THE CARNAL MIND RAGES AT THE CROSS

Do not imagine that it is possible, fairly
and squarely, to preach Jesus Christ and
His Gospel without raising opposition.

There is no hope of faithfully preaching
Christ without being called disrespectful
names, regarded as a fool and reckoned
among the vulgar and ignorant. Some kind
of ugly name will always be appended to
the preacher of the true Gospel.

Brethren, expect it and accept it!
Bid farewell to a quiet life, if you
resolve to be true to Jesus.

Nothing excites such animosity
as the preaching of Jesus!

The carnal mind rages
at the Cross of Christ!

That which would be to men the greatest
comfort and the greatest joy if they were
in their right minds, is their direst hate
because sin has perverted their judgments.

Of course nobody opposes
an indistinct, colorless, please
everybody gospel that is not
worth anything.

But speak clearly and distinctly the doctrine
of the great Sacrifice and you will bring upon
your head a shower of opposition.

The carnal mind rages at the Cross of Christ!

Spurgeon

DEAD

Spurgeon,

"The Mighty Power Which Creates and Sustains Faith"

By nature we are spiritually dead.

We were dead in trespasses and sins.
Try to stir the natural man to spiritual action,and you cannot do it.
Lift up his hand to good works, he has no power to perform them.
Try to make the feet run in the ways of righteousness;
they will not move an inch.

The fact is that the heart is dead.
Neither can the eye perceive any beauty in Immanuel,
nor can the nostril discover the fragrance of the Lord’s sweet spices,
nor can the ear hear the voice of the Beloved.

The man is absolutely and entirely
dead as to anything like spiritual life.
There he lays in the grave of his corruption,
and must lay there and rot too, unless divine
grace shall interpose.

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this
world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit
who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us
also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings
of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.
Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But
because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
made us alive with Christ even when we were dead
intransgressions--it is by grace you have been saved."Ephesians. 2:1-5

O SINNER

O sinner! The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked. His wrath towards you burns like fire. He looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire. He is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight. You are ten thousand times more abominable in His eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours.
O sinner! You have offended Him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but His hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment.
O sinner! It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you were allowed to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up.
O sinner! There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking His pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending His solemn worship.
O sinner! Yes, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell.
O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in!
O sinner! It is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over, in the hand of that God whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell.
O sinner! You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder. And you have no interest in any Mediator, and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment!

Jonathan Edwards

But by the grace of God that I was saved and I would say.... "No plead" to the Lost, TODAY is the day of salvation, don't wait until you days, hours,minutes or seconds run out.

Cristina

THE CREATOR

The Mountains so high, the rivers that flow
The flowers with their scent, the wintry snow.
The birds singing their song, the wind fierce and calm,
The beauty of Salvation, I sit in your palm.

The bright stars in the sky, the water, the land,
The many animals all so unique, our fellow man,
The homes we live in, the food we eat,
You have not left anything you promised, incomplete.

The bible you have given us Old and New
we cherish the words that flow through and through,
your sword pierces our heart and pierces our mind
and opens up the heart of the lost and blind.

I'm in Awe of you Majesty, I'm in Awe of your strength
Your love is for always, you forgive at any length.
Your the Lamb of God, Your the sacrifice of your sheep
your blood set us free, this is the promise you will keep.

Cristina

THEN CAME THE MORNING

They all walked away, with nothing to say,
They'd just lost their dearest friend.
All that He said, now He was dead,
So this was the way it would end.
The dreams they had dreamed were not what they'd seemed,
Now that He was dead and gone.
The garden, the jail, the hammer, the nail,
How could a night be so long.

Then came the morning, night turned into day;
The stone was rolled away, hope rose with the dawn.
Then came the morning, shadows vanished before the sun,
Death had lost and life had won, for morning had come.

The angel, the star, the kings from afar,
The wedding, the water, the wine.
Now it was done, they'd taken her son,
Wasted before his time.
She knew it was true, she'd watched him die too,
She'd heard them call Him just a man,
But deep in her heart, she knew from the start,
Somehow her Son would live again
Then came the morning, night turned into day;
The stone was rolled away, hope rose with the dawn.
Then came the morning, shadows vanished before the sun,
Death had lost and life had won, for morning had come.

Then came the morning, shadows vanished before the sun,
Death had lost and life had won, for morning had come.

Morning had come.

EVERY DAY SHOULD BE A CELEBRATION

Is December 31rd 2007 any different then January 1st 2008? They are both just a day in a different year, the end of one year and the beginning of another. The world and some Christians take this first day of a new year to proclaim they are going to change in the year ahead. Some want to quit smoking, others want to loose weight, quit drinking, others want to be better at their jobs, others want to be nicer to others etc....

When you listen to most Resolutions they have to do with the physical, not the spiritual and that includes Christians. Sure we could loose a few pounds, we could exercise more but what is more important, not just on the first day of the year but every day of the year, our spiritual walk..do we exercise that enough?

Tim 4:8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

It is nice to celebrate a New Year, there is nothing wrong with it, but if we as christens wait for this day to decide to change in the year ahead then I would ask why not yesterday, or the days and months before, why do we wait until the first day of a year or when we get sick or when we loose our jobs to exercise our walk and our relationship with Christ. I'm not pointing fingers because I speak for myself. We should wake up every morning with Christ on our minds. We should begin each morning asking Him to guide us throughout the day, ask for wisdom in all we set out to do that day. Rely on his strength in everything we face each day, he promises us that He will never leave us or forsake us. So when we face a problem or tragedy or even illness, trust Him, He will strengthen us. Do not be afraid to ask a fellow believer for prayer, that's one of the reasons we have each other, to pray for one another, to comfort one another, to love one another. In everything we do we should do for the glory of God, not ourselves. This is on the things we struggle most in, who gets the glory, self is our biggest enemy. We should not wait until another year to begin to change, it is a daily duty for a Christian. As I said in my previous blog we need to imitate Christ in all we do.

My pray for all my brothers and sisters is that they focus on the Cross, bear the Cross and most of all, be thankful every moment for the Cross.
May the days and years and decades ahead, God willing, be full of Christ, Our Savior, Our Lord, Our God.

Love Cristina