The Biblical View of Addictions

I have been reading and will re-read a book by Edward T. Welch called "Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave." Of course with such a dark title, the subtitle really presents the positive side of the book which is "Finding Hope in the Power of the Gospel." It consist of two parts. The first part deals with defining addictions from a Biblical and theological basic. While this part is interesting and needed in today's culture of psychology's Godless approach to sin and how to deal with it, the second part has been most beneficial to me. The second part, which is the longest part, focuses on the Biblical aspect of fighting besetting sins and assisting others in such a fight.

It is one of the best books I have ever read on the practical aspect of fighting those habitual sins with which every believer deals and assisting fellow believers who also struggle with these besetting sins. I would say that while an unbeliever can benefit from this book (mainly hearing the gospel), the main focus is for believers. The gospel is the beginning of overcoming these sins. If one have not coming to a saving faith in the person and work of Christ, then really this book will not make sense to them. It is full of so much good information that I intend to present some of it here as time allows during my re-read of it over the next several weeks. I would encourage you to get a copy and read this book over and over until its ideas are ingrained in your mind. Of course, if you do this you will be putting God's word into your mind and practice for that is where he gets the main thought of his book.

The Value of God's Word

Last week during worship, the following text was read from Psalm 119:

The law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces. (Psalm 119:72)

I have to admit that one of the first thoughts that came into my mind upon hearing it read was what would I do if someone offered me thousands of gold and silver pieces to completely remove God's word from my life now and for the rest of my life. I wondered do I value God's word more than riches.

Without a doubt, one of the gods of America is riches. It is a god and the worship of riches is idolatry. In fact, to worship the god of riches is in direct violation of the law of God which commands us to worship Him alone and have no other gods before Him.

But for believers, this statement by David should ring true in our lives. We should be as I believe Charles Spurgeon said of John Bunyan:

Prick him anywhere; and you will find that his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his soul is full of the Word of God.

We should pursue and value the knowledge and application of God's word as the world pursues riches. May God grant us faith that believes this truth and with the power of the Holy Spirit working in us produces an obedience to God's word that will bring Him glory and will be for our absolute best.

This morning in worship, we sang the song, "My Lord, I Did Not Choose You" written by Josiah Conder. It was once again a powerful reminder to me of God's grace over every aspect on my entire existence. My whole life is all of his grace and I can only boast and glory in Christ alone. As our Pastor has been preaching through Genesis, one can see this truth consistently brought forth as God's sovereign choice is evident and no man can boast in anything of himself. As John writes in his gospel:

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12)

May God grant that I never forget the glorious humbling truth presented in this song. The words are found here.

Meditations of My 4th of July History

This July 4th will be the 45th of my life that I have experienced. Today for some reason, I tried to remember some of the ones that I have experienced. While, I certainly do not remember all of them, a few remembrances are still clear.

• In my preteen years, I have recollection of grill outs and fireworks at Stone Mountain along with time spent with my extended family on vacations. Of note, I have recollection of the large bicentennial celebration of 1976, though we spent it at home, I recall much of the celebration observed on our 3-5 channel television.
• My teen and college years bring back the memory of a July 4th at Six Flags (1981) which turned in to an early morning on July 5th since back then the park did not close until midnight as well as the traffic problems brought on by the large crowds after the park was closed. Another memorable July 4th was spent with summer missionaries in Alaska (1985) in which at midnight on July 5th, they still had not started the fireworks since it was not dark enough to do so.
• I remember my first July 4th after being married (1987). My wife and I observed the fireworks from our townhouse near a local park.
• Since then, there have been many July 4ths as children were born. Many were spent on vacation to my Moms when she lived in Tennessee. We would use the time before and after to take trips to Chattanooga, Nashville, and places in between such as Civil War battlefields, Rock City, Ruby Falls, the Lost Sea, the Hermitage and the Tennessee Aquarium. These always ended with my Mom's family at her house with lots of cousins, nieces, nephews, and uncles and aunts and my Grandmother. The kids enjoyed seeing their cousins and playing in Mimi's plastic swimming pool. I enjoyed the thrashing one of my cousins and myself gave our uncles and other cousins in basketball (though now some of those cousins, I am sure, would be giving me the thrashing). We all enjoyed the time together, especially Uncle Joe's BBQ and Ripley Tomatoes.
• One July 4th (1999) will always live in my memory because of a move we made to Louisville, KY which we probably should not have made. It was a Sunday and most of the day was spent unpacking.
• As of late, many July 4ths have come and gone and we have observed most of them as a family with cookouts and relaxation without the crowds. This one will likewise be observed here at home with my family around a cooked out meal and time spent away from the ordinary of work and school. Overall, it has always been a time of family and friends.

I am sure you have memories of July 4ths in your past. I am just glad that God has granted me these memories as the early ones (and sometime the ones of late) seem to disappear too fast from my mind. I doubt I have 45 more July 4ths to celebrate on this earth, but may I remember as each one comes around God's goodness and mercy to me a sinner and his mercy and grace on this country for to Him alone belongs all the glory.

BibleWorks 8 - FREE

Interested in a free copy of BibleWorks 8? Check out this link.

http://cal.vini.st/2009/06/cal-vini-st-first-anniversary-giveaway

Meditation on Ephesians 1:7-8A

In Ephesians 1, Paul writes:

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:7-8A)

We see here that we have received redemption through Christ's sacrificial atoning death and the forgiveness of all our sins. But why have we received this redemption? Why do we have forgiveness of our sins while others around us do not? Is it something good or worthy in me? Is it something not in them? Well, Paul goes on to answer this question. We have been redeemed from the slavery of sin as our master through the accepted payment of Christ's death in our place and we have been forgiven of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace. There it is - Sovereign grace. Nothing in me could have merited this redemption. Nothing I could ever do could earn this forgiveness. God in His rich grace has given me these gifts and not just given them, but lavished them on us. This word lavish means to "be over and above; to abound." We are overflowing in the riches of God's grace upon us. May this simple fact crush all of man's self-glorification, pride and autonomy with respect to salvation. Salvation is all of God. And I am glad. Because if it depended even to the infinite decimal on me, I would be lost forever. Soli Deo Gloria

1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.

3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Purpose of God's Law

Often times Christian become confused about what the purpose of God's law is 1) in general and 2) for believers. They tend to go to two extremes 1) legalism and 2) antinomianism. John Calvin saw in God's Word 3 purposes for God's law. Here they are as presented in Joel Beeke's book Overcoming the World.

1. It restrains sin and promotes righteousness in the church and society, preventing both from lapsing into chaos.
2. It disciplines, educates, convicts, and drives us outside of ourselves to Jesus Christ, the fulfiller and end of the law. The law cannot lead us to a saving knowledge of God in Christ. Rather, the Holy Spirit uses the law as a mirror to show us our guilt, to shut us off from hope, and to bring us to repentance. It drives us to the spiritual need out of which faith in Christ is born. This convicting use of the law is critical for the believer's piety, for it prevents the ungoldly self-righteousness that is prone to reassert itself even in the holiest of saints.
3. It becomes the rule of life for the believer. "What is the rule of life which [God] has given us?" Calvin asks in the Genevan Catechism. The answer: "His law." Later, Calvin says the law "shows the mark at which we ought to aim, the goal towards which we ought to press, that each of us, according to the measure of grace bestowed upon him, may endeavor to frame his life according to the highest rectitude, and, by constant study, continually advance more and more.

Let us let the law do what it is meant to do according to Scripture. Then we can truly say with the Psalmist that God's Law is more desirable to us than fine gold and sweeter to our taste than the drippings of the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:10)