Shekinah Church

1 Kindle, Saviour, in my heart,
     A flame of love divine;
Hear, for mine I trust thou art,
     And sure I would be thine;
If my soul has felt thy grace,
If to me thy name is known;
Why should trifles fill the place
     Due to thyself alone?

2 ‘Tis a strange mysterious life
     I live from day to day;
Light and darkness, peace and strife,
     Bear an alternate sway:
When I think the battle won,
I have to fight it o’er again;
When I say I’m overthrown,
     Relief I soon obtain.

3 Often at the mercy-seat,
     While calling on thy name,
Swarms of evil thoughts I meet,
     Which fill my soul with shame.
Agitated in my mind,
Like a feather in the air,
Can I thus a blessing find?
     My soul, can this be pray’r?

4 But when Christ, my Lord and Friend,
     Is pleas’d to show his pow’r
All at once my troubles end,
     And I’ve a golden hour;
Then I see his smiling face,
Feel the pledge of joys to come:
Often, Lord, repeat this grace
     Till thou shalt call me home.

Many times in the Scriptures we are exhorted to “take heed” to something.  That’s one of those phrases that we sometimes assume that “everybody understands”.  Often, the simplest words or phrases are the ones that escape us. Still, God gives the exhortation for a reason.

In Deuteronomy 11: 16, for instance, we are cautioned to “take heed” that we not be deceived and turn away from the truth, succumbing to the seduction of false gods. To “take heed”  means to beware, to be on your guard.  We must be vigilant to stand against the wiles of our adversary who is crafty and can present himself as an angel of light.  Taking heed of not only what is obvious sin, but also to what wears a disguise. How many people have been injured by presentations of a gospel, which is no gospel at all.  So-called preachers who are more interested in lining their own pockets by promising untold wealth to those who are most vulnerable.  Take heed of such evil. In Luke 12 : 15, Jesus tells us to take heed of covetousness, our lives do not consist of what we possess.

Let us take heed to hold to what is true. That our gracious God hears and answers our prayers. That He knows our hearts, our desires, and our needs. He does not forget His own. Take heed of the contrivances of men, and trust the Word of the One who has you engraved upon the palms of His hands. Soli Deo Gloria.

This year it just happens that, what is celebrated by some, as “Earth Day” falls on the same day as Good Friday. I doubt that it was a conspiracy, the calendar just worked that way this year.  Truth is, I couldn’t care less. What does interest me is the fact that folks would celebrate an “Earth Day” at all.

In some circles “going green” is a sign that you are “hip”, that you and your thinking are on par with what is popular and correct.  Don’t get me wrong, when God gave man dominion over the Earth, He didn’t mean for us to trash the planet. We should use common sense in taking proper care of our environment. He didn’t mean for us to worship the place either!  The Psalmist plainly reminds us that “the Earth is THE LORD’S” – Psalm 24 : 1 

Perhaps on this day, when we look at God’s creation we will remember that the One who created this planet, is the same One who endured unspeakable suffering for the sake of His precious Church.  “…He was wounded for our trangressions, He was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” – Isaiah 53 : 5

1. Beware of drawing an excuse for your sin from the providence of God; for it is most holy, and is in no way any cause of any sin you commit. Every sin is an act of rebellion against God; a breach of his holy law, and deserves his wrath and curse; and therefore cannot be authorised by an infinitely-holy God, who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity without detestation and abhorrence. Though he has by a permissive decree allowed moral evil to be in the world, yet that has no influence on the sinner to commit it. For it is not the fulfilling of God’s decree, which is an absolute secret to every mortal, but the gratification of their own lusts and perverse inclinations, that men intend and mind in the commission of sin.

2. Beware of murmuring and fretting under any dispensations of providence that you meet with; remembering that nothing falls out without a wise and holy providence, which knows best what is fit and proper for you. And in all cases, even in the middle of the most afflicting incidents that happen to you, learn submission to the will of God, as Job did, when he said upon the end of a series of the heaviest calamities that happened to him, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord,” Job, i. 21. In the most distressing case, say with the disciples, “The will of the Lord be done,” Acts, 21:14.

3. Beware of anxious cares and fearfulness about your material well-being in the world. This our Lord has cautioned his followers against, Matt. 6:31. “Take no thought, (that is, anxious and perplexing thought,) saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” Never let the fear of man stop you from duty, Matt. 10:28, 29; but let your souls learn to trust in God, who guides and superintends all the events and administrations of providence, by whatever hands they are performed.

4. Do not think little of means, seeing God works by them; and he that has appointed the end, orders the means necessary for gaining the end. Do not rely upon means, for they can do nothing without God, Matt. 4:4. Do not despair if there be no means, for God can work without them, as well as with them; Hosea 1:7. “I will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.” If the means be unlikely, he can work above them, Rom. 4:19. “He considered not his own body now dead, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb.” If the means be contrary, he can work by contrary means, as he saved Jonah by the whale that devoured him. That fish swallowed up the prophet, but by the direction of providence, it vomited him out upon dry land.

Lastly, Happy is the people whose God is the Lord: for all things shall work together for their good. They may sit secure in exercising faith upon God, come what will. They have good reason for prayer; for God is a prayer-hearing God, and will be enquired of by his people as to all their concerns in the world. And they have ground for the greatest encouragement and comfort in the middle of all the events of providence, seeing they are managed by their covenant God and gracious friend, who will never neglect or overlook his dear people, and whatever concerns them. For he has said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you,” Heb. 13:5.

The Beauties of Boston a list of other extracts from Thomas Boston here at Fire and Ice.

Thanks to Holly Dye from the Refocusing Our Eyes blog for allowing me to borrow this.

“World’s Largest Church” – “World’s Fastest Growing Church” – “America’s Fastest Growing Sunday School”- “Fastest Growing Church in the State.”

These are frequently heard and seen slogans in these modern days.

But, isn’t it a little silly to brag or boast about numbers (either large or small ones)? Where in all of God’s Word does it tell us to gimmick people into attending church services or Sunday School, like many “fundamental” churches are doing today? The answers to these questions are obvious to all Bible readers. The modern “gimmick gospel” is a fakery, faulty in its desired results, and foolish in the light of Scripture.

The Fakery Of The Gimmick Gospel
That so-called “gospel” which centers around man primarily, and either excludes entirely or partially the glory of God in the saving of men’s wretched souls, must of necessity be nothing but a fakery. In other words, the “gimmick gospel” is not a gospel at all. It is an imitation, a counterfeit, and not the glorious gospel (good news) of God’s Word.

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:6-7).

Note that there is only one gospel and that is the gospel of Christ!

What a perversion of the one true gospel is this modern “gimmick gospel.” Give-aways, gadgets, and games are weekly emphasized to keep the crowds coming. It’s “Balloon Sunday” one week, “Ice cream Sunday” another week, and “Bo-Zo-the-Clown Sunday” the next week. On and on the “gimmick gospel” goes, going so far as to have “karate preachers” performing their stunts, and “cut-off-your-tie” days. Some churches have such a carnival-like atmosphere about them, that now their members no longer talk about going to “church,” but to the “circus.”

Where such a fleshly show is carried on, the Lord Jesus Christ is not being honored and it is easily proved. Where are all those Sunday morning throngs on Sunday night? Where are they on Wednesday night? Has there ever been one new church building built yet, that was built to house the Sunday night and Wednesday night crowds of the big churches? Check around for yourself and see!

The Gimmick Gospel Is Faulty
Where are the genuine results and the truly changed lives brought about by the “gimmick gospel”? The answer is simple: there are none. There cannot be anyone truly changed by the tactics and techniques of men—that is, changed from sinners into loyal subjects of King Jesus. Only God can change and truly convert poor sinners! How little this is believed in our day!

After getting thousands to attend Sunday School, what is taught them after getting them there? This is the crucial question. We are not against churches busing children and adults to Sunday School and church services, if they give them the pure gospel after getting them to come, and didn’t have to gimmick them to get them there. But, here lies the whole problem. Seemingly, there are false motives to get people to the church services (so everyone can tell how many were there), and there is a false gospel preached after the people come. How tragic that multitudes of blind people are being led by blind leaders, “And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matt. 15:14).

We urge you to weigh carefully these solemn words: “Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up” (Matt. 15:13). Do we believe this? Men can get “decisions,” and men can persuade folks to “come forward,” but does that mean that God the Holy Spirit has done a real work in their hearts? Some think so, but not this writer. We “fear and tremble” when we think of being called of God to preach and teach His Word! We consider the greatest of all callings and vocations to be preaching. We take it seriously and care nothing at all if our name is never recorded in the religious journals of our day. We never want to preach a faulty gospel, but always proclaim that true gospel that honors Christ and exalts the sovereignty of God in salvation. If the “gimmick gospel” is the answer to all of America’s ills and problems today, why is there more deadness and unconcern for God and His glory than ever before? The medicine is not working; and it is not working because it is faulty!

The Gimmick Gospel Is Foolish
We cannot ever believe that Christ even once engaged in anything foolish. Neither can we imagine the apostles of our Lord doing things that are being done today in the name of Christianity. We have read and heard all the arguments for such “gimmicks,” but they have all fallen far short of that “glorious gospel of the blessed God” (I Tim. 1:11). We cannot bring ourselves to see in the Scriptures that Almighty God is engaged in a crash program to “hurry up and get people saved before it’s too late.” God is on His throne. What need has He to worry and fret? What need has God to rush and hurry up?

“For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt” (Job 11:12). What a humbling word is this! We are vain and yet we would be wise! We are depraved and yet we want to help out “little Jesus.” Who is this Jesus—a “beggar”? What a caricature (distorted or inferior view) is being made in this day of the holy Son of God! Alas, our moderns think not of Jesus Christ as the Sovereign saviour, but as a weak, effeminate, hippie-looking, disappointed founder of another religion.

We declare to you that modern preachers and modern churches are proving themselves to be fools indeed, when instead of doing things Biblically, they take on the world’s ways and habits of doing things.

The world sells their merchandise and sells their sports; but the true gospel is not for sale, never has been nor ever will be. The gospel of grace is not a bargain or something we merely try to get people to accept, but rather a glorious message of good news, the good news of Christ and what He has already done for poor, perishing sinners. Are you a sinner? Have you been laid low by God’s convicting power? Are you guilty and undeserving? If so, there’s good news for you:

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners “; and the great apostle Paul said, “of whom I am chief” (I Tim. 1:15).

If the chief of sinners was saved, then there’s hope for you—all who feel themselves sinners and in need of the Saviour.

Let us rid this country of the “gimmick gospel,” for it is fakery, faulty and foolish. And in the words of Charles Spurgeon:

“We can do without modern learning, but we cannot do without the ancient gospel.  We can do without oratory and eloquence, but we cannot do without Christ crucified.  Lord, revive Thy work by giving us the old-fashioned gospel back again in our pulpits.”

It is a sad state of affairs when we find ourselves without a sense of humor. Truly, there are occasions when laughter may be inappropriate, but even in those times having a sense of humor can be a comfort. I’ve seen many films from the World War 2 era, and have been intrigued by the amount of humor displayed by men who were in the “heat” of battle. Granted, that was in the movies, but it also bore a reflection of the real life attitudes of many.

Today we live, by and large, in a humorless society. Oh sure people joke, but there is a great tendency to look for ways to be offended. Our world is one where we demand our rights, whatever those “rights” may be. Trial lawyers take to the airwaves to convince us that someone has injured us, or wants to, and they stand ready to make sure we’re compensated. We must carefully guard what we say because words or phrases that once were harmless, may now be deep cutting slurs.  Walking on eggshells has become a way of life. How miserable an existence.

This is not to be how a Christian lives. Certainly we should be wise about our use of humor. We shouldn’t be given to levity in all things or foolish joking, but neither should we be a bunch of dour curmudgeons. After all, we are to possess the “joy of The LORD.” It is OK to lighten up a bit.  As Proverbs 17 : 22 advises, ” A merry heart does good like a medicine…“.  Make sure you get your minimum daily requirement.

In case you missed my post on Facebook, here’s some good stuff from the 17th century.  Still edifying today.

Hi, my name is Jim and it has been my whole life! I admit that I’m not much of a blogger, but the real purpose of this site is to be an edification to you. We have a most excellent webmaster who has put together a site that, I hope, accomplishes that goal. As you look around, should you have questions or comments, please post them. We will respond to you as quickly as possible.  Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you often. God bless you.

Welcome to our Blog!!