If we live each day bearing the shame of yesterday, and we’re worried about the shame of tomorrow, we will never experience the joys of abundant life in Christ today" —Burk Parsons from "The Weight of Shame" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine bit.ly/1C7S92J
If you take away the cross as an atoning act, you take away Christianity. —R.C. Sproul
Coram Deo: Our Lord and Savior tells us that His people are of more value than the sparrows who never escape His sight (Matt. 10:29–31). His providence, therefore, should comfort us greatly because He puts great value on us and treats us as His special possession. We need not fear that our problems and trials escape His notice, and we can be confident that because He is God, He is working out all things for our good (Rom. 8:28). Such is the nature of His caring reign.
Coram Deo: We can lose control over the things that we govern. Our property can be confiscated for just or unjust reasons. Our children can rebel and never return to the family. Yet this is not so with our Creator. Nothing takes place except that which He has ordained will take place. That does not mean every event receives His blessing, but it does mean that it would be foolish to believe anything we or any other person can do will derail His accomplishment of His purposes.
The Word of God is not irrational. —R.C. Sproul
Coram Deo: God never does evil Himself. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. The Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take place apart from His decree. We cannot finally explain how this can be, but the Lord’s ability to ordain evil without being morally responsible for it shows His greatness. He can ordain evil without compromising His character; that is impossible for us to do. Surely, His ways are past finding out. Let us therefore worship Him.
When there’s something in the Word of God that I don’t like, the problem is not with the Word of God, it’s with me. —R.C. Sproul
Coram Deo: In his Institutes, John Calvin notes that prayer is more for our benefit than it is for God’s (3.20.3). While we can hold to the truth that there are some things that God will not do unless we ask Him (James 4:2b), we also know that even the prayers in which we ask of things from Him are ordained in His eternal plan. As we pray according to Scripture, we benefit, for we are conformed to the image of Christ and grow in our faith that He keeps all His promises.
Coram Deo: Today, the church is in desperate need of recovering its confidence in the Word of God. Special programs, popular music, and other such things alone, as well-intentioned as they might be, are not the means by which God saves His people. Christ builds His church through the preaching of the gospel, and so we must make faithful preaching and teaching of the Word of the Lord a clear priority in our local congregations.
Coram Deo: God saves us as individuals—I cannot count on anyone else’s faith in order to be redeemed. However, the Lord redeems us to put us in community. This happens preeminently in the church, where God provides the fellowship that we need in order to grow and thrive. We cannot be lone rangers and expect that our faith will thrive. Are you seeking to build community in your church? Are you making time regularly to fellowship with the Lord’s servants?
A holy God is both just and merciful. He is never unjust. —R.C. Sproul
Coram Deo: Adultery is not the unforgivable sin. Those who commit it will be forgiven by God if they repent. Nevertheless, adultery always has destructive consequences. It can lead to divorce. It can bring an end to a person’s good name. It can lead children to lose respect for a parent who has committed adultery. It can lead to the loss of a job. That adultery can lead to these consequences must be remembered. Though there is hope in forgiveness, adultery brings destruction.
Coram Deo: Matthew Henry comments, “Let him that is married take delight in his wife, and let him be very fond of her, not only because she is the wife that he himself has chosen and he ought to be pleased with his own choice, but because she is the wife that God in his providence appointed for him and he ought much more to be pleased with the divine appointment, pleased with her because she is his own.” God gave us our spouses; let us rejoice in them.
Coram Deo: The one who enjoys the Lord’s blessing is the one who strives to avoid sin at all costs. This is accomplished as we meditate on God’s law. Such meditation does not refer to a once-a-day “quiet time” with the Lord, as helpful as that can be. The idea is one of constant pondering of God’s law during the entire day. From sunup to sundown, blessed servants of the Lord think about His statutes and consider how to live them out in their specific circumstances. That kind of meditation cannot help but produce the fruit of obedience in our lives.
Q: What would you tell a Christian young person who is experiencing same- sex attraction?
Rosaria Butterfield: If you struggle with unwanted homosexual desires, tell your pastor, elders, and friends so that they know how to pray for you and love you. But don’t think that the fact of these feelings makes you a dangerous person. A dangerous person is someone who either does not know what sin pattern percolates within him or foolishly believes that if he hides it, he is controlling it.
Read the read of Dr. Butterfield's answer and the full interview in this month's Tabletalk Magazine bit.ly/1NZaKXn
Coram Deo: God does not delight in seeing His children suffer; rather, He imposes discipline for the greater good of our maturity in Christ. The discipline that we feel for our sin is not a sign that God hates us or is “out to get us.” Instead, it is proof positive that He loves us and wants us to grow strong in Him. Do you find yourself under the discipline of the Lord this day? Pray that you would learn the lesson you need to learn from your suffering.
Coram Deo: Over the centuries, understanding the fleeting nature of political power has helped the church to stand firm in the midst of persecution. When one understands that the rulers of this earth have influence and might only temporarily but that God’s reign is eternal, it is much easier to stand firm in God’s truth when this world demands that we deny it. We are citizens of “a kingdom that cannot be shaken,” and our faithfulness in suffering carries with it an eternal reward.
Ultimate truth matters ultimately. —R.C. Sproul
"The New Testament church was conceived at a prayer meeting. What were believers doing before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost? Having been expressly told to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4, 8), the disciples (men and women, not only the Twelve) met together in an upper room and with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer' (1:14)." —Derek Thomas from the weekend devotional "The Prayer Meeting" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Many people in this world profess to be atheists, denying that God exists because they say there is insufficient evidence for a Creator. We know, however, that there is no such thing as a true atheist. The created order itself bears abundant witness to a Creator who is a masterful designer, who intends for human beings to do what is right, and who is directing all of history to an appointed end—the full revelation of His glory.
The "practice of sinning" is not overcome by relentlessly focusing on the act of our sins; it is overcome by consistent, daily reflection on the gospel. When we reflect on the gospel and the beauty of Jesus, it becomes easier to confess our sins and to confess any righteousness that is not rooted in Christ. It is in this way that the "practice of sinning" can be overcome. A relentless focus on Jesus. —Jay Bauman in Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: What are we to look for in a godly leader? Are we to find someone who simply wants to get the job done even if it means steamrolling the people under him? The answer is no. If even the Davidic king was to be characterized by meekness, truth, and righteousness, then surely lesser leaders are to model the same. This is particularly important in the church. As we seek leaders in our churches, let us look for those who humbly serve God and His people.
We attend churches where all sorts of barriers probably still exist, whether it’s between black and white or rich and poor. Judgmentalism is the metaphorical doorkeeper that keeps the undesirables and the “impossibles” from entering through the doors of our closely guarded churches. —Mez McConnell in Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Believers are concerned to mortify sin and grow in holiness, so it is easy to become discouraged when we feel like we are failing in this task and are struggling against the sins that seem to overpower us. If you find yourself in this situation, take heart: your Groom is working to make you beautiful. He is conforming you to His image even when you think you are not making much progress at all, and He has already clothed you in His perfect righteousness so that you stand before God unafraid.
We are to be mirrors of grace to others, reflecting what we have received ourselves. —R.C. Sproul
Coram Deo: The command to proclaim the truth of God to the nations did not begin in the new covenant era. In fact, the Old Testament is as much a missionary book as the New Testament. We see this particularly in the book of Psalms. Psalm 47, for example, calls the nations of the world to praise and worship the God of Israel. These nations must hear of Israel’s God if they are going to be able to do that.
Our churches are filled with people...filled with shame for what has been done to them and for what they have done. They’re hiding, hoping that others won’t see them. They might hide in reclusiveness, but are just as likely to hide in perfectionism, success, activism, or even brazenness. But like Adam and Eve, who after the fall tried to hide their shame with fig leaves (Gen. 3:7), our strategies don’t work because the shame remains. No matter how well we cover it, we know it’s still there. —Michael Lawrence in Tabletalk Magazine
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