Be thou my shield and hiding place, 
that, sheltered near thy side, 
I may my fierce accuser face, 
and tell him Thou hast died. 

O wondrous love! to bleed and die, 
to bear the cross and shame, 
that guilty sinners, such as I, 
might plead thy gracious name! 

- J. Newton

You will never know the fullness of Christ until you know the emptiness of everything but Christ - Spurgeon

"Above all, let us be much alone with Jesus." — Charles Spurgeon

If we pray to be seen of men, we shall have our reward, and a pitiful reward it will be; we shall have the admiration of shallow fools, and nothing more. -Spurgeon

“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster.” - Nietzsche

The word “Gospel”, found throughout your New Testament, was first recorded in Isaiah (40:9) as a message to and about the city of Jerusalem. - Bill Scofield

Rome may be the capital of a gentile empire, holding political control over much of the earth, but for Luke and Acts it was neither the center nor the true capital of the world. That honor belonged to Jerusalem alone. - Mark Kinzer

And it will again. Maranatha.

The parent who tries to train without setting a good example is building with one hand, and pulling down with the other. —J.C. Ryle

 Joshua Hawkins (from a related DeSilva article) works though a good NT definition of "grace" here. 

The bigger you know your debt of sin to have been, the greater your joy and love at the forgiveness of it (Luke 7:36-50). A knowledge of self and of God rise or fall together (Calvin Institutes 1:1)-- conviction of sin and the joy of grace do too. -Timothy Keller

This [embracing a cruciform life in this age] is so important to remember, because it's the source of our joy and peace in this age.

A disciple of Jesus imitates his manner of life and follows the path he walked in expectation of God fulfilling his promises to raise the dead and restore all things in the age to come. - Josh Hawkins

Gentle reminder: It is not through the cross that we visualize and manifest our dreams in this age. Rather, it is through the cross that we die to our dreams and desires in this age. - Joel Richardson

By inaugurating the age to come, the cross is set aside as the normative reality of this age, and the purpose of God is interpreted as an ever-increasing realization of divine sovereignty. Furthermore, by spiritually realizing the Jewish-apocalyptic realities, inaugurationalism mitigates the severity of God and the coming day of the Lord. As a result, the divine agenda of both advents is truncated, and as such those who embrace inaugurationalism generally avoid apocalypticism and abandon an overt theology of the cross. - John P. Harrigan

 My teaching on the Story of the Cross. Notes. Audio 1. Audio 2. 

"Courage, my brethren, our sons may be superior to ourselves! There is room for it, and let us hope they will be." - Charles Spurgeon

“Anxiety is worry about something related to tomorrow’s trouble that you have no grace to engage with today.” - Bob Sorge

In the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:23–35) the king (God) forgave him a debt of 10,000 talents. One talent is worth 20 years’ wages. That’s a debt of 200,000 years of wages. As we might say, Bazillions of dollars. 

The point? No one owes you more. Forgive. -John Piper

"The Creator God knows by name every item in His complex creation. How can He, who is the God of Israel, be accused of forgetting His people?" -J. Alec Motyer

 An article I wrote about the resurrection of the dead for the online magazine "Theozine." 

You want to find out how spiritual your church is, Mr. Preacher? Say, “this church is going to have a night of prayer every week until revival comes in this community”, and see how many people can really pray in the Holy Ghost and travail.- Leonard Ravenhill

[Israel's] sons are scattered far and wide; her daughters mourn beside all the rivers of the earth. Her sacred song is hushed; no king reigns in Jerusalem; she brings forth no governors among her tribes. But she is to be restored; she is to be restored “as from the dead.” - Charles Spurgeon

The Pharisees preferred to stay sick rather than reach out to Jesus of Nazareth for a healing. - Bob Sorge

My teaching on the joy of the resurrection of the dead. notes. audio1. audio2. 

Among all the options, the apocalyptic hermeneutic is the most reasonable deduction and is the presumed hermeneutic of Jesus and the apostles. -Joshua Hawkins

A Romans 15:20 ambition without a Psalm 27:4 priority is just a liability. -Stephanie Quick

Paul was no swivel-chair theologian, trying to get a degree to stick on the wall of his office and get proud. He was unquestionably a genius, but God got hold of him from the crown of his head to the sole of his feet! He says, “I’m branded in my body and I have no rights”. - Leonard Ravenhill

Do not neglect the frequent coming together and telling each other what great things Jesus Christ has done for your souls.- George Whitefield

The Son of man who suffers here will there be exalted,

the Son of man who is judged here will there himself be the judge,

the Son of man put to death here will there live eternally.

His followers will be drawn into his humiliation here and his exaltation there.
- J. Moltmann

“The disciples said to Jesus, ‘We have only five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them to me.’” Matthew 14:17–18

As with Moses: I don’t have any eloquence. To which God says, Bring me what you have.

Ask God to make your limitations fruitful. By his power.-John Piper

2022 Winter