The Reformation - Established 30 A.D.

"Behold, I am making all things new..." Revelation 21:5

Today we remember how Martin Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation 492 years ago by nailing his 95 theses to the church door. It would be difficult to overstate the significance of the 16th century reforms brought about through men like Luther and Calvin. However, it would be impossible to overstate the significance of the great reforming work of Jesus Christ. Christ came and established a new and better covenant that would free us from the bondage of sin and free us to live a life unto him (Hebrews 7:22). The writer of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah's prophesy of the new and better covenant:

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. " Hebrews 8:10

Under this new covenant, we have the promise of God putting his laws in our hearts and causing us to walk in his ways. For this to happen, we need more than reform; we need regeneration. We need God to move upon us and remove our hearts of stone, and give us a heart of flesh. The original reformation of Christ is ongoing: it did not start nor end in the 1500s. God has been reforming,regenerating, and recreating lives for the last two thousand years! As followers of Christ, we must always be examining our hearts to see how our lives can be reformed and conformed to the image of Christ. As churches, we must not assume that the Roman Church was the only one needing reform; today's American churches are in desperate need of reformation. However, real reform can only happen through individuals who have truly been reformed by Christ. Let us not give up on the battle cry of the 16th century: "Semper Reformanda!" (always reforming!)

Paul Washer - He Drank Your Hell

A wonderful presentation of the gospel of Christ. I love the last part, where Washer is referring to Psalm 24 and Christ ascending to the throne to sit at the right hand of God. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord Strong and Mighty! O how worthy is the Lamb who was slain! Hearing the true gospel never gets old!
Paul Washer - He Drank Your Hell (Video)

Get Everything You Want from God

Perhaps we should stop praying for what we need, and start praying for what we want.

"Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

Often it seems as though our prayers only reach the ceiling as we pray for God's provision in giving us the things that we "need." We claim Jesus' promise in John 15:7, "...ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." When we go to present our wish list before God, it seems as though we come away empty handed. James says we do not have, because we do not ask. But from our experiences this would seem incorrect: we ask for all sorts of things and still do not receive them. Is God's word untrue? After all, it does seem like an impossible task for God to give us everything we want.

The problem lies within us, not with God or his word. James says, that "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions" (James 4:3). How God's word cuts straight to the heart! We tend to forget the first part of John 15:7: "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you." The problem with our prayers is that they often stem from our idolatrous nature rather than our abiding with Christ. If we were to truly delight ourselves in God, we would discover that we would desire the things that he desires, and he would indeed grant our request.

What does God desire? Jesus answers that in his example on prayer: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"(Mat 6:9-10). If our prayers were to advance the kingdom of Christ, we could pray in full assurance that they would be answered. God will give us what we want - as long as we want Him. May His name be great on the earth, and may we delight in seeing his kingdom and dominion established!

River of His Delights

They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. Psalm 36:8-9

May we go often to the River to drink of the delights of Christ, the Fountain of Life. Only by drinking from His waters may we have a spring of water that never dries up. May we leave the saline waters of the low lying Dead Sea of this world, and run boldy up the mountain to drink of the fresh springs of Christ! It is easy to stay in the lowest place in the world, drinking the salty waters of self gratification. Easy, but yet how miserable - to be driven back time and again to the salt for an ever diminishing return of fleshly pleasure. May we take the time and effort to go to the River of Christ and drink of his delights, for those who drink of his waters will never be thirsty. Spending time with God is not a rule for a Christian to follow, rather it is the very essence of the eternal life we have been given. May we not go to the River to get in our "15 minutes of quite time". May we go because we desire to drink of His delights. Taste and see that the Lord is good!