CD Review:The Attributes of God by Shai Linne

For much of my unsaved life I was a big fan of hip hop. I listened to all the famous rappers and knew nearly every line. When God saved me, one of the things that changed was my dislike for worldly music that did not give him honor. So when I first heard of Christian rap I was a little skeptical given my past obsession with that kind of music.

But I can truly say that this CD by Shai Linne has been a tremendous encouragement and very edifying for my soul. Not only is this CD filled with fascinating lyrics and awesome beats, it is also really easy to understand what is being said. 

What is it about these lyrics that are so good? Shai Linne gives us a biblical perspective on who God is and what God has done. God is beautiful, holy, glorious, patient, loving, faithful, etc. God is also gracious in pouring out his grace and mercy to us who have sinned against him. So we can now get to know this God because of the work of the triune God in saving us.

I believe if you will listen and digest this CD about our glorious God you perhaps will learn more about God than most people who sit in church for a lifetime under shallow teaching.

Personal favorites: Faithful God, Mercy and Grace, and the Lord of Patience.


MP3 is currently $7.99 on Amazon.

Paul Tripp Quotes Part 4

If you love God's Word more than you love your own view of things, you know that grace has visited you.

If you willing say "no" to your selfish desires and joyfully do the will of the King, you know that grace has visited you.

If you've quit asking the creation to satisfy your heart and look to the Creator for meaning and purpose, you know grace has visited you.

If you've quit pumping your ego and daily look into the mirror of the Word to see yourself as you are, you know grace has visited you.

If your prayers are an act of submission and worship and not a catalog of self-focused requests, you know grace has visited you.

If you speak not to advance your own agenda, but to give grace to the hearer, you know grace has visited you.

If you rest in the acceptance of God and have quit living for the acceptance of those around you, you know grace has visited you.

The story of Scripture isn't a human effort story or a rules and regulations story. No, it's a GRACE story from beginning to endless end.

For your hope to be reliable it must promise the ultimate renewal of all that sin has broken and this you'll only find in Jesus.

If your God's child, it's grace in which you stand. Don't fool yourself, there is no solid rock but Christ Jesus.

John Newton's Preface to Pilgrim's Progress

The Pilgrim is a parable, but it has an interpretation in which you are nearly concerned. If you are living in sin, you are in the City of Destruction. O hear the warning voice! “Flee from the wrath to come.” Pray that the eyes of your mind may be opened, then you will see your danger, and gladly follow the shining light of the word, till you enter by Christ, the straight gate, into the way of salvation. If death surprise you before you get into this road, you are lost forever.

If you are indeed asking the way to Zion with your face thitherward, I bid you good speed. Behold an open door is set before you, which none can shut. Yet prepare to endure hardship, for the way lies through many tribulations. There are hills and valleys to be passed, lions and dragons to be met with, but the Lord of the hill will guide and guard his people. “Put on the whole armor of God, fight the good fight of faith.” Beware of the Flatterer. Beware of the Enchanted Ground. See the Land of Beulah, yea, the city of Jerusalem itself is before you:

There Jesus the forerunner waits.

To welcome travelers home.

JOHN NEWTON.


HT: Tony Reinke 

5 Dangers for Young Men

1. Pride

“Young men, do not be too confident in your own judgment. Stop being so sure that you are always right, and others wrong. Don’t trust your own opinion, when you find it contrary to that of older men, and especially to that of your own parents. Age gives experience, and therefore deserves respect.”

2. Love of Pleasure

“Youth is the time when our passions are strongest—and like unruly children, cry most loudly for indulgence. Youth is the time when we have generally our most health and strength: death seems far away, and to enjoy ourselves in this life seems to be everything. ‘I serve lusts and pleasures’, that is the true answer many a young man should give if asked, ‘Whose servant are you?’”

3. Thoughtlessness

“Not thinking is one simple reason why thousands of souls are thrown away forever into the Lake of Fire. Men will not consider, will not look ahead, will not look around them, will not reflect on the end of their present course, and the sure consequences of their present days, and wake up to find they are damned for a lack of thinking. Young men, none are in more danger of this than yourselves. You know little of the perils around you, and so you are careless how you walk. You hate the trouble of serious, quiet thinking, and so you make wrong decisions and bring upon yourselves much sorrow.”

4. Contempt of Religion

“This also is one of your special dangers. I always observe that none pay so little outward respect to Christianity as young men. None take so little part in our services, when they are present at them—use Bibles so little—sing so little—listen to preaching so little. None are so generally absent at prayer meetings, Bible Studies, and all other weekday helps to the soul. Young men seem to think they do not need these things—they may be good for women and old men, but not for them. They appear ashamed of seeming to care about their souls: one would almost fancy they considered it a disgrace to go to heaven at all.”

5. Fear of Man’s Opinion

“It is terrible to observe the power which the fear of man has over most minds, and especially over the minds of the young. Few seem to have any opinions of their own, or to think for themselves. Like dead fish, they go with the stream and tide. What others think is right, they think is right; and what others call wrong, they call wrong too. There are not many original thinkers in the world. Most men are like sheep, they follow a leader. If it was the fashion of the day to be Roman Catholics, they would be Roman Catholics, if it was to be Islamic, they would be Islamic. They dread the idea of going against the current of the times. In a word, the opinion of the day becomes their religion, their creed, their Bible, and their God.”

~ J.C. Ryle

HT: Mike Anderson

Man! Think!

I came upon a sermon by C.H. Spurgeon, called Without Money And Without Price. Spurgeon was talking about the surprising nature of free grace to us. We have it so innately in us that we must do something to get something. We often take this attitude with us with regard to God's grace. But Spurgeon makes a great point that if we think a little bit, we wouldn't be nearly suprised about God's radical grace to us in the gospel:



"Thus I have spoken upon the surprising nature of this fact (free grace). But I need to add that though I have thus shown grounds for our surprise, yet if men would think a little they might not be quite so unbelievingly amazed as they are. For, after all, the best blessings we have come to us freely. What price have you paid for your lives? And yet they are very precious. 
Skin for skin, yes, all that you have would you give for them! What price do you pay for the air you breathe? What price does a man pay for the blessed sunlight? Tonight when we lay our heads down upon our pillows the poor man’s sleep shall be as sweet as the sleep of him who reclines on down. Sleep is the unbought blessing of Heaven, you cannot purchase it! It is clear, then, that some of the best blessings we possess come to us by the way of free gift."

The Author of Hebrews

It is a pretty big debate among Christians on who wrote the book of Hebrews. Some think it was Barnabas or Apollos, many others disagree. Regardless, I was encouraged by this quote that I read from Peter O'Brein's commentary on Hebrews:


"The most important thing Hebrews tells us about the author, whoever he was, is that in the first decades of the Christian movement, another remarkable mind and heart besides Paul's was at work in interpreting the significance of the crucified and raised Messiah Jesus for the understanding of Scripture, of the world, and of human existence."