Atonement ATO'NEMENT, n. 1. Agreement; concord; reconciliation, after enmity or controversy. Rom. 5. Between the Duke of Glo'ster and your brothers. 2. Expiation; satisfaction or reparation made by giving an equivalent for an injury, or by doing or suffering that which is received in satisfaction for an offense or injury; with for. And Moses said to Aaron, go to the altar, and offer thy sin-offering, and thy burnt-offering, and make an atonement for thyself and for the people. Lev. 9. When a man has been guilty of any vice, the best atonement he can make for it is, to warn others not to fall into the like. The Phocians behaved with so much gallantry, that they were thought to have made a sufficient atonement for their former offense. 3. In theology, the expiation of sin made by the obedience and personal sufferings of Christ. (Webster's Dictionary 1828)   http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/search/word,atonement It's the central message of the Bible, and it's one of the most important words in the whole Bible.  The word could be understood just by breaking it apart and pronouncing it a little differently.  Atonement.  Take it apart and say, "at-one-ment"...being in harmony with God.  Atonement...'at-one-ment" is how sinful humans can be reconciled to a holy God.  It requires first that reparation be made for our sins against Him.  In the Hebrew language, the word that is translated atonement, kaphar, the primary meaning of that root word is "to cover."  You may be more familiar with the verb form of that word, kippur--Yom Kippur, to cover, the day of atonement.  Nancy Leigh DeMoss http://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/roh/today.php?pid_10815

Standing Firm in the Grace of God

For quite some time, our pastor has been taking us through 1 Peter.  This past Sunday he wrapped it up by recapping the highlights.  They were so good I wanted to share them.  May you be blessed by it.

Standing Firm in the Grace of God
by Pastor Dan Gunter

A) Standing firm in the grace of our inheritance means that we accept joyfully the grace of faith tested.

1 Peter 1:6-9   In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

B) Standing firm in the revelation of our inheritance means not conforming to our former godless conduct.

1 Peter 1:14-16  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." 

C) Standing firm means putting away all the actions that once fed and filled us and longing for new real nourishment in the Word of God.

1 Peter 2:1-3 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation--if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 

D) Because we are a chosen race and a royal priesthood, the true people of God's own possession, standing firm calls us to a conduct befitting the true people of God.

1 Peter 2:12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 

1 Peter 2:17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 

E) Standing firm in God's grace calls all of us to endure unjust suffering, it calls wives to submit to unvelieving husbands, and it calls us to submit to unjust governments.

1 Peter 2:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 

1 Peter 3:1-2 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 

1 Peter 2:13-15 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.  For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 

F) Standing firm in God's grace demands that we live the rest of our lives no longer dominated by the passions of this world, but passionately for the Kingdom of God.

1 Peter 4:1-2 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 

G) Standing firm in God's grace beckons us to love each other earnestly and sincerely because time is short and the times are evil.

1 Peter 4:7-10 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.  Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace...

H) Standing firm summons us to rejoice when we suffer as Christ suffered and as citizens of the Kingdom of God.

1 Peter 4:12-14 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 

I) And standing firm calls to us in times of difficulty to be humble toward each other and God and to resist the temptations of the Devil as he reveals our weaknesses.

1 Peter 5:6-9  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 

What Does The Sovereignty Of God Mean?

Marriage

Make Me A Woman

Lord,

Make me a woman who loves you more than I love what others say about me or think of me.

Make me a woman who guards her heart.

Make me a woman who loves You more than I love how I appear to others.

Make me a woman whose heart is pure.

Make me a woman who returns only love.

Make me a woman who grows more and more to care about those around me–especially those hardest to care about.

Make me a woman who sees with compassionate eyes.

Make me a woman who doesn’t always have to be right.

Make me a woman who loves truth more than popularity.

Make me a woman who chases after Your heart.

http://www.generationcedar.com/main/2011/02/make-me-a-woman.html

Are You Cause Oriented or Christ Oriented?

God's Love

The big news of the Bible is not that you love God but that God loves you; not that you can know God but that God already knows you! He tattooed your name on the palm of his hand. His thoughts of you outnumber the sand on the shore. You never leave his mind, escape his sight, flee his thoughts. He sees the worst of you and loves you still. Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise him; he sees them now. Every day and deed of your life has passed before his eyes and been calculated in his decision. He knows you better than you know you and has reached his verdict; he loves you still. No discovery will disillusion him; no rebellion will dissuade him. He loves you with an everlasting love. 

“As high as the sky is above the earth, so great is his love for those who respect him.” 

Psalm 103:11 

Come Thirsty 
by Max Lucado 

Meditation Monday: Leaving A Legacy

"Leaving a Legacy: An Interview with Voddie and Bridget Baucham" is a short feature on some of the ways that the Baucham family glorifies God in their lives together. From the cover: "What legacy will you leave your children? Your grandchildren? Will you be remembered for the wealth and possessions you leave behind, or for the example of faith you pass down? While our culture stresses the importance of living for today, God wants us to focus on building a spiritual foundation for the future generations of our families. "In this two-part series, Voddie Baucham emphasizes the importance of leaving a multi-generational legacy. And he provides practical insight into how you can begin investing today in the spiritual future of your family." Uploaded gratefully, with permission from Voddie Baucham Ministries.

Meditation Monday: A.W. Tozer Quote

The average person in the world today, without faith and without God and without hope, is engaged in a desperate personal search and struggle throughout his lifetime. He does not really know what he is doing here. He does not know where he is going. The sad commentary is that everything he is doing is being done on borrowed time, borrowed money and borrowed strength-and he already knows that in the end he will surely die! It boils down to the bewildered confession of many humans that they have lost God somewhere along the way. Man, made more like God than any other creature, has become less like God than any other creature. Created to reflect the glory of God, he has retreated sullenly into his cave-reflecting only his own sinfulness. Certainly it is a tragedy above all tragedies in this world that love has gone from man’s heart. Beyond that, light has gone from his mind. Having lost God, he blindly stumbled on through this dark world to find only a grave at the end!

A.W. Tozer

Meditation Monday: Priorities

P-Pray
Seek the Lord. Ask Him for wisdom. Ask Him to direct your steps.
R-Review and receive God's priorities for our lives.
we will never know what we’re supposed to do with those hours if we don’t go to the place where God has given us our job description—in His Word—and find out what is the purpose of my life. What am I supposed to be doing with my life?
I-Take Inventory 
This requires that we stop and think about what our priorities really are and what our schedule really is like.
O-Order our schedule and activities according to God's priorities for our lives 
Order our schedule according to the priorities that we have discovered in God’s Word.
R- Resist the tyranny of the urgent
We need to learn to recognize the difference between what’s urgent and what’s important. 
I- Input, get input from other people
Ask your husband to help you with your list of responsibilities, to help prioritize that list? God gave your husband to you to be a source of protection, to help you from getting overly committed.
T-Take advantage of the time God gives you
Learn to redeem the time, or as the Scripture says, “to make the most of every opportunity.
I-Identify time robbers
Get rid of unnecessary clutter in our lives—simplify. And again, this isn’t something we do once for all. It’s something we need to do on a regular basis.
E-Experience this season and this moment fully
Fully experience, fully enter into whatever season, whatever moment God has put you in. 
S-Stay sensitive and surrendered to the Spirit of God
As we walk through our day, it’s so important that we stay sensitive and surrendered to the Spirit of God. Let God direct your day.


http://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/roh/today.php?pid=10727

  

Meditation Monday: Submission

"Submission places you under God's protection.  rebellion opens you up to the influence of Satan in ways you may not even realize.  When we place ourselves under the spiritual covering of the authorities God has placed in our lives, God protects us.  On the other hand, when we insist on having it our way and stepping out from under that protection, we become vulnerable and give the Enemy (Satan) a new opportunity to attack us."
Lies Young Women Believe and The Truth That Sets Them Free 
page115

Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

Eph. 5:21

For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.

1Sa 15:23  

The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. 

Pro 21:1  

Meditation Monday: Our Circle of Influence

"Every woman whether rich or poor, married or single, has a circle of influence. [Every woman has a circle of influence. That’s you. You have a circle of influence] within which according to her character, she is exerting a certain amount of power for good or harm. Every woman, by her virtue or her vice, by her folly or her wisdom, by her levity or her dignity, is adding something to our national elevation or degradation.  A community is not likely to be overthrown where a woman fulfills her mission, for by the power of her noble heart over the hearts of others, she will raise it from its ruins and restore it again to prosperity and joy [the influence that each of us has as a woman]."


British pastor from the 17 and 1800s, 
John Angell James

Meditation Monday: The X In Christmas

The X in Christmas

from R.C. Sproul

Why is X Used when it Replaces Christ in Christmas?

The simple answer to your question is that the X in Christmas is used like the R in R.C. My given name at birth was Robert Charles, although before I was even taken home from the hospital my parents called me by my initials, R.C., and nobody seems to be too scandalized by that.

X can mean so many things. For example, when we want to denote an unknown quantity, we use the symbol X. It can refer to an obscene level of films, something that is X-rated. People seem to express chagrin about seeing Christ’s name dropped and replaced by this symbol for an unknown quantity X. Every year you see the signs and the bumper stickers saying, “Put Christ back into Christmas” as a response to this substitution of the letter X for the name of Christ.

First of all, you have to understand that it is not the letter X that is put into Christmas. We see the English letter X there, but actually what it involves is the first letter of the Greek name for Christ.Christos is the New Testament Greek for Christ. The first letter of the Greek word Christos is transliterated into our alphabet as an X. That X has come through church history to be a shorthand symbol for the name of Christ.

We don’t see people protesting the use of the Greek letter theta, which is an O with a line across the middle. We use that as a shorthand abbreviation for God because it is the first letter of the wordTheos, the Greek word for God.

The idea of X as an abbreviation for the name of Christ came into use in our culture with no intent to show any disrespect for Jesus. The church has used the symbol of the fish historically because it is an acronym. Fish in Greek (ichthus) involved the use of the first letters for the Greek phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” So the early Christians would take the first letter of those words and put those letters together to spell the Greek word for fish. That’s how the symbol of the fish became the universal symbol of Christendom. There’s a long and sacred history of the use of X to symbolize the name of Christ, and from its origin, it has meant no disrespect.

Meditation Monday: Mary's Song of Praise

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever." Luke 1:46-55

Meditation Monday: He Took The Wrath

“He also gave himself up to the wrath of God; to the curse of his broken law. He surrendered himself up as a sinner into the hands of incensed justice; and while he thus stood in the sinner's place. God treated him as if he had been a sinner. He hid his face from him; set the terrors of his wrath in array against him, made him the mark of those arrows, the poison of which drinks up the spirits, and plunged the flaming sword deep in his inmost soul. In this, the very essence of his sufferings consisted. All that men and devils could do, he bore without a groan. But when the weight of divine wrath crushed him down, when his Father's face was hidden from his view; and he beheld him only in the character of an awful, holy, avenging God, as a consuming fire to sinful creatures, then his anguish could no longer be concealed, but burst forth in that heart-rending exclamation, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!”

Edward Payson

Meditation Monday: Quotes

“True Biblical Christianity has only one concern: God himself; to know him, to mirror him, and to see him glorified.” ~Mark Kielar~

‎"Beware of self-righteousness in every possible shape and form. Some people get as much harm from their 'virtues' as others do from their sins." ~ J.C. Ryle

Confession by itself is not repentance. Confession moves the lips; repentance moves the heart. Naming an act as evil before God is not the same as leaving it. Though your confession may be honest and emotional, it is not enough unless it expresses a true change of heart. ~ Jim Elliff

"Thanksgiving is good, but thanks-living is better." ~ Matthew Henry

The Doctrine of Total Depravity

"This doctrine of Total Inability, which declares that men are dead in sin, does not mean that all men are equally bad, nor that any man is as bad as he could be, nor that any one in entirely destitute of virtue, nor that human nature is evil in itself, nor that man's spirit is inactive, and much less does it mean that the body is dead. What it does mean is that since the fall man rests under the curse of sin, that he is actuated by wrong principles, and that he is wholly unable to love God or to do anything meriting salvation. His corruption is extensive but not necessarily intensive. It is in this sense that man since the fail "is utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil." He possesses a fixed bias of the will against God, and instinctively and willingly turns to evil. He is an alien by birth, and a sinner by choice. The inability under which he labors is not an inability to exercise volitions, but an inability to be willing to exercise holy volitions. And it is this phase of it which led Luther to declare that "Free-will is an empty term, whose reality is lost. And a lost liberty, according to my grammar, is no liberty at all.""

The Reformened Doctrine of Predestination

Loraine Boettner

To the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Psa 14:1-3

To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.

They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Psa 53:1-3

...as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;

no one understands; no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."

Rom 3:10-12

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--

among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Eph 2:1-3

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Jer 17:9

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

1Co 2:14

Meditation Monday: Spurgeon Quote

I do not come into this pulpit hoping that perhaps somebody will of his own free will return to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, 'You are mine, and you shall be mine. I claim you for myself.' My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will--C. H. Spurgeon

The Bible says prior to salvation, all people are dead in sin-- spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-3). In this state of death, the sinner is utterly unable to respond to any spiritual stimulus and therefore unable to love God, obey Him, or please Him in any way. Scripture says the mind of every unbeliever "is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:7-8, emphasis added). That describes a state of total hopelessness: spiritual death.--John MacArthur

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Eph 2:1-3

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Rom 8:7-8

Meditation Monday: What is Beauty

The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. Gen 24:16

Rebekah had physical beauty, but the servant was looking for a sign of inner beauty. Our appearance is important to us, and we spend time and money improving it. But how do we develop our inner beauty? Patience, kindness, and joy are the beauty treatments that help us become truly lovely on the inside. Godly character is much more valuable than outward beauty. Work on being more Christlike rather than being more physically attractive.

Meditation Monday: Embracing Brokenness

Here’s what I want to remind you of: God’s grace is sufficient. In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 8 and 9, the apostle Paul said to God, “I’ve got something in my life that hurts.” He called it a thorn, and it hurts. Whether you possess the thorn or someone you love has it, it hurts. When Paul asked the Father, “Take it away; take it away; make it go away,” God responded with grace because, you see, thorn removal isn’t sufficient in and of itself. Only grace is sufficient.

"When all is not well with your circumstances, it can still be well with your soul."

So those of you who have the responsibility to watch that person you love carry a heavy burden, may I just remind you that what God has given me as the one who carries the burden of blindness, what God has given that parent, that child, that sister, that friend you love who has to carry the burden of cancer or autism or Alzheimer’s, God has given us participant grace. It’s adequate grace to participate with the burden.

But you, my hero, sister who has to watch and cry and pray those silent prayers and cry those invisible tears, God’s given you what I call spectator grace. Now that’s not in 2 Corinthians. The point is, whether God has granted you the sufficiency of His grace in the package of being a participant or a spectator, His grace is sufficient, so rest in His grace. Rest in His grace.

God’s grace in Titus 2:11 is what equips us and empowers us to say, “No,” to ungodliness. But His grace is also what equips us and empowers us to cease our striving and allow Him to be the One who wills and works within us for His good pleasure. So rest.

You may struggle with so many “what if’s” in your life, but when you come to the cross, you see what it is, and what it is is divinely unfair and amazingly equipping that you are able to walk with grace in this life. So don’t resist.

2Co 12:9 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.

1Ti 2:11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.

http://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/roh/today.php?pid=10569