Bridges and Tripp :)

I got 2 new books in the mail today. I ordered them from Amazon.com. I LOVE amazon!

This will make two posts for today and countless emails....but I haven' t been able to eat for 3 days because of a stomach bug....so I don't have much energy. And reading and blogging don't take much energy. :)

Book #1: Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands People in need of change helping people in need of change ~ Paul David Tripp

I have only read the preface and Chapter One but I can highly recommend it. Here's a quote as a tease:

"But consider this: we could never hire enough paid staff to meet the ministry needs of the average local church. The "passive body that pays the professionals" culture of the modern evangelical church must be forsaken for the ministry model God has so wisely ordained. To that end this book has been written."



I must add that the book is written in the positive sense in regards to that quote. He is equipping those who are kingdom-minded and who desire to be an instrument to bring about righteousness in themselves and others.



Book #2: Respectable Sins Confronting the Sins We Tolerate ~ Jerry Bridges

Though I have never read any of Bridges works, I can tell you that I love this man. I have read countless quotes full of insight and truth....I cling to every word. I have only read the preface of this book but I want to include a quote:

"The motivation for this book stems from a growing conviction that those of us whom I call conservative evangelicals may have become so preoccupied with some of the major sins of society around us that we have lost sight of the need to deal with our own more "refined" or subtle sins.

While seeking to address these "respectable" sins, however, I also want this to be a book of hope. We are never to wallow hopelessly in our sins. Rather, we are to believe the gospel through which God has dealt with both the guilt of our sin and its dominion over us."



AMEN??? Amen. You know what I love about these two guys? Every sentence they write has a purpose. There are no 'fillers'. That's why it takes me forever to get through them. I usually read one paragraph...perhaps even of the preface...and I have to pray, repent, send out an email asking for forgiveness, call Sylas and share it with him, and give thanks to anyone who recommended the book!!!!!!! NOt literally...more of my time is spent marking the books up. I'm sure that drives Sylas nuts because when he reads it he gets my notes as well.

One more thought...I just love how Biblical, theologically sound books always start with the gospel. I'm learning each day how vital that is to life and to sanctification. Both of these books, of course, do just that.

The wind is blowing here like crazy...a cold front is coming in!! That means it might get below 80 tomorrow!! I wish I could curl up in a recliner and read all night. HA!

Hymn of the Day..or of My Life

Thomas O. Chisholm
I just love this Hymn...and somehow it's been in my mind this morning. I was confronted with it's Biblical truth. It is saturated with Scripture. Let it run through your mind and soul today. It will bring thankfulness and peace!!



Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;

As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.


Great is Thy faithfulness!Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!


Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!



Words:
Thom­as O. Chis­holm, 1923. Ac­cord­ing to Chis­holm, there were no spe­cial cir­cum­stanc­es which caused its writ­ing—just his ex­per­i­ence and Bi­ble truth. The hymn first ap­peared in Songs of Sal­va­tion and Serv­ice, 1923, com­piled by Wil­liam M. Run­yan. It is the un­of­fi­cial “school hymn” of Moo­dy Bi­ble In­sti­tute in Chi­ca­go, with which Run­yan was as­so­ci­at­ed for a num­ber of years.



Check out this site for more info. on hymns.

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of my absolute favorite time of the year. Time to get out the fall decorations, time to rake the leaves and jump in them, time for the temperature to drop below 90 :) and time to bring out the winter clothes (just in case it gets below 80).

One day last month I was at Hobby Lobby and I decided I would make a cornucopia this year to add to our fall decor at home. The night I made it, I was talking to a friend of mine and she didn't know what a cornucopia was. So I went to webster.com.

Cornucopia:

Main Entry: cor·nu·co·pia
Pronunciation: \ˌkȯr-nə-ˈkō-pē-ə, -nyə-ˈ\
Function: noun
Etymology: Late Latin, from Latin cornu copiae horn of plenty
Date: 1508
1 : a curved goat's horn overflowing with fruit and ears of grain that is used as a decorative motif emblematic of abundance

2 : an inexhaustible store : abundance

So, a cornucopia is emblematic of abundance, or an inexhaustible store. If you know me, you know that was enough for me to write a whole Sunday School lesson around. I'll spare you a link to it. :) But I wanted to share what the Lord is teaching me about His inexhaustible grace, His overabundant riches, and His eternal kindness to us. I came across this excerpt from a sermon by John Piper as I was 'studying the gospel' as C.J. Mahaney urged me to do in his book The Cross Centered Life. Check this out, it will give you something to be thankful for -- with every new day and with every breath:

1. Kindness in the Place of Wrath
First, notice what God gives in the place of wrath.
In verse 3 at the end it says that "We were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind." By nature we were so rebellious against the law of God that we were suitable objects of God's wrath.

Jesus' Merciful Warnings of Hell
Every Christmas when I sit in front of our living room fire, and watch it consume paper cups and marshmallow bags and hot dog wrappers, I cannot help but think of hell. It isn't fire and brimstone preachers who put these images in my mind. It is Jesus Christ.
He's the one who warned the church most vividly to cut off your sinning hand rather than go with two hands to hell (Matthew 5:30); that all evildoers will be thrown into a furnace of fire (Matthew 13:42); that the goats on his left hand will go into eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46); that there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12). Again and again he warned that it is appointed unto man once to die and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:37). And these are not the hostile harpings of a country preacher. They are all mercy—just like the glass doors on the front of our fire place are mercy to little Barnabas.

God's Merciful Promise
But now, in typical biblical fashion, after the merciful warning comes the merciful promise in verse 7. For those who trust Christ, God commits himself to the following purpose:
. . . that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Notice how Paul piles up words to make a deep and lasting impression on our hearts. God's settled purpose is to be gracious to those who are in Christ Jesus. And lest we miss the sweetness and gentleness and gladness of the word "grace," he adds the words, "in kindness toward us." Now ask yourself this question: If there were one person in all the universe the benefits of whose kindness you could choose, who would it be? Would it not be God? You might be able to think of a thousand things that would be kindness to you. But then your imagination would run out. But God's imagination will never run out.

Help for Faltering Imaginations
And to make this clear Paul uses the word "riches." God's purpose is to spend the "riches of his grace in kindness on us." And then to assist our faltering imagination he adds the word "immeasurable" or "surpassing" or "incomparable." How rich is God? I read in the paper recently that Queen Elizabeth is worth about four billion dollars. Now if you got a letter in the mail from Queen Elizabeth which said that she had taken an oath by the blood of her son to spend her riches to show you as much kindness as she could for the rest of your life, wouldn't you get excited? And her wealth compares to God's like a grain of sand to the Sahara Desert.
But that's not all. She could only show you kindness for a few years—ten, thirty, sixty maybe. But look what Paul says God intends to do for you? "That in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness to us in Christ Jesus." How long is an age? And how many ages are coming? Well, the answer is simple: all of them that lie in the future are coming. So it doesn't matter how long one of them is.
Do you know why Paul had to say it this way? Because that's how long it will take God to run out of fresh ideas about how to show you kindness. When eternity ends, God will have run out of ways to show you kindness. Now tell me, when does eternity end?

The Meaning of Christmas
This is the meaning of Christmas: Christ came into the world to die for sinners so that God would have a people who would value the riches of his kindness forever. Are you one of those? How can you not be one of those, when you compare the wealth of God with the wealth of Queen Elizabeth?
We were by nature children of wrath, BUT GOD has promised us eternal kindness instead.

SO, I think I will take a break from studying Ephesians in Sunday School this 'holiday season.' I have this idea to do a study called "From the Manger to the Cross." If I do it justice, I will be studying every waking moment between now and New Year's Day! All you budding theologians, I welcome your input! :)

The Cross Centered Life

Quotes from The Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney:
"Have you realized," preacher David Martyn Lloyd-Jones once observed, "that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?"

"The gospel," writes Jerry Bridges, "is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history. Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it and experiencing the joy of living by it."

"Some might find it surprising that I would teach a nine-year-old about God's wrath toward sin. But I find it surprising that any loving person would withhold this truth from another person they love."

I resisted the urge to quote the whole book on my blog. :) You should read it, though, really. It's very short and concise and simple to read. But it's a profound truth.

I have learned something about myself recently. I am a legalistic person when it comes to my own salvation. I find it easier to try to earn God's favor than to just accept that He purchased that favor for me on the Cross. And, consequentially, I find this misunderstanding of mine spilling over into relationships I have with the people I love the most. I have heard these truths dozens of times, even taught them, but until recently...it didn't really sink in that I haven't grasped the finished work of the gospel. And I'm still trying to roll around in that truth so that I can just soak it up and let it permeate to the deepest, darkest parts of me.

You know, the truth is, it already has...it's just a matter of me realizing it and living like it. Does that even make sense? If you know my past, you'll understand better why it's hard for me to grasp this. I went on a little trip this weekend and everything I went through in the height of my rebellion came flooding back - and that condemnation that is not from the Lord came flooding back. Can I tell you of the kindness of God to give me a husband like Sylas who just listened and poured out forgiveness and kindness and patience all over me??? He's amazing. And I mean that with all my heart. Pray that I will live like it...and learn to accept his forgiveness the way I'm learning to accept Christ's. And that, in turn, I would forgive and live in the freedom Christ purchased for His Saints on the Wonderful Cross. Pray that I would be still in my heart and that, in the words of my dear brother Ryan, I would "allow the Cross to speak peace to my heart."

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride
See from his head, his hands, his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown
O the wonderful cross,
O the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die
and find that I
may truly live
O the wonderful cross,
O the wonderful cross
All who gather here
by grace draw near
and blessYour name
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
The Wonderful Cross, Chris Tomlin style (sorry Kari) ;)

Happy Belated Reformation Day

The reason I'm posting today is simply to share these pictures of some adorable boys. I hope they bring you as much delight as they have brought us!!

Kyle was a pumpkin for halloween. This costume was hand crafted by Nonnie (aka Debbie) about 4 years ago when Jacob first wore it. Then Ty wore it two years in a row and passed on the tradition to Kyle. I promise there will be no more Politte babies next year to wear this costume...so, Ryan and Sarah, the pressure's on. You wouldn't want this precious costume to miss a year, would you?? :)

In other news, Kyle is sitting up and 'scooting' across the floor. He is becoming a master scooter -- he can now move himself across the floor to get whatever he desires to put in his mouth. Your prayers are appreciated, as Ty thinks it's really cool to feed Kyle random items.

Finally, I will leave you with a plead for you to pray for my sweet sister. She has a wound on her arm that has not healed completely and is having other symptoms consistent with a severe infection. The situation is serious but our God is great. I am focusing on this:

Psalm 4:4-5

Tremble, and do not sin;

Meditate in your heart

upon your bed and

BE STILL.

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and TRUST IN THE LORD.

You can read more about Cara's missionary journeys here