that it makes the presence and glory of God visible. By taking on flesh and blood, Christ made known the unseen God. Why does the Light need to shine on earth? Because people are groping around in darkness. Why does God need to be revealed? Because people don't see Him. In coming to earth, Christ died for His own, but He also gave sight to eyes that had been blind for far too long."

Paul David Tripp - Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Our News Must Be The Good News

“When Jesus commissioned His disciples to minister in His name, (the Good News) is the message He told them to proclaim. As we face our own struggles with sin and minister to people who seem trapped by things they cannot overcome, this must be our message too. We must faithfully proclaim, ‘Hope is only to be found in Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. In Him, lasting, personal heart change is possible.’ Any other message encourages false hope.

“People struggling with life in a fallen world often want explanations when what they really need is imagination. They want strategies, techniques, and principles because they simply want things to be better. But God offers much more. People need to look at their families, neighbours, friends, cities, jobs, history, and churches and see the Kingdom. They need imagination – the ability to see what is real but unseen. This is what Paul fixed his gaze on (2 Corinthians 4). They need to look at a city and see the glorious company of the redeemed being gathered, amidst a brutal spiritual battle, to live in union with God. They need to look at their children and see a Redeemer pursuing their hearts for His own. They need to scan history and see God accomplishing His purpose. People need to see the shining hope of human existence: people can know, love, and serve God. They can commune with Him forever and form a community of love that is possible no other way. All of this is possible because the King has placed His love and grace on them.

“(God) hasn’t given us ‘seven steps to personal and relational perfection.’ Instead, He has told us to place our hope in the presence and work of Jesus the Redeemer.”

-Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, Paul David Tripp

Thursday, September 2, 2010

‎2 Timothy 2:11-13, "It is a trustworthy statement: for if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself."

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Spurgeon speaks on how sovereign God actually is...

"I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes—

that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit, as well as the sun in the heavens—

that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses.

The creeping of an aphid over the rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence—

the fall of sere leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche."

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Psalm 67

"God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us -
That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.
Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for You will judge the peoples with uprightness
and guide the nations on the earth.
Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You.
The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us.
God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him."

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

There is a Fountain

"There is fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power
’Til all the ransomed church of God
Be saved to sin no more.

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I’ll sing Thy pow’r to save."

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

John 3:16-21

"Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power
’Til all the ransomed church of God
Be saved to sin no more."

Friday, July 30, 2010

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Philippians 3:7-11

"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

Monday, July 12, 2010

Resolved 2010 - Jesus

Recap on:
“So I Really Do Need a Priest”
Dr. Al Mohler
Saturday, June 26, 2010

Every Christian needs a priest. Every Christian needs someone to intercede for them. On our own and in our sinful state, we cannot be the one. How can we, in uncleanness, come before the perfect holy throne of the Father and seek the forgiveness of our sin?
The answer is we can’t. Not on our own.

“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness...for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins...by this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all...therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promises is faithful.”

Hebrews 9:22; 10:4, 10, 19-23

This passage holds so much hope! Jesus Christ is our mediator; our intercessor. He alone, the perfect sacrifice, the perfect Son of God can stand blameless in the perfect presence of God and plead for sinners like you and like me.
He is eternally Prophet, Priest, and King.
His death was without fault and complete, once for all.
He did not shed the blood of an animal. He gave His own blood.
Blood is always required for atonement.
Blood is only necessary if you want to be saved.
Christ’s death was full atonement for all who were His. None of us could die to save ourselves. If we are to enter into His divine covenant of salvation, a blood sacrifice had to be given, and given it was in the Lamb of God.

And He has not left us here to merely know this covenant and obey it.
He is coming again for us.

Know His love:

He suffered for us – Hebrews 9:12 “And not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
God, in His love for the world, crushed His one and only Son. His suffering was for our salvation. Jesus gave Himself for us. He is the good Shepherd.
He lays down His life for the sheep.

He is our sacrificing High Priest – Jesus, being the great High Priest, did not offer up a sacrifice for us but became the final and only perfect sacrifice for us. Death was made dead in the death of Christ. He is our saving High Priest.

He is the substitutionary High Priest – Jesus’ death was the predetermined plan of God before the beginning of time. If His death was not full substitution, we are not saved. “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

He is the superior High Priest – He is Lord in all, through all, and over all.
Psalm 47:2, “For the LORD Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth.”

He is a supernatural High Priest – He does not have to offer sacrifices first for Himself and then for the people. Christ is sinless! He lives forever! He is the eternal Son of God!

He is the solitary High Priest – He is the only One! Isaiah 46:9 says, “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me.”

He is our sufficient High Priest – Hebrews 10:18 clearly shows us that Christ’s sacrifice was all sufficient, “Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.” He is enough!

He is our sovereign High Priest – Hebrews 1:3 “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

He is the sympathetic High Priest – There is nothing He has not known. He is able and ready to sympathize with our weakness.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:14-16

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!
Words by Charitie Bancroft

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Recap on Resolved 2010 ~ Jesus


Rick Holland ~ Jesus – The Only Mediator
June 25, 2010

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6

Jesus Christ is God. In fullness, He is perfect deity. He makes this very clear throughout Scripture. He says in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one”. Jesus was also fully man: perfect deity wrapped in human flesh. Passages from John 1 say, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being...He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

God is transcendent. He alone is above all. Psalm 113:4-6 says, “The Lord is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth?” God is also immanent. He is, as Matthew 1:23 says, “God with us.” Colossians 1:17 says, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” David wrote in Psalm 139 of God’s continual presence throughout the earth, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your right hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,’ even darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day.”
And this is where it becomes amazing! God – full and complete perfection and holiness - the only God, sent His only Son, whom He loved, “in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin,” as Romans 8 says, “therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus, the Son of God, lived, died, and was raised to life, is now seated at the right hand of God. And do you know what He does there? He pleads for sinners like you, like me. “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners and exalted above the heavens.” He is our mediator. He was abandoned by man and by God at the Cross. He knows everything we have every gone through for He was fully man, and yet He never sinned! He alone bore the wrath of God in our place, but now He has glory at the right hand of His Father. Jesus Christ is immanence and transcendence come together!

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way.
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave.
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will.
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still.

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross.
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace.

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life!

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me.
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose.
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You.

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life!

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI), by Jordan Kauflin

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Resolved 2010 ~ Day One Recap

Wow! I have so very much to share with you all about Resolved 2010 ~ Jesus!

But till then, you'll have to settle with a video recap!

What I will say is that Jesus Christ was glorified and we were given a fresh vision of our precious Savior and His amazing, sovereign grace!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Resolved 2010 Jesus begins in 3.5 hours! Pray that God will be glorified as we are spiritually edified and lifted up through the worship and teaching of His Word!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

10 More Sleeps till Resolve 2010!

"I have nothing else to rely upon but the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived, died, was buried, rose again, went to heaven, and still lives and pleads for sinners at the right hand of God."
-- C. Spurgeon

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Promises...from Matthew

..."Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, 'God with us.'" Matthew 1:23

..."It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" Matthew 4:4

..."Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great." Matthew 5:3-12

..."Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8

..."Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul...are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword...he who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." Matthew 10:28-39

..."Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Thy Cross

I hope this Puritan prayer will encourage you as it did me as we reflect upon the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who died for us. Thank You, Jesus!

May thy cross be to me
as the tree that sweetens my bitter Marahs,
as the rod that blossoms with life and beauty,
as the brazen serpent that calls forth the look of faith.
By thy cross crucify my every sin;
Use it to increase my intimacy with thyself;
Make it the ground of all my comfort,
the liveliness of all my duties,
the sum of all thy gospel promises,
the comfort of all my afflictions,
the vigour of my love, thankfulness, graces,
the very essence of my religion;
And by it give me that rest without rest,
the rest of ceaseless praise.

--The Valley of Vision

Saturday, March 6, 2010

I Am Resolved

I am so excited to be going with my famiy this June to the Resolved Conference in Palm Springs, California. Please consider attending. I know it is going to be life changing for me!



Rick Holland introduces the topic for the 2010 Resolved conference. --- There should be nothing more interesting to a Christian than Jesus. Join us in Palm Springs, CA, on June 25-28 as we focus our hearts on the living, risen Savior! --- Speakers will be: John MacArthur, Rick Holland, C.J. Mahaney, Al Mohler, Steve Lawson.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Dear friends and blog readers!

God has really put it on my heart to encourage young women in their walk with Him in the areas of purity, singleness, and the set-apart life. I am going to step away from "Wash My Feet, Lord" for a while and focus on addressing critical life circumstances facing young women today and how we can push one another to live a Gospel-centered life!

Join me at http://myheartisinhishands.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

One Day Every Knee Will Bow

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:5-11

Well, the world has come to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The city is just buzzing with excitement and the quest for gold is evident all around. It is quite something to see an entire planet join together in such a bonding event. Millions of people have tuned in to watch the opening ceremony and the events and thousands upon thousands have traveled far and wide to take part in the excitement.

The torch relay is probably the most uniting event leading up to the Olympics. A burning flame is lit and carried throughout the world heralding the coming of a great event. This flame travels through the smallest of villages to the largest metropolis areas. The every stride of the torchbearer intensifies the excitement and longing for the final climatic moment when the flame is lit and the world is one.



I have found that there are some amazing parallels between the Olympic Games and the life of the Christian. The torch is a light that never goes out. It burns brightly and brings hope to an unsettled world. Torchbearers carry this flame throughout the world, creating a chain of light that connects every nation. The torch signifies the coming of something great; something wonderful.



In the same way, every Christian is a torchbearer. We all have the light of the Gospel in our hands and the Light of the world in our hearts. This Light never goes out. It burns brighter than any light that has been or ever will be. It alone brings true hope to a desperately lost and dying world. We, like the Olympic torchbearer, must carry this Flame throughout the world, creating a chain of light and truth that touches every tribe, tongue, and nation. This Torch signifies the coming of Someone great; Someone wonderful.

Don't be deceived. The world worships the athletes and athletic abilities of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Sounds similar to the people in Jesus' day. They "were amazed at His teaching." They cried out "Hosanna...blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord", and only a week later they screamed "Crucify Him!"
I'm not saying that people will soon hate the athletes who have come to Vancouver, but in 10 years, or maybe even sooner, no one will remember the great accomplishments, many sacrifices, and personal victories that took place during these two weeks.

As I watched the opening ceremonies and the events following, I have seen the true heart of man. God created us with the desire to worship. He gave us the longing for things grand and beautiful; things that awe and inspire us; spectacular things. But He Himself is the only One who can fulfill that desire. People long to be satisfied in the depth of their hearts, and they try to fulfill those desires with things of the world. God has to be enough for us. His beauty and glory ought to cause us to be awed and inspired. He is grand and beautiful. His glory is spectacular. I pray that He would give us faith to believe. As you undoubtedly have heard the theme song of these Olympics, "I Believe", don't settle for believing in yourself. Believe in God. He is the One who saves.

1 Corinthians 13:12

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known."

Saturday, January 30, 2010

O Wondrous Love

O wondrous love that will not let me go
I cling to You with all my strength and soul
Yet if my hold should ever fail
This wondrous love will never let me go
O wondrous love that's come to dwell in me
Lord, who am I that I should come to know
Your tender voice assuring me
Your wondrous love will never let me go
I'm resting in the everlasting arms
In the ever faithful heart, the Shepherd of my life
You'll carry me on Your mighty wings of grace
Keeping me until the day I look into Your eyes
O wondrous love that sings of Calvary
The sweetest sound this sinner's ever known
The song of Your redeeming Son
Whose wondrous love will never let me go
I'm resting in the everlasting arms
In the ever faithful heart, the Shepherd of my life
You'll carry me on Your mighty wings of grace
Keeping me until the day I look into Your eyes
O wondrous love that rushes over me
I can't escape this river's glorious flow
You overwhelm my days with good
Your wondrous love will never let me go
Your wondrous love will never let me go
~Steve and Vikki Cook

Friday, January 22, 2010

The Modesty Survey

TheRebelution.com: The Modesty Survey

"The Modesty Survey is an anonymous discussion between Christian guys and girls who care about modesty. Hundreds of Christian girls submitted their questions and over 1,600 Christian guys (of all ages) submitted 150,000+ answers—including over 25,000 text responses. The results were released on Valentines Day of 2007."

~Alex and Brett Harris, The Rebelution

I have personally learned so much from reading the results of The Modesty Survey and I would encourage men and women of all ages to read through the results, too. May we learn to treat one another with respect and honor, making it our aim to please God.

Colosians 1:9-12

"Be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light."

2 Corinthians 5:9 & 10

"Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Does God Hate Haiti?

As we all undoubtedly know, a 7.0 earthquake rocked the poverty-stricken country of Haiti last week. Another powerful aftershock has just struck the devastated nation this morning with a magnitude of 6.1. It is often at times like these that we wonder what God is doing. Be encouraged: He is in total control! But also, take time out of your day and throughout your day to pray for these people, and be ever so thankful for the rich blessings God has given us.

The following article was taken from the website 0f Dr. Al Mohler, a respected speaker and defender of Christ and Scripture and the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This article "Does God Hate Haiti?" has been featured on many blogs and websites but it gives us a biblical look at the heart of God in a time of tragedy:

"The images streaming in from Haiti look like scenes from Dante's Inferno. The scale of the calamity is unprecedented. In many ways, Haiti has almost ceased to exist.
The earthquake that will forever change that nation came as subterranean plates shifted about six miles under the surface of the earth, along a fault line that had threatened trouble for centuries. But no one saw a quake of this magnitude coming. The 7.0 quake came like a nightmare, with the city of Port-au-Prince crumbling, entire villages collapsing, bodies flying in the air and crushed under mountains of debris. Orphanages, churches, markets, homes, and government buildings all collapsed. Civil government has virtually ceased to function. Without power, communication has been cut off and rescue efforts are seriously hampered. Bodies are piling up, hope is running out, and help, though on the way, will not arrive in time for many victims.
Even as boots are finally hitting the ground and relief efforts are reaching the island, estimates of the death toll range as high as 500,000. Given the mountainous terrain and densely populated villages that had been hanging along the fault line, entire villages may have disappeared. The Western Hemisphere's most impoverished nation has experienced a catastrophe that appears almost apocalyptic.
In truth, it is hard not to describe the earthquake as a disaster of biblical proportions. It certainly looks as if the wrath of God has fallen upon the Caribbean nation. Add to this the fact that Haiti is well known for its history of religious syncretism -- mixing elements of various faiths, including occult practices. The nation is known for voodoo, sorcery, and a Catholic tradition that has been greatly influenced by the occult.
Haiti's history is a catalog of political disasters, one after the other. In one account of the nation's fight for independence from the French in the late 18th century, representatives of the nation are said to have made a pact with the Devil to throw off the French. According to this account, the Haitians considered the French as Catholics and wanted to side with whomever would oppose the French. Thus, some would use that tradition to explain all that has marked the tragedy of Haitian history -- including now the earthquake of January 12, 2010.
Does God hate Haiti? That is the conclusion reached by many, who point to the earthquake as a sign of God's direct and observable judgment.
God does judge the nations -- all of them -- and God will judge the nations. His judgment is perfect and his justice is sure. He rules over all the nations and his sovereign will is demonstrated in the rising and falling of nations and empires and peoples. Every molecule of matter obeys his command, and the earthquakes reveal his reign -- as do the tides of relief and assistance flowing into Haiti right now.
A faithful Christian cannot accept the claim that God is a bystander in world events. The Bible clearly claims the sovereign rule of God over all his creation, all of the time. We have no right to claim that God was surprised by the earthquake in Haiti, or to allow that God could not have prevented it from happening.
God's rule over creation involves both direct and indirect acts, but his rule is constant. The universe, even after the consequences of the Fall, still demonstrates the character of God in all its dimensions, objects, and occurrences. And yet, we have no right to claim that we know why a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti happened at just that place and at just that moment.
The arrogance of human presumption is a real and present danger. We can trace the effects of a drunk driver to a car accident, but we cannot trace the effects of voodoo to an earthquake -- at least not so directly. Will God judge Haiti for its spiritual darkness? Of course. Is the judgment of God something we can claim to understand in this sense -- in the present? No, we are not given that knowledge. Jesus himself warned his disciples against this kind of presumption.
Why did no earthquake shake Nazi Germany? Why did no tsunami swallow up the killing fields of Cambodia? Why did Hurricane Katrina destroy far more evangelical churches than casinos? Why do so many murderous dictators live to old age while many missionaries die young?
Does God hate Haiti? God hates sin, and will punish both individual sinners and nations. But that means that every individual and every nation will be found guilty when measured by the standard of God's perfect righteousness. God does hate sin, but if God merely hated Haiti, there would be no missionaries there; there would be no aid streaming to the nation; there would be no rescue efforts -- there would be no hope.
The earthquake in Haiti, like every other earthly disaster, reminds us that creation groans under the weight of sin and the judgment of God. This is true for every cell in our bodies, even as it is for the crust of the earth at every point on the globe. The entire cosmos awaits the revelation of the glory of the coming Lord. Creation cries out for the hope of the New Creation.
In other words, the earthquake reminds us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only real message of hope. The cross of Christ declares that Jesus loves Haiti -- and the Haitian people are the objects of his love. Christ would have us show the Haitian nation his love, and share his Gospel. In the midst of this unspeakable tragedy, Christ would have us rush to aid the suffering people of Haiti, and rush to tell the Haitian people of his love, his cross, and salvation in his name alone.
Everything about the tragedy in Haiti points to our need for redemption. This tragedy may lead to a new openness to the Gospel among the Haitian people. That will be to the glory of God. In the meantime, Christ's people must do everything we can to alleviate the suffering, bind up the wounded, and comfort the grieving. If Christ's people are called to do this, how can we say that God hates Haiti?
If you have any doubts about this, take your Bible and turn to John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. That is God's message to Haiti."