Scripture picture theme this week: The Blood. Each scripture photo will be accompanied by a song about the blood of Jesus. Never forget about the blood.
There Is A Fountain
Category: encouragement
Grace upon grace
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. (John 1:16).
What do you mean grace upon grace? What does he mean? He means grace literally grace in the place of grace. That’s the Greek. Grace in the place of grace. Grace just keeps replacing itself. It’s overlapping.
It’s like waves. If you go down to the beach, and you watch the waves, you don’t know where one ends and one begins, they just roll on top of each other. That’s the notion expressed in the way this is framed. Waves of grace rolling on us. Romans 5:2 says, “We stand in grace, we literally are engulfed in waves of grace.” You don’t live on past grace, you don’t live on stale grace, you live on grace replacing grace replacing grace, replacing grace. Grace on top of grace, His mercies are new every morning. There are no gaps in His grace. This is an amazing, amazing statement. ~John MacArthur We Beheld His Glory
What a tremendous gift His grace is. I’m so thankful for my salvation, that I have the privilege of knowing Jesus as Savior and Friend, and no longer as my enemy. He is a good, good Father.
Scripture photo: So Jesus suffered… The Blood #2
Scripture picture theme this week: The Blood. Each scripture photo will be accompanied by a song about the blood of Jesus. Never forget about the blood.
Scripture picture: Theme this week- The Blood
Scripture picture theme this week: The Blood. Each scripture photo will be accompanied by a song about the blood of Jesus. Never forget about the blood.
Nothing But The Blood
Lift high the cross
Part of this essay appeared on The End Time in 2010.
The Wayside Cross is a huge tradition in Canada and Europe, where it has abounded for over a thousand years. “In Quebec, and Europe, a wayside cross marks a place where the members of a community gather to meet and pray, and often commemorates an important moment in their communal history.” Charles Bourget reports that there are 3000 wayside shrines dotting the countryside in Quebec, however, many of them are falling into disrepair because the tradition is waning. I wrote at one time about the fate of one American Wayside Cross in East Greenwich RI.
Below, a wayside crucifix in Europe
In America, the tradition never really caught on. If one does stumble upon a wayside cross, they are usually a cricifix- which represents an entirely different religion. They are seen occasionally, especially in central rural Wisconsin. Wayside crosses dot the landscape there. In Bedford NY, one was erected in 1936 and it was hoped that the sight of it would invite the prayers of the passersby. In 1922 East Greenwich, it was hoped by “those who placed this beautiful memorial to an exemplary life feel that it will indeed be a light by the way and a guide post to Heaven.” By and large wayside crosses are not seen much and those that do exist are under increasing challenge.
The point of the cross in public life is that it would point the way to Jesus. That upon seeing it, thoughts of Him and the Good News would ruminate in the mind, and through the strength of the Holy Spirit, those thoughts would germinate. For people seeing such displays, who have already heard the Good News, perhaps its sight would loosen the bonds around the heartstrings and their conviction would grow, as in the allegorical depiction of Christian at the Wayside Cross.
A wayside cross was a pivotal point in the very famous book Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, published in 1678 and has remained on the ‘bestseller list’ ever since, never having been out of print. The passage is below:
“He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending, and upon that place stood a cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a sepulchre. So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do, till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more. Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said, with a merry heart, ‘He hath given me rest by his sorrow, and life by his death.’ Then he stood still awhile to look and wonder; for it was very surprising to him, that the sight of the cross should thus ease him of his burden. He looked therefore, and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks. Now, as he stood looking and weeping, behold three Shining Ones came to him and saluted him with Peace be unto thee. So the first said to him, Thy sins be forgiven thee;”
It is amazing that the sight of the cross should ease a person’s burdens, but it does, for the person who is ready to receive grace. For every individual on the planet, there comes that critical moment, upon which the eye falls to the cross and a decision is made either aye or nay. The cross to the unsaved does make one’s soul burn, satan would have it so. But in the process of that the soul-singe the cross is emblazoned on the mind and heart and soul, thereafter to linger as a brand. It stays there, to rankle. Opponents of Christ do not want that rankle, and therefore strive to remove the cross from all areas of life except homes and churches.
This article from 2011 by John Witte Jr., Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., is interesting: Lift High the Cross? Religion In Public Spaces
It made 6 points about court challenges to religious symbols in public spaces:
While not entirely convergent in their religious symbolism cases, the American and European high courts now hold six teachings in common.
- First, tradition counts in these cases
- Second, religious symbols often have redeeming cultural value
- Third, local values deserve some deference.
- Fourth, religious freedom does not require the secularization of society.
- Fifth, religious freedom does not give a minority a heckler’s veto over majoritarian policies
- Finally, religious symbolism cases are serious business.
Lift high the cross. Value it, present it, wear it, but above all, cherish it and obey it. We can and should beautify the Gospel that the cross stands for by our obedient and gentle adornment of obedient behavior because of it.
Buck the current
For a while in my free-wheeling days, I lived on a sailboat with my husband. We sailed from Maine down to Florida, over to the Bahamas down as far as the Tropic of Cancer. Then we turned around and sailed back. We made this mini-circumnavigation twice, putting about 12,000 nautical miles under our keel. Our yacht was a 37′ Tayana with a full keel and 12 feet of beam. She was a study boat, and a pretty one, with a wooden mast and lapstrake style fiberglass and a wooden bowsprit.
Needless to say, we encountered all types of weather and all kinds of marine conditions. Storms, believe it or not, are not as hard to deal with as one might think. Boats are made to bob and yaw and pitch and really are in their element when it’s storming and you are underway.
The one that gets hard to deal with is current. But more on that in a moment.
One of our elders who delivered the confession time devotional in the worship service on Sunday mentioned his above ground pool. He said it is a small pool, and that you must circulate the water because it’s better for the water and better for the pool. What he does to circulate it, he said, is walk rapidly around the perimeter of the pool while in it. That gets the water going. Around and around he goes, the water as a force swirling. If you turn around, he said, you suddenly feel the force of the water against you. When you’re going with the current you don’t feel it, but turning around suddenly this wall of water pushes against you.
This got me thinking about ocean and river currents.
When I lived on the sailboat, we traveled down some of America’s mighty rivers, like the East River, Potomac, the Cape Fear River, or the Savannah River. The currents on these rivers are very strong. When traveling against the current, the current wants to push you off course, and can do so very easily unless you maintain constant extreme vigilance. The engine works hard, you have to hang onto the steering wheel pretty tightly to maintain course. If you lose the engine, you end up on the rocks. You anxiously keep looking at the time, waiting for the tide to turn so the current will ease up.
It’s so much easier sailing with the current. You cruise along, carried by the current in its course, enjoying the lack of turbulence.
The two years of sailing as a live-aboard cruiser are still reaping benefits in spiritual insights and life metaphors. I’d often wondered why the Lord would send me on such an amazing journey (now that I know the Lord). His providence is amazing. Because He ordains everything in a person’s life down to the last dust mote, there had to have been a reason He sent me down America’s coast in a boat. I didn’t know Him then, but I do now. And I know there is a reason. There may be many more I’m too dense to comprehend, but the spiritual lessons keep coming.
I’m not an agricultural person, so the sheep and the wheat and chaff and such don’t resonate with me. But the marine symbols do.
When the writer of Hebrews says cling to your salvation lest you drift away, I know.
When Jude says there are hidden reefs at your love feasts, I know.
When Paul says do not make a shipwreck of your faith, I know.
I hope you caught the life-lesson I’m about to reveal. The current is the world, it sweeps you along and you do not notice any turbulence…until you turn 180 degrees. When you turn (repent), suddenly the force of the current is quite noticeable. It pushes against you. The world wants to direct your course, and if you don’t have an engine, you’re headed for the rocks. The engine is the Spirit. You have to grip the wheel tightly so as to stay on course. The wheel is the Bible. You have to maintain constant vigilance or you will be pushed to where you don’t want to go.
Here’s the difference. As opposed to a mariner’s life, in Christian life- the tide never turns.
There is never, every a season of ease. There is never a time when you can safely coast along. There’s never a time when you don’t need to constantly be vigilant and check your course. As long as we’re in this body, we have to remain at the binnacle steering this ship of faith against the current of the world that always pushes against us.
When the time comes in each of our lives to let go and swim the River Jordan, we will emerge on the other side climbing up the bank victorious. Of course, it is not our victory. Jesus swam against the current of the world all His life and was never shunted off course, never drifted an iota into dark waters, not even when He was tempted by the devil. He kept His eye firmly on the lighthouse and the glory of God. He gained the victory because of His righteousness, and imputed it to us.
Buck the current. Stay vigilant. Have a firm grip (hold fast) to the steering wheel. We will eventually make it to safe shores and we will never have to slog through an angry tide again. All will be peace, calm waters and safe harbor.
Sunday Encouragement: The Celestial City!
In reading the Tenth Stage or the closing chapter and words of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, it comforted me so greatly. Its descriptions and promises, encouragement and beauty is perfect for a Sunday Lord’s Day. I pray you find it encouraging as well. This is what awaits us! Some day, some happy day, we will never more be afflicted with sorrow and grief and sin. We will shout the praises and thanksgivings to Jesus and speak with Him daily. Oh what a day that will be!
The talk that they had with the shining ones was about the glory of the place; who told them that the beauty and glory of it was inexpressible. There, said they, is “Mount Sion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the innumerable company of angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect.” Heb. 12:22-24. You are going now, said they, to the paradise of God, wherein you shall see the tree of life, and eat of the never-fading fruits thereof: and when you come there you shall have white robes given you, and your walk and talk shall be every day with the King, even all the days of eternity. Rev. 2:7; 3:4,5; 22:5.
There you shall not see again such things as you saw when you were in the lower region upon earth; to wit, sorrow, sickness, affliction, and death; “For the former things are passed away.” Rev. 21:4. You are going now to Abraham, to Isaac, and Jacob, and to the prophets, men that God hath taken away from the evil to come, and that are now “resting upon their beds, each one walking in his righteousness.” The men then asked, What must we do in the holy place? To whom it was answered, You must there receive the comfort of all your toil, and have joy for all your sorrow; you must reap what you have sown, even the fruit of all your prayers, and tears, and sufferings for the King by the way. Gal. 6:7,8. In that place you must wear crowns of gold, and enjoy the perpetual sight and vision of the Holy One; for “there you shall see him as he is.” 1 John, 3:2.
There also you shall serve him continually with praise, with shouting and thanksgiving, whom you desired to serve in the world, though with much difficulty, because of the infirmity of your flesh. There your eyes shall be delighted with seeing, and your ears with hearing the pleasant voice of the Mighty One. There you shall enjoy your friends again that are gone thither before you; and there you shall with joy receive even every one that follows into the holy place after you. There also you shall be clothed with glory and majesty, and put into an equipage fit to ride out with the King of Glory.
When he shall come with sound of trumpet in the clouds, as upon the wings of the wind, you shall come with him; and when he shall sit upon the throne of judgment, you shall sit by him; yea, and when he shall pass sentence upon all the workers of iniquity, let them be angels or men, you also shall have a voice in that judgment, because they were his and your enemies. Also, when he shall again return to the city, you shall go too with sound of trumpet, and be ever with him. 1 Thess. 4:14-17; Jude 14,15; Dan. 7:9,10; 1 Cor. 6:2,3.
Referenced in books dating from 1896, no other information is given about provenance. Click on the link above to see it very large and examine the wonderful illustrations in detail.
Below, Plan of the Road from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City from the 1833 edition of “The Pilgrim’s Progress”.
The Prayer Machinery of Heaven #7: The Debt
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. (Psalm 66:18).
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
Prayer straddles our lives both on earth when we pray and in heaven when Jesus hears. All week I’m focusing on prayer. It’s important. I need to do better in my life, and I can’t imagine a Christian who doesn’t think they can do better at prayer either.
Charles Spurgeon said,
Prayer meetings are the throbbing machinery of the church.
Last weekend, I was thinking of one of Spurgeon’s sermons, called God’s Providence. (#3114). Spurgeon likened the cherubim’s acts near the throne and the wheels within wheels as described by Ezekiel as machinery of Providence. He described, hypothetically of course, the wheels going up and down and left and right in tandem as the machinery of Providence carrying out God’s will and decrees. It’s an interesting thought, and Spurgeon is vivid about his descriptions.
This series of ‘prayer machinery of heaven’ is inspired by those two thoughts.
Please enjoy this scripture photo I made of the machinery of prayer. Under that will be some further resources on prayer suggestions.
There are two ‘If’s’ there. If we confess, He is faithful to forgive. If we hold onto our sins and cherish them, He does not listen. Prayer is the vehicle of communion with the Lord, and dealing with sin is the oil that expedites the prayer or it falls to the ground with a thud.
In “The Lord’s Prayer” from Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus said “pray in this way” which includes instructions to pray for forgiveness of sin,
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6:12)
Gill’s Commentary mentions the use of the word debts for sins
And forgive us our debts,…. Nothing is more frequent in the Jewish writings than to call sins “debts”; and the phrase, of forgiving, is used both of God and men.
And sins are debts, aren’t they. Strong’s Concordance explains the Greek word used here
And to Him we owe it all! Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe!!!
He paid the debt, and He set us free. We are mindful of the two ‘Ifs’ however, do not cherish sin, and confess it daily. What a privilege to pray. What a gift that He hears us.
Prayer Machinery of Heaven series:
Prayer Machinery #1: Introduction and Praying for Missionaries
Prayer Machinery #2: Praying for pray for our Elders (pastors, deacons, teachers, etc).
Prayer Machinery #3: Praying for each other
Prayer Machinery #4: How to Pray
Prayer Machinery #5: A focus on Jesus in heaven who hears our prayers, and what a comfort that is
Prayer Machinery #6: Persevering in Prayer
Prayer Machinery #7: The Two ‘If’s’ and the Importance of confessing Sin
The Prayer Machinery of Heaven #6
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. (Luke 18:1)
Prayer straddles our lives both on earth when we pray and in heaven when Jesus hears. All week I’m focusing on prayer. It’s important. I need to do better in my life, and I can’t imagine a Christian who doesn’t think they can do better at prayer either.
Charles Spurgeon said,
Prayer meetings are the throbbing machinery of the church.
Last weekend, I was thinking of one of Spurgeon’s sermons, called God’s Providence. (#3114). Spurgeon likened the cherubim’s acts near the throne and the wheels within wheels as described by Ezekiel as machinery of Providence. He described, hypothetically of course, the wheels going up and down and left and right in tandem as the machinery of Providence carrying out God’s will and decrees. It’s an interesting thought, and Spurgeon is vivid about his descriptions.
This series of ‘prayer machinery of heaven’ is inspired by those two thoughts.
Please enjoy this scripture photo I made of the machinery of prayer. Under that will be some further resources on prayer suggestions. Monday I suggested praying for the persecuted and missionaries around the world, with some resources to check out along those lines. Tuesday I suggested praying for our elders (pastors, deacons, teachers, etc), again, with resources. Wednesday I suggested praying for each other. Today focuses on how often to pray. Thursday I offered information about frequency of prayer. Friday we focused on Jesus in heaven who hears our prayers, and what a comfort that is. For this next-to-last picture in the series, I’ll offer some thoughts and resources on persevering in prayer.
I thought Barnes’ Notes said it well. There are different kinds of prayers and seasons for each kind. There are different attitudes of prayer.
Always – At all times. That is, we must not neglect regular stated seasons of prayer; we must seize on occasions of remarkable providences as afflictions or signal blessings to seek God in prayer; we must “always” maintain a spirit of prayer, or be in a proper frame to lift up our hearts to God for his blessing, and we must not grow weary though our prayer seems not to be answered.
Not to faint – Not to grow weary or give over. The parable is designed to teach us that, though our prayers should long appear to be unanswered, we should persevere, and not grow weary in supplication to God.
The parable is instructive for us, to never give up in prayer. Jesus receives prayer around the clock, every day, all the time. For us, it’s a battle to put hands together and carve out time to pray, Satan does not want us to pray. Jesus does. We have to work toward satisfying the one and not the other. Spurgeon again, said-
It is well said that neglected prayer is the birthplace of all evil.
I believe this. Jesus spent time instructing the disciples how to pray. (Luke 11:1-13). He spent time instructing through the parable of the importance of persisting in prayer. (Luke 18:1-8). Prayer is important. I need to do better in lots of ways- in my closet, in persisting, in focus, in content, and in earnestness and fervor. Lord, help me to pray.
Further Reading
Sermon Series: Elements of True Prayer
Valley of Vision devotional of Puritan Prayers (a wonderful wonderful resource!)
Tim Challies: Persistence in Prayer
Full of Eyes: Visual theology & exegesis of Colossians 4:2-4 being steadfast in prayer
Prayer Machinery of Heaven series:
Prayer Machinery #1: Introduction and Praying for Missionaries
Prayer Machinery #2: Praying for pray for our Elders (pastors, deacons, teachers, etc).
Prayer Machinery #3: Praying for each other
Prayer Machinery #4: How to Pray
Prayer Machinery #5: A focus on Jesus in heaven who hears our prayers, and what a comfort that is
Prayer Machinery #6: Persevering in Prayer
Prayer Machinery #7: The Two ‘If’s’ and the Importance of confessing Sin
The Prayer Machinery of Heaven #5
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. (Psalm 145:18-19)
Prayer straddles our lives both on earth when we pray and in heaven when Jesus hears. All week I’m focusing on prayer. It’s important. I need to do better in my life, and I can’t imagine a Christian who doesn’t think they can do better at prayer either.
Last weekend, I was thinking of one of Spurgeon’s sermons, called God’s Providence. (#3114). Spurgeon likened the cherubim’s acts near the throne and the wheels within wheels as described by Ezekiel as machinery of Providence. He described, hypothetically of course, the wheels going up and down and left and right in tandem as the machinery of Providence carrying out God’s will and decrees. It’s an interesting thought, and Spurgeon is vivid about his descriptions.
This series of ‘prayer machinery of heaven’ is inspired by that thought.
Please enjoy this scripture photo I made of the machinery of prayer. Under that will be some further resources on prayer suggestions. Monday I suggested praying for the persecuted and missionaries around the world, with some resources to check out along those lines. Tuesday I suggested praying for our elders (pastors, deacons, teachers, etc), again, with resources. Wednesday I suggested praying for each other. Today focuses on how often to pray. Thursday I offered information about frequency of prayer. Today let’s focus on Jesus in heaven who hears our prayers, and what a comfort that is.
In John Gill’s Commentary on verse 19, he writes,
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him,…. That have the true fear of God put into their hearts; that fear him not with a servile, but godly fear; that fear the Lord and his goodness, and are true worshippers of him in a spiritual and evangelic manner; for the fear of God includes the whole worship of him, private and public: and the Lord grants to such whatever they desire of him, in his fear, under the direction of his spirit, according to his will, and in submission to it. Do they desire good things of him, temporal or spiritual? there is no want of any good thing to them that fear him; how should there, when such great goodness is laid up for them? Do they desire his presence, and the discoveries of his love? the sun of righteousness arises on them that fear his name, and his secrets are with them, and his mercy is upon them from everlasting to everlasting. Do they desire his protection from enemies? the Angel of the Lord encamps round about them, and the Lord himself is their, help and their shield;
he also will hear their cry, and will save them; that is, he will hear and answer their prayer, which they put up to him in their distress: they cry to him either mentally or vocally, in their troubles, and his ears are open to their cries, and they enter into them; and he regards them, and saves them out of them; out of their temporal and out of their spiritual troubles; he saves them with a temporal and with an eternal salvation.
We have such a good God who hears. Our fear and devotion to Him, and His careful attention and love toward us, makes a wonderful relationship. And that is what our religion is, not formalist with rituals and rules, but a relationship with a Holy God who cares.
Further Resources
Essay: How’s Your Prayer Life? by Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones
Sermon S. Lewis Johnson: The Lord’s Prayer: A Primer for Prayer
Prayer Machinery of Heaven series:
Prayer Machinery #1: Introduction and Praying for Missionaries
Prayer Machinery #2: Praying for pray for our Elders (pastors, deacons, teachers, etc).
Prayer Machinery #3: Praying for each other
Prayer Machinery #4: How to Pray
Prayer Machinery #5: A focus on Jesus in heaven who hears our prayers, and what a comfort that is
Prayer Machinery #6: Persevering in Prayer
Prayer Machinery #7: The Two ‘If’s’ and the Importance of confessing Sin
the-end-time.org 