It’s Your Choice

ChoicesIn just seven verses, Jesus tells us how to experience God’s blessing or be prepared to say, “Woe is me!” What a contrast! Check out Luke 6:20-26.

The four blessed promises are in verses 20-22, and the four woe warnings are in verses 24-26. Connecting them (v. 23) is Jesus essentially saying, “You can have blessing, or you can have woe. Your choice.”

There is a secure reward and eternal blessing for those who—

  • are Earth-poor and Heaven-rich
  • are dissatisfied with anything but the things of God
  • weep over the present sinful state of humanity
  • are persecuted, excluded, insulted or rejected by the world because they identify with Christ

But woe to those who—

  • want riches and comfort now
  • are satisfied with what the world can give
  • laugh at the smutty things of Earth
  • desire worldly popularity above hearing God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”

Choices must be made every day. These choices lead to either blessing or woe

Choose the blessings!

9 Quotes From “Light And Truth in the Gospels”

Light and Truth GospelsI previously posted a few quotes from from Light And Truth when I was about halfway through this outstanding biblical commentary (you can read them here). Below are some additional quotes from this Horatius Bonar book.

“Man’s love of man is according to merit, on expectation of response; God’s love of man has no reference to deserving or to return. Man’s love of man is contracted, exclusive, and grudging; God’s love to man is as boundless as it is free. He forgives without condition; He loves without reserve; He blesses without measure or end.”

“God takes man as he is, simply a sinner, ‘without strength,’ and without goodness. He does not ask man to meet Him halfway between earth and heaven; He comes down all the way to earth in the Person of His Incarnate Son. He does not resort to half-measures, nor is He content with half-payment. He comes down to man in absolute and unconditional love; without terms or bargains; Himself paying the whole price, and thus leaving nothing for the sinner but to except the frank forgiveness which His boundless love has brought.”

“Our giving depends much on the state of our minds at the moment. When depressed, we have no pleasure in giving; we either refuse, or we give merely to get quit of the applicant. Darkness of mind shrivels us up, makes us selfish, neglectful of others. When full of joy, giving seems our element—our joy overflows in this way; we cannot help giving; we delight in applications; we seek opportunities of giving. So with the blessed God. Being altogether happy, His delight is to give; His perfect blessedness flows out in giving. We can never come wrongly to such an infinitely happy Being.” 

“From Genesis to Revelation we hear His voice. It is the voice of love. ‘Come unto Me’ is the burden of the Old Testament as well as of the New. It is not merely that each chapter speaks of Jesus; but in each chapter Jesus speaks to us. And each verse, He is lying in wait for us.”

“Poor wanderer, you need not then try to cover your rags, or to hide your filth, or to try to make yourself more like what you were in order to attract your Father. It is just that which you are which excites His compassion. … God comes up to the sinner with the fullness of reconciliation in His heart. He does not stay to be entreated, or pleaded with, or persuaded. He hastens up to us, and embraces us in the fullness of His heart.”

“We poor prodigals must be gloriously clad! Not sack cloth, nor cast-off raiment, nor a servant’s dress; not Adam’s nor an angels’ righteousness; but something better than all—the robe of Jesus! … The prodigal is not to go in search of it. It must be brought out to him. On the spot; just where he is and as he is, bring it out, bring it to him. … It is not, ‘Give it to him, and let him put it on himself’; but, ‘Put it on.’ He has but to stand still and allow himself to be thus clothed and blessed. He does nothing. He does not need to do anything. Love does it all. The Father does it all.”

“What is the meaning of God sending His own Son, if less than salvation was intended; if less than Incarnation will do, less than blood, less than death, less than resurrection? Oh let us understand the greatness of God’s provision for us, and in that greatness, read at once our death and our life, our condemnation and our deliverance.”

“Yes; any time, any place, will do for Jesus. His grace is not circumscribed by temple walls, nor tied to ceremonies, nor limited to hours. Samaria, Jericho, Tyre, Jerusalem are all the same to Him. The temple, the highway, the hill-side, the sea-beach, the synagogue, the house, the boat, the graveyard, are all alike to Him and to His grace.”

“Over all Scripture the quickening, life-giving fragrance of His name is defused. Christ and life; life in Christ; Christ our life—these form the very essence, the sum and burden, of the Scriptures. ‘These are they that testify of Me.’”

Check out my review of Light And Truth by clicking here.

Light And Truth—The Gospels (book review)

Light and Truth GospelsI love reading the “old guys.” I mean the ones who have stood the test of time, and their lives have backed up their writing. Recently I just finished going through the Gospels in my personal Bible reading time, and I did so with the help of Horatius Bonar, a very notable old guy.

Horatius Bonar was a pastor in the mid- to late-1800s in Scotland. He came from a family tree loaded with pastors, and this rich heritage shines brightly in his writings! In Light And Truth, Dr. Bonar doesn’t shine a light on the Scripture, but he points out where the light is already shining brightly.

Light And Truth is not a verse-by-verse commentary on the Scripture, but more of a theme-by-theme commentary. Bonar dives deep into the biblical account of the life of Jesus. Sometimes he elaborates on a well-known Gospel story, and sometimes he turns his attention to an aspect that not many people would notice.

Light And Truth is not meant to be read in place of the Bible (like a devotional book might be), but alongside the Bible. Allowing Dr. Bonar to show you the light and truth he has seen in the Gospels will add a richness and depth to your own Bible reading.

Links & Quotes

link quote

“The message that needs to be shouted from the houses of high finance is this: Secular man, you are not nearly hedonistic enough! Quit being satisfied with the little 5 percent yields of pleasure that get eaten up by the moths of inflation and the rust of death. Invest in the blue-chip, high-yield, divinely insured security of heaven. Devoting a life to material comforts and thrills is like throwing money down a rat hole. But investing a life in the labor of love yields dividends of joy unsurpassed and unending: ‘Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. [And thus] provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail.’ (Luke 12:33)” —John Piper

Transformation without changeThis is sadly funny: there are churches (and other organizations) around the globe who think they can be completely transformed without making any changes!

When you are reading your Bible, you can be praying your Bible too. Here are 4 prayers for Bible reading.

A good reminder from George Whitefield on what will cause Christianity to flourish.

A Letter To Exiles

Aliens and StrangersWe are two weeks into our series called Aliens and Strangers, in which we are looking at the book of 1 Peter on how Christians are to live as citizens of Heaven. I have greatly appreciated John Piper’s teaching called “Look At The Book,” where the Scripture is front-and-center.

Pastor Piper has just begun a series on 1 Peter as well. Here is his introduction to this book—

If you are in the Cedar Springs area and don’t have a home church, I would love for you to visit us this Sunday morning. If you cannot make it in person, please tune-in via Periscope (search for @craigtowens) at 10:30am.

Aliens and Strangers

Christians are not citizens of Planet Earth. Our citizenship is in a place called Heaven, and yet we are traveling on Earth during our present lifetime. So the question is: How is a citizen of Heaven supposed to act while visiting Earth?

The Apostle Peter was one of the most active disciples of Jesus. During Christ’s first visit to Earth, Peter is recorded as speaking more than all of the other disciples combined. And not surprisingly, Jesus speaks more words directly to Peter than He does to all of the other 11 disciples combined. Peter got a lot of training!

With that background, Peter gives us invaluable instructions in his first letter to the church. He calls Christians things like: strangers in the world, chosen people, peculiar people, and aliens and strangers in the world. He tells us travelers not only how to behave while traveling on Earth, but why we should travel in a God-honoring way.

I will be continuing to teach through these fascinating themes of Peter’s instructions for aliens and strangers this Sunday. If you don’t have a home church in the Cedar Springs area, I would love to have you join us. If you cannot join us in person, we will be broadcasting each message live on Facebook.

I am excited to rejoin this journey of discovery with you!

Here are the sermons we have addressed in this series:

Links & Quotes

link quote

“May the Lord increase your hunger and your thirst to see the face of God. And may He grant your desire through the gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God.” —John Piper

Chuck Colson said, “It seems that everywhere—from Tennessee to Tokyo—religion is being permeated by a consumerist mentality.” Read more (or take a listen to Chuck’s broadcast) on Gimmie That Hot-Tub Religion.

My friend and mentor, Tom Kaastra, has an amazing new website called The Basics of Life—Help for your spiritual journey. Do yourself a favor, check out the site, and then subscribe so you can receive his wisdom each time he publishes something new.

Ken Davis has some good insights on handling the ups and downs of life.

Dr. Ben Carson sets the record straight on Planned Parenthood’s racist foundation. And Jayme Metztgar explains why abortion is the new slavery, giving three reasons why what Planned Parenthood is doing is morally wrong.

From Planned Parenthood’s own annual report, prenatal services—which have decreased—amount to 18,684 services. Out of the total 10,590,433 services then, pre-natal care accounts for less than 1 percent. For pregnant women who come to Planned Parenthood, 94 percent of them have an abortion. (h/t Live Action)

Where did life originateJ. Warner Wallace asks: Can naturalists [evolutionists] explain where life originated? Great apologetics for those who believe in a Creator or Intelligent Design.

David Wilkerson says there is a command from Jesus that far too many Christians ignore: “The King has told us to bind up the devil and cast him out of the banqueting hall. In short, we’re to rise up and take serious action against satan’s attacks on Christ’s Body.” Read more here.

Links & Quotes

link quote

“The Law of God encodes the mind and will of God. Only by reading, meditating on, studying, and obeying the Law of God could God’s people obtain all that He had promised them and all that He was resolved to do by bringing His eternal reign to bear on earth as it is in heaven. The prayer of God’s people should thus ever be, ‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer’ (Psalm 19:14).” —T.M. Moore

“Either he is a bad child, or he has got a bad father, that does not want to go home. Now, we have got a good and blessed Father, and I hope He has made us His true children, and we want to see His face; we long for the time when we shall no longer be under tutors and governors, but shall come home to enjoy the inheritance. Brethren, we are also laborers. It would be a strange thing if the laborer did not wish to achieve the end of his toils. It would indeed be a strange thing if, industrious though he be, he did not prefer the end of his toils to the beginning. It would be contrary to nature, and I think contrary to grace, if the husbandman did not long for the harvest, and if he that toils did not desire to receive the reward.” —Charles Spurgeon

“The fruit of the tree of knowledge is still being eaten by man, and still infusing its poison. Love of knowledge is the professed starting-point. But in the pursuit of this, God is not acknowledged as the teacher, nor the Bible as the infallible textbook. Speculation abounds; inspired trammels are flung off; pride of intellect operates; man worships his own mind; every day brings forth some novel opinion; revelation is thrust down from its high position; every form of error gets vent; till God gives men over to a reprobate mind, and sends them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. ‘They will not endure sound doctrine,’ but are ‘carried about with every wind of doctrine.’” —Horatius Bonar

A medical doctor discusses the difference between an adult donating their body for medical research/education, and a mother “donating” her aborted baby for its chopped-up body part.

Abby Johnson, a former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic, explains how “tissue donation” works.

Seth Godin says, “Just because a thing can be noticed, or compared, or fretted over doesn’t mean it’s important, or even relevant.” Read more of his post Compared To…

[VIDEO] Jefferson Bethke talks about encountering the God who suffers—

[VIDEO] Bobby Conway has some encouraging words for those fighting an addiction to pornography—

Irresistible Light

Halo“Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28)

There are a lot of things we want to call “blessed.” Sometimes we almost use that word as a lucky charm: “I was blessed by…” or “Isn’t a blessing that….”

As Jesus is speaking, someone interrupts Him to say His mother is blessed. Jesus didn’t disagree, but He went back to why Mary was blessed—she heard God speak and she obeyed Him.

All the blessings I could ever need are listed in God’s Word. All I have to do to receive those blessings is obey.

As Jesus goes on, He makes clear that reading and obeying what the Word says will ensure “that the light within you is not darkness” (v. 35). This, then, will make me a better witness for Christ, as the result of this inner light appears outside too: “as when the light of a lamp shines on you” (v. 36).

Does this “lamp that shines on you” look like a halo? Perhaps. But a life that shines with the blessings of God—which come from obedience to His Word—is unmistakable and irresistible! That sounds like a halo to me!

My Going Is Your Calling

BibleThis morning I shared some cool thoughts on Luke 10:1-3

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.”

Are you following me on Periscope? My username is @craigtowens. If you subscribe, you can see these types of broadcasts live. But, not to worry, I have uploaded it here as well…