A Thought from Romans, Thoughts from AW Tozer, and Old School...

a)

16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

When was the last time you told people about God's righteousness when you shared the Gospel? Last week, I used the concept of righteousness when sharing with a friend. I realized how rarely the concept (not just the word) is communicated in my attempts to proclaim the Good News.

Yet Paul says the Gospel has power because it reveals the righteousness of God (v. 16-17). It reveals God's righteousness in His judgment of Sin (Rom 2:5, 3:21-23). It reveals God's righteousness in His justification of Sinners through Christ's substitution (Rom 3:25-26). It reveals His righteousness through Christ's obedience (Rom 5:19). It reveals His righteousness in His Law (Rom 5:18, 7:12).

So, a suggestion - next time you share the Gospel, explain to people what a brilliant picture of God's righteousness is. It is not just His Love, but also His Righteousness, His moral greatness and beauty, that acts to draw the sinner to faith in Jesus Christ.

b)

Reading Tozer's Pursuit of God:

"The doctrine of justification by faith.... has in our time fallen into evil comapny and been interpreted by many in such a manner as actually to bar men from the knowledge of God. The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless... The man is "saved", but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God. In fact, he is specifically taught to be satisfied and is encouraged to be content with little..." (p 14)

Tozer reminds us that the true Christian is the true seeker. A real believer has a new life in which the Pursuit of God is its highest aim and greatest joy.

"Moses used the fact that he knew God as an argument for knowing him better. "Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight" (Exodus 33:13)" (p 15)

I hope it will be a reminder to me to never stop seeking and always desire more.

c)

Wow...

Youtube fun

a)

This is amazing. Which is better, the LL or the Jay-Z? I don't know...

b)

Not really into rap? This guy has the greatest Bill Cosby impression I've ever seen/heard. And he's white!

c)
Not into impressions at all? Here's something fun from President Obama.

Something serious, John Macarthur, and something to test at a campus weekly meeting

a)
One last serious thought about the election.

b)
John Macarthur has put up all of his sermon audio online for free! I guess he’s decided he has enough money*.

Go to www.gty.org

Some of you might think he’s mean. He might sound like that when he’s talking to Doug Pagitt**. But when he preaches on Sunday, he’s in the Bible and talking to the flock. He loves his sheep, and he loves the Bible. That means he's only mean when the Bible is mean***. Good times.

c)

Started reading “Struck by Lightning” by Jeffrey S. Rosenthal, a book about probabilities. Did you know that if you’re with 50 people, you’ve got a 97% chance there’s two people with the same birthday in the room? Crazy****.

*Jokes.
**He wasn't mean to Doug Pagitt.
***The Bible is not mean.
***That was maybe the most interesting thing in the book. I’ve stopped reading it. Not because it was confusing, but because it was boring.

Something to pray about

This is in response to something Piper wrote, but it was, for me, a very helpful summary of the abortion issue in the American Election.

I don't want to get into arguments, but I do hope you will pray with me that whatever happens, that the mass killing of human beings in North America, both in our neighbours to the south and in our country, would not increase as a result of the outcome of this election. Maybe even pray that people would see it as the evil that it is. I think that should be something we can all (well, almost everyone) do.