Scripture Tuesday - Ephesians 2:13

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."

Under the old covenant, the Israelite people were God's people; His chosen race that was shown the way of

salvation. Us gentiles were pretty much left on our own! Yet through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross,

we "who once were far off have been brought near". I believe that this is spoken of in Isaiah 43:18-21:

'"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches,

for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert,

to give drink to my chosen people,

the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise."'

Jackals and ostriches are mentioned throughout the bible in relation to despair and cruelty, yet here they

honor God! Were there was once death and corruption, there shall be life. And His people shall declare

His praise. Let us never forget that we were once far off, far from the promise of life, far from God. Christ's

blood was the only sufficient sacrifice that could atone for our sins and make us upright in God's eyes. By His grace have we been grafted in, made one people in Christ. Again I say, let us never forget what mercy He has

shown by offering us this salvation; we who were by our nature alien to the things of God, and who were

rightfully condemned to Hell. This is our God, the One whom we serve!

Hip Hip Hooray

Just a quick post to say that I am now a "Limited Learner's Permit"-driver-person! Yes, we went to the local
DMV office at two o'clock, waited until four fifteen (sheesh!), and I finally got to take the test. It was actually
quite easy, and was completed within fifteen minutes. And now I get to zoom around the countryside (with a
licensed adult, between 5 and 9), so take this as a warning, all ye who travel in the Asheville area!

(Expositional post shall be deposited into the numeric data mass that is the internet on the morrow.)

Zoom zoom.

Try-Again Tuesday - Romans 13:14 (And Song)

"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires."

I have always loved the phrase, "make no provision for the flesh". It brings to my mind the idea of gaining the

higher ground in a battle, keeping your enemy at a disadvantage. Another example would be mice. If you
don't want an infestation, you don't keep your food out uncovered, and you keep your house clean. If you fail
to do those kinds of things in your spiritual life, the "mice" will move in and start claiming more and more
space, and you will lose ground fast. That is the way the devil works. He gets you to start making tiny
compromises, things that seem of little consequence, but it always escalates. One thing leads to another, and
before you know it, you've done things that you would have never imagined doing before.
  I have deliberately focused on the latter part of this verse in order to now say that we cannot accomplish this
unless we first "put on the Lord Jesus Christ". We must trust in Christ for our strength, for we are weak, and our
flesh is bent toward sin. We must go to Christ in prayer, confessing our sins and embracing Him as savior. We
must meditate on His word with fear and trembling, and we must keep this in the forefront of our minds every
day:

"Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know

how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles

who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter,

because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards

not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you." - 1 Thess. 4:1-8

FYI, starting next week, I will be moving my weekly expository post to Monday. Why, you ask? Sundays are

usually pretty demanding anyway, but especially so when we record, and I think I'll be able to post more

promptly if I wait 'till Monday. I know, it doesn't make an aliteration, but it rhymes with Sunday, so there

ya go.

Here is our latest song:

Scripture Sunday On Wednesday - Proverbs 4:23

Yes, I got home pretty late last night, so here it is today...

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." - Proverbs 4:23

The heart referred to here is, of course, not the organ that pumps blood; it is the center of our being, from
which comes our will and our emotions. The point here is that what we put in there matters.
  "From it (the heart/mind) flow the springs of life" - this statement echoes something that Jesus said in
Matthew 15:18-20, no?

"But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

  All through the gospels, we can see that where the religious leaders of the day emphasized the external,

Jesus taught that sin begins in the heart/mind. Even under the old covenant, we can plainly see that God's

ultimate concern was the heart/mind of His children: see Deut. 6:5, 1Sm. 16:7, 1 Chron. 28:9, Ps. 7:10; 51:17;

Ps. 66:18, Is. 26:3, Jer. 31:33. In the new testament, there are many references to the heart/mind: see Mt. 5:8,

Rom. 2:29; 8:7, Phil. 4:7, Col. 3:2, Heb. 4:12; 8:10; 10:22.

  As pertains to the fight against sin, we must guard our heart/mind, and "take every thought captive to obey

Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). Otherwise, we will continue to fail. Make no mistake: what is on the inside will reveal itself.

Of course, this statement, while intended as a warning, should give us encouragement, because we know that

if we guard our heart/mind according to God's word, it will not be half as hard to obey Him on the outside.

Hold On! (New Song)

No, I don't have my weekly exposition yet, but here is a new video to hold you over 'til tomorrow...

Make Up Monday - Psalm 119:52

"When I think of your rules from of old,

I take comfort, O Lord."

We ought to take comfort in knowing that God has shown us what pleases Him. He didn't have to give us this

Bible, or give us a savior, but His love for His creation is so great that He freely gives us this grace. Just think

about this for a minute; that we don't have to guess. He tells us what is good, and what is bad. We don't have

to feel our way through life, hoping that the scales will tip in our favor. Can you see what a blessing this is?
All we have to do is look in His word, and it will show us the right thing to do. What a gracious God we have! Yet, even greater than this, He has given us the way of salvation in His Son. Let us praise Him every day for His
mercy and provision!

(I know we haven't put up a new song in a while, but here's something to tide you over)

Done Driving!

Yes, I finished my last day of driving yesterday, and I now have my Driver Education Certificate, which I need to
be able to get a learner's permit. Monday went very well; we went over to Lake Lure and Chimney Rock where there are very curvy roads. I actually like curves far better than intersections and parking lots! B)
  Yesterday was good too, but more challenging, as I drove on I-40 over to Waynesville at high speed, with large
trucks aplenty! Once in Waynesville, I was charged with a task: go to Walmart and find (and park in) a parking
space at the "Outdoor Living" entrance. Well, I got in the parking lot alright, but getting in a space was another matter entirely. All in all, I had to pull in and out two times before, on the third try, I finally got it! I say again, I like curves far, far better than parking lots at this point. But of course I'll try and navigate whatever comes!