The Story Behind the Hymn All Hail The Power Of Jesus Name

Propitiation

Let's bring back the word propitiation. This one word is perhaps one of the most amazing and beautiful in all of the Bible besides the names of God. Every time I hear the word I'm reminded of the Gospel. The wrath that was once directed at me and you has now been absorbed by God Himself who is both "just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Rom. 3:26). This is amazing isn't it?! Our God who is holy and righteous could not look over our sins, but because of our inability to save ourselves, He chose to take the punishment for our sins on our behalf, Jesus has died the death that we should have died, absorbing every sin - past, present, and future. What an amazing love!

Prayer Causes Things to Happen by John Piper

Children's Catechism - What is the Chief End of Man? - Paul Washer

A Must See Film

Divided from NCFIC on Vimeo.

Kind of intense.

The Unconditional Love of Christ - Paul Washer

Lecrae-Background Ft. C-Lite

Why Wasn't This on the News?

Below is a disturbing video about Christians in Nigeria who were brutally attacked by Muslims. My question is, why haven't we heard about this in mainstream media? I mean hundreds of people died and nothing is said about it on the news. But when a pastor down in Florida wants to burn a Koran it's all the media wants to talk about. Even the President threw in his two cents about the pastor. If this guy wanted to burn Mein Kampf or the KKK manual would the media have thrown such a fit? I don't think so. What's the difference between the Koran and those other books? Nothing. As Bible believing Christians we believe (or should believe) all religious books apart from Scripture lead away from faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. However, I hear Christians right along with everyone else condemning this guy as a bigot. Don't get me wrong I don't think what he wanted to do was wise, but my point is that Christians should feel the same way about the Koran as they would a Satanic bible - if they really believe what they believe. Why does our society feel such a burden to protect and defend Islam? The media's obsession with portraying Islam as a "religion of peace" is so strong they totally ignore the horrible acts committed against Christians everyday by Muslims. I hope this video will help you realize what I'm saying.

What's Wrong with American Christianity?

Have we presented a false Gospel in American Christianity? Well, consider this: most Americans claim to be Christians, however, most Americans don't act like Christians. Could it be that most Americans aren't really Christians but have been presented a false Gospel which makes them believe they're actually right with God when they're not? Many presentations I've heard include things like: asking Jesus in your heart (where's that in the Bible?); acknowledging a few facts about Jesus; saying a certain prayer; walking down an aisle and kneeling at an alter; raising your hand if you agree with what the preacher's saying (as long as "every head is bowed and every eye closed" when you do this); filling out a decision card; or making society a better place (good works). There's usually no talk of repentance and forsaking of sin, no talk of denying yourself and taking up your cross, and no talk of holy living in keeping with repentance and faith. What is the outcome of leaving these things out of the Gospel presentation? Well, that's easy - false converts. A false presentation of the Gospel will result in false converts. Watch this video to see how the Gospel is clearly presented to a culture that has been mislead by an adjusted Christianity.

God Has Revealed Himself Through Creation

General revelation is God revealing Himself through creation. Whether one looks through a telescope or a microscope, God's fingerprints can be found on everything He has created. His beautiful and majestic work can be seen in the formation of planets, stars, and galaxies. The complexity of His craftsmanship can even be found inside a single cell. Inside this well organized and purposeful factory, called the cell, are codes and instructions which are carried out by machines that are obedient to the commands they are given. If one part of the cell fails to do its job then the entire cell is useless - irreducible complexity. God's handiwork can be seen throughout this entire universe. We live in a day and age where that should be most apparent to us. Our advances in science and technology have given us an advantage our ancestors never had. We are able to see the complexity and obvious design embedded throughout all of God's creation in a way that has never been achieved before. However, men have chosen to suppress the truth found in creation and exchange it for a lie - that being evolution. What's ironic (as you'll see in the video) is that those who refuse to acknowledge God as Creator, can't help but use language that confirms there is design and purpose to this world.

Psalms 19:1-6, "1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words,whose voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat."

Romans 1:18-21, "18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened."

The Gospel

The culture tells us that mankind is basically good. However, the bible says different. The bible says that we are all born sinners and our hearts are wicked. Our thoughts, our actions, and even our very nature are in rebellion towards God. God’s holy and righteous standard is set forth in the bible; however, we break those commandments every day. God’s requirement for mankind to be in His presence is perfection. Since we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, we all stand hopeless before Him. We all deserve hell. Good works won’t save us, knowing the bible won’t save us, having Christians parents won’t save us, being baptized won’t save us, going forth during an alter call won’t save us, filling out a decision card won’t save us, even having a clinical knowledge about God won’t save us, nothing will save us from this eternal damnation that we all deserve – except one thing, and that one thing is a Person – Jesus Christ. God sent Jesus, His Son, to save us. Jesus came to earth and lived a perfect sinless life and was crucified on our behalf. The wrath and judgment that was meant for us was poured out on Jesus. His mission was to restore us to God and set us free from the curse of sin. God has been good and kind to us and has allowed us time to repent and turn to Him. This should motivate us to forsake our sinful life and turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness – this is called repentance. When we repent of our sins and place our trust in Christ by confessing Him as Lord and Savior, the bible says He will save us and grant us eternal life. The broken relationship we once had with our Creator will be restored through the saving works of Jesus Christ. He will make us into new creations and we will have the privilege of enjoying fellowship with Him for all of eternity. Our salvation not only means we have a new relationship with God, but we also have new relationship with sin. The sins that we once loved and embraced we now forsake and follow Jesus with all of our heart, soul, and, mind. And for those who reject this truth, their sins remain and they will suffer eternal damnation in hell. There is no other way, there is hope in no other name than Jesus – turn to Him, He loves you, He is able and willing to save you.

In “What is the Gospel?” Greg Gilbert explains the Gospel in very simple but profound terms. Gilbert says that the Gospel is throughout the bible, but is best explained in Romans, more specifically chapters 1-4. According to Gilbert, the Gospel should always be explained with these following points included:
1.) Who made us and whom are we accountable to? Answer: God made the entire universe including every human; therefore, every human is accountable to Him.
2.) What is man’s greatest problem or need? How are we in trouble and why? Answer: Mankind has rebelled against God, this is called sin. Since we are all guilty of sin, we all deserve hell.
3.) What is God’s solution to this problem? How has He acted to save us from it? Answer: God sent His Son Jesus to live the life we couldn’t live and die the death we should have died. By doing this, He paid the penalty for our sins in His life’s blood. His death and resurrection from the dead sets us free from our greatest problem – sin.
4.) How do I bring myself to be included in this salvation? How is this good news for me and not someone else? Answer: Turn from sin and turn to Jesus Christ – repentance; place your faith and trust in Jesus to save you as you would a parachute if you were about to jump out a plane. When this happens, Jesus will make you right before God and grant you eternal life.

God Saves Bad People

I've been a Christian for some years now and over these years I have studied God's Word and it has blessed me in innumerable and unexplainable ways. However, there is one thing that still baffles me, there is one thing that I cannot seem to wrap my head around, there is one thing that I just cannot comprehend. My dilemma is found Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Do you know that God saves bad people? Do you know that God only saves bad people? Jesus said He came to seek and save that which was lost, not those who "thought" they had found their way. Jesus came to heal the sick, not those who "thought" they were healthy. That’s what the whole Bible’s about. And I just don’t get it. Christ didn’t wait for us to get our act together before He died for us; He did while we had our backs turned towards Him. This defies human logic and our understanding of justice. When I die I’m not getting what I deserve because Jesus got what I deserve. I know for some of you this is hard to comprehend, but will you stop acting as if you must clean up your life before you turn to Him. Don’t you get it; He only saves those who are dirty – not the clean. Will you turn to Him? He is mighty to save.

Vampires, Shacks, and Undiscerning Christians

I'm sure you're aware of the infatuation our youth has been having with vampires due to the Twilight Saga. Unfortunately, adult woman have also begun to embrace this movement. But have you noticed this trend growing amongst Christians as well? Is this wise? I know we have freedom in Christ, but is this pushing the envelope? Can you honestly read or watch this type of genre and feel comfortable if Jesus was sitting right next to you? Can you defend watching or reading this stuff biblically? Because I can give a pretty strong argument from Scripture of why we should stay away from entertaining ourselves with this stuff (Exodus 22:18; Lev. 19:26,31;20:6,27; Deut. 18:10-14; Isa. 8:19-29; 44:25; 47:12-14; II Kings 21:6; II Chron 33:6; Acts 8:9,18-22;13:6; Rev. 19:21;21:8;22:15). We need to wake up Christians and stop entertaining ourselves with the things that Jesus came to die for. This is not a game. Do you not take the cross seriously? Come on Christian, turn away from this immediately.

Not only are we failing to discern what we should and shouldn't be watching in the secular arena, but we are also failing to recognize what we need to be staying away from in spiritual circles. Just because something is labeled "Christian" doesn't necessarily mean it is. Books like "The Shack" are selling like hot cakes. But what many fail to realize is that this book can be labeled as blasphemous. When it comes to describing God, fiction or non-fiction, it's theology. And books like "The Shack" present bad theology that's leading many astray about the true nature of God.

Christians my plea to you is simple: STOP EMBRACING TWILIGHT AND STOP READING THE SHACK.

Reformed Hip-Hop?!?!

A couple years ago I came across some Reformed Rappers. And I got to tell you - these guys are solid! Even if you don't like this type of genre, the lyrics will bless you. I don't know if you have listened to Christian radio lately, but it's 1) boring and 2) theologically and bibically weak. I mean, enough with the prosperity message and packaging the Gospel as "Christianity light". That's not what you're going to get with these Reformed Rappers. You can probably hear more solid theology in one song than you can in watching hours of TBN. Some of these guys have: interned under Pastor Mark Dever of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, sit under the teaching of Pastor Eric Mason of Epiphany Fellowship; study theology at solid Bible colleges; taken the ideas from John Piper's book and sermon "Don't Waste Your Life" and have gone on tour with that message; produced a whole album dedicated to the "9 Marks" of a healthy church; and perform at churches of well-known pastors that us "reformed guys" respect and trust. These guys are a reflection of a group of Christians that want to get back to what true biblical Christianity looks like. We are tired of watered-down messages that tell us, "if we let Jesus in our heart He will make life all better for us". That's not the Gospel! However, it's very clear that this group of young guys know what the Gospel is and they present it poetically to some hip beats. Hope you enjoy the 7 videos I posted.

Joyful Noise (Flame)

Don't Waste Your Life (Lecrae)

Go Hard (Lecrae)

The Greatest Story Ever Told (Shai Linne)

Mission Accomplished (Shai Linne)

I Make War!!! Tedashii

The Invasion (Hero) - Between Two Worlds (Trip Lee)

Wake Up Men! This Is War!

The Virtuous Woman

God's Sovereignty In Our Struggles

Have you ever asked yourself, "Why do I still sin if I'm a Christian? Couldn't God just take away my desire to sin?" If you're like me, you might get impatient with your sanctification process. However, we all must ask ourselves a very important question, who's in charge of our sanctification in the first place? I mean we all know that Jesus is the one who justifies a sinner. More specifically, He [Jesus] takes a person guilty of committing crimes against God and declares that person not guilty based on the payment He made on their behalf. Jesus paid the criminal's fine in His life's blood - this is what justification means. But sanctification is what takes place in a Christian's life the moment they are justified and continually there after. This is what theologians call "positional" and "progressive" sanctification. The moment you become a Christian (justification) you are set apart for holy use (positional sanctification). However, the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus will be a continuous struggle in this lifetime (progressive sanctification). When a criminal is found not guilty in the courtroom he is technically a free man, however, he still may have to go through a lot of processing before that's made a reality. This "positionally free man" still has to be released from his handcuffs, leave the courtroom, go back to the prison for out-processing, put on civilian clothes, and walk out of the prison before he is really free. We as Christians must also go through an "out-processing" in this life before we are truly free from our struggle with sin. And this freedom will come the moment we die and are present with Jesus. This is something we have to look forward to, however, what are we to do with our current struggle with sin. I believe the first thing we must do is realize that our sanctification process didn't begin with our efforts and it surely isn't sustained by our efforts. Jesus is the One who has set us apart for holy use and Jesus is the One who will complete the work in us that He has begun (Heb. 2:11; 10:10; 1 Thess. 3:12-13; Eph. 4:23-24; 2 Cor. 3:18).

When I became a Christian many of my old sinful habits went away immediately. However, there were certain struggles I had that just seemed impossible to overcome. I would pray over and over for God to free me from these things that were not pleasing to Him. Those prayers were not answered in the time I would have preferred, but they were answered in just the right time. If those prayers would have been answered when I wanted them to, my life would look completely different right now. God was purposeful in allowing me to struggle with certain sins in my life in order to bring His name glory. Now don't get me wrong here, God is not the cause of our sin, James 1:13 is very clear on that issue. But He does purpose certain trials to happen in a believer's life, even so, there will always be an escape from sin (1 Cor. 10:13). Now you may be asking, "How in the world does God get glory from my struggles with sin?" I would like to offer a few points to answer this question.

Our struggles:
1.) Keep us humble. If God took away all of our struggles from the start, we would have the tendency to become very prideful. And as the proverb goes, pride comes before the fall (Prov 16:18).
2.) Help us help others. God may allow us to go through difficult times so that we may be patient and understanding towards those who are going through the same struggles we faced.
3.) Help us form the habit of reminding ourselves of the Gospel on a daily basis. When the Holy Spirit convicts a believer of sin, the believer comes face to face with the cross and the penalty Jesus paid with His life's blood.
4.) Cause our love and dependency for Christ to grow. True Christians want to stop sinning. The Holy Spirit's sanctifying work will lead the believer to pray, fast, read the bible, memorize verses, listen to sermons, and seek godly counsel from mature believers. These things cause us to become dependent upon God for our sanctification. Not only that, as we experience God's patience and forgiveness during our struggles, our love for Him will increase (Luke 7:47).
5.) Display the sufficiency of God's grace. God has promised to supply us with grace as we go through our struggles. And the weaker the human instrument, the greater God's grace shines through (2 Cor. 12:9). However, God's grace should never be an excuse to sin (Rom 6:1).

Please do not get the wrong impression from this article. I am in no way, shape, or form minimizing the severity of sin. Sin is wrong, ugly, detestable, and placed our Lord and Savior on the cross. We should fight it, make war against it, hate it, and eradicate it from our lives. However, we must realize that our fight against sin doesn't come from our own power or strength, but instead is overcome by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Whenever we read or hear God's word and feel motivation to act against our sin, we must remember that the motivation to act doesn't come from something inherently good in us. Instead, it comes from the Holy Spirit and the strength He gives us to overcome sin (Col. 1:29). When and how He does this is completely up to Him. In this lifetime we will find ourselves in a continual battle against sin and the more we grow closer to Christ the more we become aware of our depravity. Therefore, our difficulties will only continue, but one thing is certain and that is - God is sovereign in our struggles.

Psalms 40:1-2:
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.

The Few

What is Salvation?

Live for Eternity

Cj Mahaney - The Cup of Christ