I want to see you there February 8, 2010
Posted by The Simple Guy in ask in my name, family outing, grace, healing, like-minded, love, meditation, prayer, rest, sorrow, suffering, video, yellowstone.1 comment so far
So much sadness and grief.
Bobby has cancer.
My Father has cancer.
A dear friend at church does as well.
The Squirrel has been sick for 4 weeks. (We met him online, and then were able to meet him in person for an afternoon of brief fellowship last summer during our vacation to yellowstone)
Tom has been going through a deep time (God is working beautifully through him, though)
And who knows what private pain others are enduring.
Let’s remember to pray for one another. We don’t have to wait until we reach the other side of the river.
Hebrews 4:14-16 MKJV
(14) Since then we have a great High Priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
(15) For we do not have a high priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted just as we are, yet without sin.
(16) Therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Craig
To be known like this February 7, 2010
Posted by The Simple Guy in John, humility, relationship, resurrection power, sorrow, suffering, video.add a comment
A while back I was listening to a sermon about Mary by Warren Wiersbe. He pointed out something I had never seen before.
Which Mary are we talking about? Martha and Lazarus’ sister.
We first meet her in Luke 10.
Luke 10:38-42 MKJV
(38) And as they went, it happened that He entered into a certain village. And a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house.
(39) And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.
(40) But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she came to Him and said, Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.
(41) And Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things.
(42) But one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Next, we see her in John 11.
John 11:28-35 MKJV
(28) And saying these things, she went away and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Teacher has come and calls you.
(29) As soon as she heard, she arose quickly and came to him.
(30) Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met Him.
(31) Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw that Mary rose up hastily and went out, they followed her, saying, She is going to the tomb to weep there.
(32) Then when Mary had come where Jesus was, seeing Him, Mary fell down at His feet, saying to Him, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
(33) Then when He saw her weeping, and also the Jews who came with her weeping, Jesus groaned in the spirit and troubled Himself.
(34) And He said, Where have you laid him? They said to Him, Lord, come and see.
(35) Jesus wept.
Then we see her again in the next chapter:
John 12:1-3 MKJV
(1) Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was (who had died, whom He raised from the dead).
(2) Then they made a supper there for Him. And Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those reclining with Him.
(3) Then Mary took a pound of ointment of pure spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
Every time Mary is mentioned, she is at the feet of Jesus. In the first instance, she is learning from him, and ignoring all distractions.
In the second instance, she throws herself at his feet in grief. (Where else can we go?) Jesus groans deep within himself, and weeps. He cried her tears. What a beautiful picture.
In the third instance, she pours out her treasure on his feet, and then wipes them with her hair, preparing for His burial. Her hair (her own glory) carried the scent of His death. What a personal identification with His death!
Oh to be known as one who is always at His feet!
Now Mr Wiersbe went on to speak of Mary at the tomb, when Jesus said don’t touch me, I have not ascended yet to my Father. (John 20) I think he must have been mistaken there, because that was Mary Magdalene. I am pretty sure they weren’t the same person. But if he is right and I am wrong, what a glorious completion of the picture!
Have you seen Him?
Craig
A day to remember February 4, 2010
Posted by The Simple Guy in Craig, God's glory, Hebrews, Psalm 121, being a father, evil in the world, faith, fear, growth, persecution, rejoice, sorrow, stability, suffering, things i have learned, trust, video.9 comments
Five years ago today was one of the worst days in my life. It started normally enough, I drove to work listening to Alistair Begg on the radio. He was preaching from the life of Joseph. The message was about Joseph’s statement to his brothers, “You meant this for evil, but God meant it for good.”
He spoke of how Joseph didn’t say that God is turning this for good, but that God intended it for good. God planned it all along. This thought went through my mind most of the day as I pondered God’s sovereignty.
That evening when I got home, I got a call from Mom. Judging by the sound of her voice, I knew something absolutely awful had happened. I gathered it was about Dad. First of all, I thought he must be in the hospital or even dead. I have never heard Mom like this before.
Then I found out it was even worse. Dad is the principal of a small Christian school. That day at school, the police had come in and arrested Dad, based on allegations from a former student. My head spun, my heart stopped. The first cohesive thought to go through my mind was “You meant this for evil, but God meant it for good” That thought as well as the overwhelming gratitude that Dad spent so much time with me growing up (so I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the allegations were false) is all that got me through the night.
Let me pause here for a minute. Men, integrity at home counts. I grew up knowing my Dad well. We worked together, played together, went to school together. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the allegations were absolutely bogus because I knew Dad. That was absolutely priceless. Would your children have the same peace of mind? Or are there things they know that would make them doubt?
Well, the next day us boys got together and headed down to the jail to try to bail Dad out. Problem was, none of us had ever been in trouble. We didn’t know where to start! Folks, we weren’t going to get Dad out, we didn’t know how. Then God sent someone to bail Dad out. Again, I knew God had it under control. It was as if He was saying, “Ok boys, you can try to deal with this on your own, or you can let me handle it”
So began a long ordeal that ended the following November in a court room with a 1 week trial. I saw God uphold Mom and Dad when there was nothing I could do to help. I can’t discribe what it was like to sit there and watch a perfect stranger ask my Mom questions no lady should have to answer in public. I watched as Dad sat across the room powerless to make them stop. I watched as Dad took the stand and shared Christ with a courtroom full of people. I watched as the jury went out, and then we waited. Here again, let me say, God upheld us. Friends, at this point I knew that Dad and Mom were in His hands. I knew that the verdict was in His hands. I knew that if the verdict came back “guilty” that it would be because God had a plan for Dad in prison, and that God would protect him. I also knew that God is not so small that He would have to take care of Dad’s body in order to take care of him. Hebrews 11 came to mind. Think of those who have, and do, suffer for His sake. Again let me say, I knew Dad was innocent, so this is not God’s discipline, it is God’s plan.
Folks, there are things we know in our heads. But I am talking about God coming alongside of me and making me know in my heart. This was the peace of God that guards our hearts. You may have heard about it. I have experienced it.
Friday evening after 6pm the jury came back with a “not guilty” verdict. But then there were the lawyer bills. Over $100,000.00. None of us could even touch that amount. Dad and Mom met with the lawyers to discuss the bill, and Dad said an amazing thing. He said, “Fellas, God has provided since the beginning of this thing. I didn’t do anything wrong here. That means it isn’t my bill, it’s His. So charge me whatever interest you want, and give me a year to pay it off. Let’s watch God pay His bill. If He doesn’t, then we can go ahead and sell my house or whatever we have to do to pay it off.” Then something even more amazing happened. The lawyers agreed to this bargain.
Folks, God paid the bill off in full on the day it was due, exactly 1 year later. Is He amazing or what? Does He get the glory?
As I said, a day to remember.
He is faithful.
Here is the song that meant the most to me at the time:
Craig
One Baptism January 30, 2010
Posted by The Simple Guy in Craig, Paul, baptism, conscience, faith, forgiveness, humility, illusions, relationship, repentance, video, your thoughts.8 comments
Ok, it is becoming my pattern to set the mood with a video. Mostly because music is a big part of my life, and as such, most discussions or thought processes attach themselves to a song in my head. May not always make sense to you, but . . . well . . it is my blog. 
Let me say first off before this video that I am not intending to offend anyone here, the song is all in good fun. Notice, he picks on himself first.
So, I have been in a theological exchange via e-mail lately with a Lutheran about baptism. Neither of us were convinced of the other’s perspective. However the conversation was fruitful for me because I spent a lot of time thinking about salvation, and the person and work of Jesus.
I am not going to attempt to summarize my brother’s position. I am sure if you want to know what he thinks you can go to his blog.
By the way, I’m not sending you over there to fight with him, or stir things up. He and I disagree, but he was very patient with my questions. He took a lot of time in trying to help me understand how he sees this subject. We concluded the conversation on good terms.
However, this post isn’t really about our discussion. I just wanted you to know how I started spending serious time on this one.
There are those of us who say that baptism is just a symbol, an initial act of obedience. We would say that nothing supernatural happens at baptism, other than the obedience of a Christian. To a certain extent that is always miraculous. We are new creatures.
Some would have a couple of problems with this. First, they would say that while salvation is by faith, the means by which God (Jesus specifically) saves us is through baptism. It is not something we do (not a work) but something He does to us. Similar I guess to how He uses the foolishness of preaching to bring the message. The preacher, missionary, or co-worker, etc who tells us the Gospel is a tool God uses to bring us to repentance. The baptizer is a tool God uses to baptize us. So they would say that an important part of salvation happens at baptism. The second problem would be that they understand our position (we say we are obeying Christ) as works.
Let me add in here, that there are many words used in scripture for wash, clean, dip, and yes baptize. Also, the word for baptize in Greek can be translated as each of these. So what does the word mean? Well I think the key to understanding this is that the word baptize carries a meaning the others don’t. It carries with it the connotation of identification. Not just cleansing, or dipping, or immersion. Baptism carried the connotation of identification through immersion. If you dipped a linen cloth in purple dye, it became purple. This was the only one of those words that could be used that way.
Another sticky area, is that I have heard people talk about the baptism of the Spirit, separately from what we would call “water baptism” However Eph 4 speaks of one baptism.
As I was studying this topic, I also came across these two statements Jesus made, and found them a bit puzzling.
Matthew 20:22-23 MKJV
(22) But Jesus answered and said, You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They said to Him, We are able.
(23) And He said to them, You shall indeed drink of My cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.Luke 12:49-51 MKJV
(49) I have come to send fire on the earth. And what will I do if it is already kindled?
(50) But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am pressed down until it is accomplished!
(51) Do you suppose that I have come to give peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division.
Now these both occur after John baptized Jesus. What baptism is Jesus talking about here? It gets somewhat confusing, as plainly Jesus’ baptism is different form ours. . .
Then it hit me. Every baptism I had been considering as the “one baptism” in Eph 4 was our baptism. However, I think the baptism being spoken of is His baptism. Not with John, but the one he was “pressed down” with.
He identified with me. Because of this baptism, I can be saved. If it was not for this baptism I wouldn’t have any hope. I think our identification with Christ is secondary to His identification with us. If there is “one baptism” that’s it.
Being baptized “in Christ” or “into His death” takes on a whole new meaning when you think of it that way.
What do you think?
Craig
P.S.
This is not the forum for debating with or bashing Lutheran baptism. I don’t want to go there. But I am open to what you think about what I said.
God-centered arguments January 27, 2010
Posted by The Simple Guy in Paul, faith, gifts, humility, like-minded, meditation.7 comments
Just a quick post to point out something I have noticed lately. Have you ever noticed that God argues based upon Himself and His nature? Of course, He does, what else is there. But I just noticed two examples lately I wanted to point out. We should probably be watching for this pattern in Scripture, I think.
First example:
Genesis 15:1-5 CEV
(1) Later the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision, “Abram, don’t be afraid! I will protect you and reward you greatly.”
(2) But Abram answered, “LORD All-Powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for, except children. And when I die, Eliezer of Damascus will get all I own.
(3) You have not given me any children, and this servant of mine will inherit everything.”
(4) The LORD replied, “No, he won’t! You will have a son of your own, and everything you have will be his.”
(5) Then the LORD took Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That’s how many descendants you will have.”
“How is this God-centered?” you may ask. Who created the stars? God essentially told Abram, “I made the stars, your problem is too big for you, true. But not too big for Me.” This wasn’t about the stars, it was about Who made them. Incidentally the next verse is where God credits Abram with righteousness.
Genesis 15:6 MKJV
(6) And he believed in Jehovah. And He counted it to him for righteousness.
You see, if you or I argue based upon the stars or the heavens, we are arguing outside of ourselves. But God is pointing to what He has already done, and what He upholds without effort. Is anything too hard for Him?
Second example:
Ephesians 4:1-7 MKJV
(1) I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the calling with which you are called,
(2) with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love,
(3) endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
(4) There is one body and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling,
(5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
(6) one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all.
(7) But to every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
This hits a little closer to home. Why should we “endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”?
Because this represents the nature of God. Paul steps back from discussing the Spirit and speaks of Christ (one Lord – Christ – one faith – in Christ – one baptism – His baptism), then of the Father (one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all.) So the work of the Spirit in us will also be marked by unity with Christ and the Father – as the Spirit is.
Paul did not argue based upon what the effect of this unity would be initially. (you know, people getting along, good vibes, nice fellowship, etc) He bases his primary argument upon the nature of God.
Then he explains how that works out in the gifting of the body.
Ephesians 4:11-16 MKJV
(11) And truly He gave some to be apostles, and some to be prophets, and some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
(12) for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
(13) And this until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
(14) so that we no longer may be infants, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, in the dishonesty of men, in cunning craftiness, to the wiles of deceit.
(15) But that you, speaking the truth in love, may in all things grow up to Him who is the Head, even Christ;
(16) from whom the whole body, fitted together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of each part, producing the growth of the body to the edifying of itself in love.
One last thought before I close. Wouldn’t a truly God-centered argument be the most powerful one for a man or woman who lives a God centered life?
Craig
P.S.
Any ideas what the “one baptism” is? I think I know, but I wonder what you think.
persecuted but not forsaken January 21, 2010
Posted by The Simple Guy in 2 Cor, Craig, Paul, Thank You, faith, forgiveness, grace, healing, humility, illusions, joy, meditation, persecution, prayer, repentance, rest, resurrection power, sorrow, stability, suffering, trust.2 comments
I have been contemplating these verses in preparing for Sunday’s sermon.
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 RSV
(8) We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
(9) persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
(10) always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
I asked Heather the other day if she knew Paul was depressed. She looked at me like I was on drugs or something. (she puts up with a lot of off the wall things from me. )
The word afflicted is the idea of being pressed down hard and heavy with an unbearable load. Perplexed means having no idea what to do next. Paul said in chapter 1 that:
. . we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself.
Now I am probably taking a bit of license to say he was depressed, but if he wasn’t it must have been pretty close to it!
But the other side of this is absolutely beautiful to me.
I was thinking of the next statement: “Persecuted, but not forsaken”
Now remember, in my last post I spoke of my struggle with depression. If I was to define where I was in three words, they would be “weak, tired, and alone.” The strongest of the three would have been “alone”
As I was driving home from work this evening, I was contemplating this phrase, particularly the word forsaken.
Just because I felt alone didn’t mean I was. But there is One who was completely, totally ALONE.
Matthew 27:46 ASV
(46) And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
I have felt the illusion. He endured the reality. His own Father, with whom He had been in constant sweet fellowship for ETERNITY turned His back. He who knew no sin was made sin for me. Talk about “pressed down” or afflicted.
I had to pull over and weep. I can’t bear it! Such a heart-break that He endured in my place! He was forsaken so I won’t be.
Thank you my Jesus!
Craig
We have this treasure in EARTHEN VESSELS January 18, 2010
Posted by The Simple Guy in 2 Cor, God's glory, assignment, confidence, fear, grace, joy, rejoice, resurrection power, stability, suffering, trust, video.6 comments
Before, I posted emphasizing the Treasure. Now I will emphasize EARTHEN VESSELS. (you know, fair and balanced coverage) 
First, this song that is also brought to my mind as I consider 2 Cor 4:7-10.
Lyrics to The Measure Of A Man :
This world can analyze and size you up
And throw you on the scales
They can IQ you and run you through
Their rigorous details
They can do their best to rate
And they’ll place you on their charts
And then back it up with scientific smartsBut there’s more to what you’re worth
Than what their human eyes can seeCHORUS
Oh I say the measure of a man
Is not how tall you stand
How wealthy or intelligent you are
‘Cause I found out the measure of a man
God knows and understand
For He looks inside to the bottom of your heart
And what’s in the heart defines
The measure of a manWell you can doubt your worth
And search for who you are and where you stand
But God made you in His image
When He formed you in His hands
And He looks at you with mercy
And He sees you through His love
You’re His child and that will always be enoughFor there’s more to what your worth
Than you could ever comprehendREPEAT CHORUS
BRIDGE
You can spend your life pursuing physical perfection
But there’s so much more than ever meets the eye
For God looks through the surface
And he defines your worth by what is on the insideREPEAT CHORUS
Oh I say the measure of a man
Is not how tall you stand
How wealthy or intelligent you are
‘Cause I found out the measure of a man
God knows and understand
For He looks inside to the bottom of your heart
And what’s in the heart defines
The measure of a man
Honestly, I don’t recall how much of this I have shared up to this point, but I want to put some things in the background before I get to the text we have looked at.
About a month ago, I realized that I have recently dealt with some depression. Actually it seems to come this time of year for me, and as I think back it has been there for at least 10 years. I always thought it was the job I do, or being tired, or a whole list of things. But in late November I was lying in bed one night not sleeping and realized how lonely I was feeling. Even with my loving family right there in the house; my awesome wife who is my best friend right there with me. But still I felt so alone. What really shook me was how familiar the feeling was. I realized this was not a new thing, just something I had ignored. Folks, I am not a person who spends much time thinking about myself, I look outward and am very task oriented. I drive myself pretty hard to get things done.
Enough navel gazing, the point is that I realized I am not as strong as I think I am. I realized I haven’t been for a while. This shook me to the core. I was in the process of gearing up for a monstrous task at work, and the realization that I was not “ok” shook me up. I honestly didn’t know if I would be able to hold up under the pressure, but there was no turning back. My mind went back to a pastor Heather and I knew about 15 years ago who had a nervous breakdown. It was not a pretty thing to watch. I didn’t want to go there – oh, how I didn’t want to go there. . .
At that same time, we as a church were starting our study of 2 Cor, and I preached on the first few verses of the first chapter. (the God of all comfort)
Fast forward through Dec, the job was harder than I anticipated, the strain more than I could have predicted. But God came through.
At the beginning of the new year, our company put together a way that we could get a discount on our medical insurance. They challenged each of us employees to come in for a health screening where they checked us 4 different ways. If we passed in 2 of the 4 categories, and took an online medical evaluation we could get 20% off from what we pay out of our paychecks toward insurance. I passed on all 4, and took the online exam. Took about 20 minutes with the computer asking me all kinds of questions. The computer says I’m depressed, but healthy. (that seems funny to me, examined by a computer 
).
My boss came over later to congratulate me on passing on all 4 categories. He asked if I found the online health screening helpful. He was hoping it wasn’t all a waste of time for me. I laughed and said that the computer thought I was depressed. He seemed concerned, and was taken back a bit. I was able to take him aside, and share with him what I have been learning lately. I did a search online at my computer at work and showed him these verses.
2 Corinthians 4:7-10 RSV
(7) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.
(8) We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
(9) persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
(10) always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
I asked him if he would have thought I was someone who was depressed. He exclaimed “Absolutely not!” That is when I told him, “This is why. By man-made measurements, I AM depressed, but I am not defeated. I AM struck down, but not destroyed. The strength and stability you see is from Christ in me, not just from me.” You see, this boss was the one who volunteered me up for this huge project, and then afterward he really felt bad about it because of the hours I had to put in, etc. But I was able to tell him that even though some would say I am not ok, they can’t measure the “treasure” within this earthen vessel. That way God gets the glory.
Friends, I don’t want you to think I am condemning you with my last post about treasuring God. I simply want you to know how DEAR this treasure has been to me as I have gone to my own well and found it empty. I am SO GLAD that isn’t all I have!
Of course I am needy! BUT HE ISN’T! Of course I am broken, BUT HE ISN’T!
Let me put it another way so you can see a little bit of what has been so dear to me lately.
I had been listening to someone talk about the things that Obama wants to do and all of the power grabs and such. They had spoken of the consolidation of power he seemed (to them) to be in the process of. One that comes at the expense of our freedom. Then I thought of Psalm 2 and realized again how every man who has ever consolidated power had to get that power at someone else’s expense. However, God doesn’t need anything from me. He is self-sustaining. The power is all His anyway. He comes to me because He wants to. Not because He somehow needs to get something from me in order to exploit me and expand His power base. What an obsurd thought! How laughable! The fact that He needs NOTHING from me, and yet is still there for me is such a comfort when I am at the end of myself.
When I think of the treasure in earthen vessels, I try to put it in a picture I can see for now. I picture a cereal bowl full of diamonds. The diamonds don’t get their value from the cereal bowl, actually they seem like they really don’t belong there. But what a privilege for the cereal bowl! (I know, I’m weird, but do you see what I mean?)
To sum it up, my weakness isn’t even an issue for Him. It is so overshadowed by His adequacy that it isn’t even worth mentioning! The cereal bowl isn’t even worth comparing to the diamonds inside. (seems like someone said something like that somewhere only better . . .
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 RSV
(16) So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day.
(17) For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
Craig
We have this TREASURE in earthen vessels. . January 17, 2010
Posted by The Simple Guy in John Piper, faith, joy, video.5 comments
Studying for next Sunday’s sermon on 2 Cor 4:7-16 brought this John Piper video to mind.
Examine yourself. . .
Craig
2 Corinthians 4:7-18 MKJV
(7) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us;
(8) in every way having been troubled, but not having been hemmed in; having been perplexed, but not utterly at a loss;
(9) having been persecuted, but not having been forsaken; having been thrown down, but not having been destroyed;
(10) always bearing about the dying of the Lord Jesus in the body, so that the life of Jesus also might be revealed in our body.
(11) For we who live are always being delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus might also be revealed in our body.
(12) So then death works in us, but life in you.
(13) For we, having the same spirit of faith (according as it is written, “I believed, and therefore I have spoken”); we also believed and therefore speak,
(14) knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus shall also raise us up by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
(15) For all things are for your sake, so that the superabounding grace might be made to abound through the thanksgiving of the greater number, to the glory of God.
(16) For this cause we do not faint; but though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
(17) For the lightness of our present affliction works out for us a far more excellent eternal weight of glory,
(18) we not considering the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are not lasting, but the things which are not seen are everlasting.
Incidentally, verse 13 is a quote from Psalm 116. Good background reading for this text.
Not for who I am, but because of Who You are January 16, 2010
Posted by The Simple Guy in Craig, faith, forgiveness, grace, joy, love, trust.4 comments
Below is a link to a song I wrote a few years ago. (Actually the only one I have ever written and recorded) The recording is a bit rough, but the message was life changing for me. Hope you enjoy.
I wrote this song about a week after watching Mel Gibson’s “The Passion.”
Now it is not my intention to endorse or condemn the movie. Neither is my intention to argue with you about whether or not it was a good idea to go see it. This is just what bubbled up within me after watching it. I went to the movie expecting to somehow gain a better understanding of what Jesus did for me. After watching a man-made replica of what happened, I realized that I am so shallow. I walked away feeling so small and insignificant, so petty, so ignorant. Even had I been there for the real thing, I would not have been capable of grasping what happened. Kind of like a little kid in the room when Mom and Dad are talking. Yea, I was there, but I didn’t understand much of what went on. This was a conversation between God the Father and God the Son that began before the foundation of the world. I don’t get it, but I am so glad I received it.
Craig
P.S. I think you have to have windows media player to listen to it. The title of the song is “Because Of Who You Are”
3 questions January 13, 2010
Posted by The Simple Guy in assignment, your thoughts.3 comments
I have 3 questions for you:
- What is the Gospel?
- How is one saved?
- How do we find assurance of our salvation?
Please keep it simple, remember I am “Just A Simple Guy”
I welcome your thoughts,
Craig
