Sunday Leftovers (2/14/10)

A number of years ago, Lillie Baltrip was a bus driver for the Houston ISD. She was a good bus driver. In fact, she was one of the best — nominated for a safe-driving award. Along with a number of other safe driver she was going to be given an award at a ceremony. And […]

One sure thing for this year

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord; And He delights in his way. When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand” (Ps. 37:23-24; NASB). Today is New Year’s Day — a day to watch football bowl games, eat black-eyed peas and […]

Salvation by grace alone

How important is salvation by grace — grace alone? God rescued us from His just wrath against our sins because He is by nature gracious! This quality permeates the being of God and causes Him to delight in doing good to those who deserve instead His wrath, His anger, His fury. It was that quality—and […]

God moves in a mysterious way

In his book, The Hidden Smile of God, John Piper recounts the story of hymn writer William Cowper (pronounced “Cooper”). His is a sad tale including the death of his mother at age six, his abandonment by his father into boarding schools where it seems certain he was abused, and his constant battles with despair […]

No merit of our own

While putting together my thoughts for yesterday’s leftovers, I received an email blog post from Desiring God where John Piper revealed, “My happy confession of having no merit.” A short piece, it reinforces what we’ve been saying all the way through these first chapters of Ephesians — the merit of our salvation is only Christ. […]

Sunday Leftovers (8/16/09)

The truth of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone has been a part of the church now for almost 500 years. You would think we would understand it with clarity. It’s been repeated and explained over and over in church after church. Countless sermons have been preached about it. Innumerable books […]

Today’s Quote – Grace (Edwards)

Dwight Edwards, Revolution Within: When He’s viewed almost exclusively as a God of love, we see forgiveness as just part of His job. That leaves His love with no punch for us, no fizz, no sprakle. Assumed grace can never be transforming grace. We must be primed by the blazing holiness of God before His […]

Today’s Quote – Sin and Grace (Lundgaard)

Kris Lundgaard, The Enemy Within: …[the] first and most wretched attack [of the flesh] is to abuse God’s grace to make sin seem less sinful, less dangerous, less threatening. You must understand this: the flesh weakens conviction against sin by separating the remedy of grace for the design of grace.… The flesh works to make […]

Sunday Leftovers (8/9/09)

“How often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” (Mt. 18:21; NASB) One South African home owner might have paraphrased that question, “how often shall I rescue a man who sins against me?” It seems that the man come home one evening to find nine men robbing his […]

Sunday Leftovers (8/2/09)

One of my favorite verses is Ephesians 2:7 — so that in the ages to come, He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. God’s mercy, love, and grace that result in the salvation of sinners is for the purpose of demonstrating the magnitude of God’s grace […]

Today’s Quote – Sin and Grace (Mahaney)

C. J. Mahaney, Living the Cross-Centered Life: When you’re deeply aware of your sin, and of what an affront it is to God’s holiness, and of how impossible it is for Him to respond to this sin with anything other than furious wrath — you can only be overwhelmed with how amazing grace is. Only […]

Today’s Quote – Cheap Grace (Bonhoeffer)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship: Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.…The only man who has the right to say he is justified […]

Today’s Quote – Grace (Tozer)

A. W. Tozer, The Radical Cross: You’ll never run into a stratum in God that is hard. You’ll always find God gracious, at all times and toward all peoples forever. You’ll never run into any meanness in God, never any resentment or rancor or ill will, for there is none there. God has no ill […]

What grace have you received?

This morning I read a couple Psalms and an extended section in Hosea. Much of what I read carried the theme of “watch out, judgment is coming” for the nation of Israel. Reading of the coming judgment made parts of Psalm 95 stand out like bold-faced type: Come, let us worship and bow down, Let […]

Today’s Quote – Sin and Grace (Whitfield)

George Whitfield: A sense of my actual sins and natural deformity humbled me exceedingly; and then the freeness and riches of God’s everlasting love broke in with such light and power upon my soul, that I was often awed into silence and could not speak!