Weekend Resource: Free book – Tortured for Christ

Resource: The Voice of the Martyrs invites you to request complimentary copies of Richard Wurmbrand’s international bestseller, Tortured for Christ. Completely free.

Also, when you order the book, you’ll receive a free subscription to their monthly award-winning newsletter to “keep you informed on Christian persecution worldwide while sharing practical opportunities to help Christians who are persecuted for their faith.”

Click here to order the book.

Click here to visit their website and get involved in supporting the persecuted church through the VOM ministry.

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The blood is powerful

Hebrews 10:19-23
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

Climax of the New Covenant
Hebrews lays it out for us: Drawing near to God confidently is the climax of the New Covenant. The blood of the Lamb atones for the sin that shattered the God-man relationship since Eden.

Don’t miss the significance of a man drawing near to God confidently.
A common man can now push through the veil into the Holy of Holies and survive. No, more than survive. He can commune with the God who created the universe, who led a people from Egypt, who wiped out pagan kings, and who still strikes men like Ananias dead.

Are we confident in the promise, or just unconscious of the danger?
I wonder if we come to the throne comfortably in prayer because we do not understand the fierceness of God’s wrath toward the unclean. “Step into the 10,000 degree furnace. You won’t be incinerated.” Really? Imagine taking that step. That’s the picture, except God’s wrath is a blaze infinitely more severe.

The better we understand the danger, the more fully we understand the power of the blood.
We come into the presence of the Holy One of Israel as…a child, not a criminal. God is bound by a covenant oath to accept the payment made on the cross. He can no more dishonor that oath than He can cease being God. Therefore, we enter the Holy of Holies with unwavering faith and full confidence in the powerful blood of Jesus Christ that protects men from the wrath of God.

Exalting Christ in prayer
We skip over the power of this blood too often. We approach God in a way that claims the promise of His listening ear, but fails to do more than a customary hat-tip to the Guarantor of the promise. Relying consciously (even verbally) on the blood of Jesus to draw near to God in prayer exalts Christ. It displays the power of the cross to our own heart and anyone within earshot.

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The tension between doing and waiting on the Lord

John Piper on the tension between doing and waiting on the Lord:

“Life is spontaneous 95% of the time! Which means that consulting the Lord happens in the morning over the Book, covering the whole day. You say, “Lord, here I go. I’m going to go into life and I’m going to do ten thousand things with my tongue, my eyes, my hands, my heart, and my legs today. Would you please guide me? Would you so transform my mind and bring it into conformity to Jesus that spontaneously what comes out of my mouth would be helpful and loving to people? Because I can’t pause at every moment in my life to ask you about this. You’ve got to be so in me and so fully functioning through me that my spontaneity is you!” …However—I can’t tell you what the criteria are for this—but for many things that you are about to do, it is good to pause and pray. Pause and ask God, especially with the bigger things…the bigger a thing is, the more fitting it is to pause, get your bearings, and consult with the Lord.”

(click the link above to read the rest)

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Loving the gifts, not the Giver

The moment I finish eating, the dog leaves. Her companionship lasts as long as the sandwich.

So too our prayer life is often one of chasing gifts, not the Giver. Then forgetting God once we have eaten and become satisfied.

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Weekend Resource: Prayer- laying hold of God by His promises

Resource: This sermon, by Terry Virgo, will likely change how you view prayer. If it does not change you, it will refresh your commitment to prayer.

John Piper pointed me to the sermon via twitter: “I have just watched a sermon on prayer by Terry Virgo that will alter my year. I recommend it.”

I’ve listened to it twice today now. It is indeed a year-altering message from God’s word.

Watch the video or download the audio by clicking here. Note: video is in two parts, so be sure to click the link to the second video after finishing the first. Total running time for audio/video:  52 minutes.

If you are desperate for a powerful prayer life, and hungry for further teaching, here is another sermon worth listening to, by Piper.

I pray the Spirit teaches you through these men, kindling a passion for God and coming to Him in prayer.

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Weekend Resource: Fighter Verses

Resource: The Fighter Verses, as used by Bethlehem Baptist Church (where Piper pastors), are 5 sets of verses. One set per year. Four verses a month. The goal is to memorize one verse a week, so that our sword stays sharp in fighting sin and treasuring Christ.

Excerpt (from linked website): “Fighter Verses are short passages of Scripture which we as a church have chosen to memorize each week. The Scripture, day after day, reveals to us the greatness of all that God is for us in Christ so that by the power of the Spirit we find our joy in him and the ways of sin become distasteful — indeed ugly and repugnant.”

From the Children Desiring God website: “The Fighter Verses memory system (available in ESV or NIV) was created to help believers persevere in the fight of faith by arming them with God’s Word. Designed for preschool children through adults, this system allows individuals, groups, or entire churches to memorize and review at their own pace. Bethlehem Baptist uses this as a church-wide memory system with hundreds of adults and children committed to memorize one passage per week throughout the year. We invite you to join us!”

Click here to go download the verse sheet pdfs

Click here to buy the full memory system from Children Desiring God on their website.

Related posts:

An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture

18 Tricks to Memorize More Scripture

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A few short compelling videos

Here are a few videos, John Piper related. I highly recommend each, as they are short yet powerful.

What is your retirement dream? Advice you won’t regret hearing:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8nB7sZkgCs&feature=fvw]

The reason why we need to be part of a small group meeting purposefully:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC4pmIZ5GhA&feature=sdig&et=1246289709.0]

God is dangerous apart from Jesus Christ:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq8eebfwOoU&feature=related]

We need the gospel every day:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwn2GLm5MsY&feature=related]

A song the builds powerfully, with Piper preaching at the end:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqz1Y_YRlT4&feature=related]

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