My Grace is sufficient for you

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9

“God never allows pain without a purpose in the lives of His children.  He never allows satan, nor circumstances, nor any ill-intending person to afflict us unless He uses that affliction for our good.  God  never wastes pain.  He always causes it to work together for ultimate good, the good of conforming us more the the likeness of His Son (see Romans 8:28-29)…In this passage, God equates  His grace with His power as specifically displayed in our weakness.  This power infusing our weakness is a  concrete expression of His grace: His power comes to our aid through the ministry of His Spirit in our lives.  This is the mysterious operation of the Holy Spirit on our human spirit through which He strengthens us and enables us to meet in a Godly fashion whatever circumstances we encounter.
Notice I said that the Holy Spirit strengthens us and enables us to meet in a godly fashing whatever circumstances cross our paths.  God’s grace is not given to make us feel better, but to glorify Him.  Modern society’s subtle, underlying agenda is good feelings.  We want the pain to go aways.  We want to feel  better in difficult situations, but God wants us to glorify Him in those circumstances.  Good feelings may come, or they may not, but that is not the issue.  The issue is whether or not we honor God by the way we respond to our circumstances.  God’s grace – that is the enabling power of the Holy Spirit – is given to help us respond in such a way…
John Blanchard said, ‘So he [God]supplies perfectly measured grace to meet the needs of the godly.  For daily needs there is daily grace; for sudden needs, sudden grace; for overwhelming need, overwhelming grace.  God’s grace is given wonderfully, but not wastefully; freely but not foolishly; bountfiully but not blindly.” Jerry Bridges.

“It is fighting for its life”

This is probably one of the most powerful interviews I have seen.  It is Abby Johnson, former director of a planned parenthood clinic discussing what went through her mind when she saw witnessed an ultrasound of a baby being aborted.  This is from an interview she did with Mike Huckabee, it left me breathless as my wife and I watched it.

“V” and Christianity

Christianity Today did an interview with the executive producer of the new TV show V and you can read it here.  Reading the interview definitely made me interested in the show and I thought this was an interesting snippet.

How did an Anglican priest end up as a central hero in an alien invasion tale?

In a story of devotion and belief, it makes sense to have a character who is all about devotion. For a priest, the arrival of this apparent savior forces a decision: Either everything he knows is wrong or this new information is a lie. It’s a great existential question for him. Is the faith and God he believes in really true? It’s a nice way to talk about the issues of faith, devotion, belief, and redemption.

I guess he forgot “Do No Harm”

This is pretty disturbing. According to this news story, not only does “Dr.” (I’m using that term very lightly) Curtis Boyd very nonchalantly admit that he is killing unborn children, he performs abortions as late as 24 weeks and says he’s had clients as young as 9 and 10 years old. Oh ya, and, a former Baptist minister, he also prays for each abortion (via Reflections of a Paralytic)

End of Friday’s Are For Fathers

This post marks the last “Friday’s Are For Fathers.”  It’s been a fun run, but honestly, every day should be for fathers!  Yesterday I alluded to a new direction that I am taking with this blog and part of that includes not saving particular fatherhood/parenting posts for Fridays, but doing them all the time.  I am also going to be redoing the link section and featuring different blogs and websites about being a Christian parent.  The last change which is a major redirection is that I am going to post more of my personal experience as a father.  This will be a great way to chronicle the sanctifying experience of fatherhood, as well as what God is teaching me.  There are all types of books out there on parenting, but this will be a chance for me to chronicle parenting in action as God’s grace and mercy unfolds.  With all of that said, below is the last Friday’s are for Fathers post.

Albert  Mohler references an article from the Wall Street on Journal about the impact of fatherlessness in animal society and talks about how it corresponds to humans.

Children need fathers in the home. The epidemic of fatherlessness has brought disaster on a society-wide scale, and has brought harm into the lives of millions of young children, both boys and girls.

Girls raised with biological fathers in the home begin to menstruate at later ages than girls without a father in the home. Boys raised without dad are far more likely to drop out of school, be arrested, be unemployed, and be designated as delinquent. In sum, fathers matter.

Christians recognize this as a theological matter, long before we consider biology. We know that the Creator’s intention in marriage and the family is for children to have both mother and father. One of the most vulnerable designations in the Bible is the fatherless.

via NewsNote: Naughty Rodents — Your Brain without Dad – AlbertMohler.com.

Fighting Anxiety With Scipture

“When you think about your life or your food or your clothes — or your spouse or your or your job or your mission — don’t fret about them.  Instead, make God the King in that affair and in that moment.  That is, hand over the situation to his kingly power, and do his righteous will with the confidence that he will work for you and meet all your needs.  If we believe in the kingship of our heavenly Fathers, we do not need to be anxious about anything…the more primary and central his kinship becomes in our live, the less anxiety we will  have.” John Piper

A Father’s devotional life

“My family is the primary place where my walk with Christ takes on flesh.  It is one thing for me to have a personal relationship with Jesus.  However, if I spend hours reading the Bible and praying and invest the lion’s share of my time ministering to others while neglecting my role as husband and father, my relationship with Christ is out of balance, or, worse, inauthentic.  It is my relationship with my wife and children that gives my walk with Christ legitimacy.” Voddie Baucham Jr.

Recently I’ve taken a different direction with this blog and been seeking to post more about parenting and children.  Along with this I have been writing less devotionals as I want to grow in applying truth to my life.  What better way then the sanctification that comes with parenting.  I will say  more about this new direction in tomorrow’s “Friday is for Father’s post,” but the quote by Dr. Baucham shows how although I may be focusing on parenthood, the content of this blog is pretty much still the same.  The content of this blog is still about growing in devotion to Christ.

I have been writing less devotionals, but do plan on posting more poetry soon.  If you miss my devotionals or are looking for quality devotions to do I highly encourage you to check out the newly redesigned http://devotionalchristian.com/ They list all of the best free devotionals online to strengthen your walk with God.  If you have the time you should definitely check out this website.

Be Glorified

so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1:12

“This is the end we should aim at in everything we do and desire, that God and Christ may be glorified.  Our own happiness and that of others should be subordinate to this ultimate end.  Our good works should so shine before men that others may glorify God, that Christ may be glorified in and by us, and then we shall  be glorified in and with Him.  And this is the great end and design of the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ, which is manifested to us and wrought in us.  Or thus: it is according to the grace of God and Christ, that is, it is an agreeable thing, considering the grace that is manifested to us and bestowed  on us, by God and Christ, that we direct all we do to the glory of our creator and redeemer.” – Matthew Henry

Where The American Church Needs Reformation

Image courtesy of Eternal Perspectives Ministry

“By repentance we must lament and forsake our sins, and by faith we must receive the forgiveness of them.  By repentance we must give glory to our Creator whom we have offended; by faith we must give glory to our Redeemder who came to save us from our sins.  Both of these must go together; we must not think either that reforming our lives will save us without trusting in the righteousness and grace of Christ, or that trusting in Christ will save us without the reformation of our hearts and lives. ” Matthew Henry

Boice on God’s sovereignty in our failures

Image courtesy of Tenth Presbyterian Church

“We may not like to think so, but Christians do fail.  Through their failures they should learn to trust God in order that they might succeed in His service.  Another way of saying the same thing is that through failures they learn to follow God’s plans for their lives rather than their own…If a man can begin his career in such abject failure as Moses experienced and then rise to the heights he achieved, certainly we can rise from our early failures and ruined plans too.  If we do not – if we grieve over our plans that seemed good and even spiritual to us but which failed – then we do not understand God’s sovereignty.  We need to take our minds off our plans for a while and seek God…Only after we fail do we become aware that it is God and not ourselves who is working.  God’s plan will be accomplished. ‘There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand’ (Proverbs 19:21). This truth Moses came to know, and we must learn it also.  Someone has said, ‘Moses was 40 years in Egypt learning something; he was 40 years in the desert learning to be nothing; and he was 40 years in the wilderness proving God to be everything.’” James Montgomery Boice