The Spoils of Victory

In many ways Christians are like the soldiers of WWII who were in Europe when Germany surrendered and yet had to remain several months longer for the purpose of establishing the peace. For Christians, the battle has been decided – decisively, and our mission is to now preach the peace that has resulted. We should not go about our mission discouraged and dejected as if defeated, but joyously because of the knowledge of Christ’s victory over the world, sin and Satan. Yes, there are still pockets of resistance and there is much work to be done before we go home, but our attitude is constantly one of great joy, immense gratitude and unceasing praise knowing that the victory is sure in Christ.

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
(Eph 1:16-23)

Two Sites Worth Your Time...

It seems that everybody has a "good" book "you should read!" Some actually turn out to be winners while others, well...you know how it goes:) With that caution in mind I would like to recommend to you two "good" web blogs "you should read." The first is actually just a single post by Pastor John Piper. The second is a site containing numerous posts that will both tickle and inform your mind. Let me know what you think of both sometime, and enjoy.

http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/745_putting_my_daughter_to_bed_two_hours_after_the_bridge_collapsed

http://www.teampyro.blogspot.com/

I Saw God Today

I saw God today. And I heard him. Today at the Tunkhannock Geisinger Medical building God was unmistakably present in the examination room where we quietly sat as our obstetrician, Dr. Wetzel, scanned Wendy’s uterus with a small, black, hand-held doppler. He quickly came across a rapid swishing sound, the kind of sound you hear when you swish with mouth wash. The strong, rapid swish we heard was the heartbeat of a 12 week old baby, or Ellie as we call her (we think it’s a girlJ). Ellie’s heart actually started fluttering when she was just 4 weeks old, when she was about the size of a lentil bean. Ellie is now about 2.5 inches long, or as one site describes it, she would fit snuggly on a soup spoon. In fact all of her vital organs and structures are already in place. She has all the same components that you and I have at just 10 weeks! As I sat there I reflected upon the mysterious wonder of life that we so often dismiss as ordinary because it is so common place. How something so intricately perfect, begins and grows unaided by any outside human help into a mature person, is incomprehensible to my finite mind. The only rational explanation is that God himself is present in a small way,there in Wendy’s womb, creating, forming, sustaining, and gracing his new creation with mercy and love. As amazing and wonderful as the physical creation and birth is, the Bible tells us of something even more amazing and gracious – the new spiritual creation and birth known as regeneration. In 2 Timothy 1:9 God provides us with something similar to a doppler scan of that spiritual birth: “(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.” Notice that it was God who did the creating and calling forth into life, it was based solely upon his good pleasure and not our works, and made possible by the sacrifice of his son in our behalf. And most incomprehensible of all – it was from all eternity. May these wonders drive us to worship today.