Follow in Christ's Footsteps

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

1 Peter 2:21-24

I have been meditating and thinking about this passage the past couple of weeks and decided to share it with you guys. This passage is primarily a call to follow Christ's example, but it's also talking about the greatness of Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross. When you are suffering for the cause of the gospel, follow in Christ's footsteps. Christ was reviled, Christ was threatened, Christ was beaten, Christ was tormented, Christ was mocked at, Christ was spat at, Christ was horribly whipped, Christ was silent in the face of death, but even through all that, he entrusted himself to the Father's plan. That plan was to redeem our poor, lost, hopeless souls and transfer us into the Father's arms with hope, assurance, and eternal joy that could have only come from the sacrifice of our dearly, beloved Savior. He paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin has left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. Amazing.

Jesus Christ entrusted himself to the one who judges justly because he knew what was awaiting for him when he obeyed the Father. Hebrews 12:2 says, "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God." The joy of bringing home the Father's hopeless, lost children, and the eternal joy and rewards of His obedience. That is why he continued in an utmost perseverance to face the utter torment and horrors that the cross brought. The cross brought the physical pain, the horrors of becoming identified with our sin, and the pain of being abandoned by the Father as the Father poured out His full, complete, furious, righteous wrath against His beloved Son. We will never begin to comprehend or even fathom what Jesus experienced on that horrific day. Good for us, but mightily horrific for Him. What amazing grace and mercy that he poured out upon us?

Finishing up the final part of the verse, Jesus Christ bore our sins in his body, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. This is the highest, difficult, most greatest calling that God could have ever given a Christian--- dying to sin and living to righteousness. Humans struggle everyday with this exact topic. A good way to look at it is to start with the first verse of Hebrews 12. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith..." The great cloud of witnesses in verse 1 is talking about the saints in Ch.11, who persevered. Since they persevered, you can too. Lay aside every weight and sin that so easily clings to us and look to Jesus, who saved our lost souls from eternal damnation. Another way to look at it is to go back to Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4:13 says, "And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." We will one day, stand before Him, and give account for everything that we have done. He knows all, sees all, and we will stand before him one day giving an account for all we have done--- good and bad. That should be enough to keep us from sinning. We will be giving an account to the God of the universe. I think dying to sin would be a better idea than continuing to sin in defiance of God. It is an excellent idea, but impossible to do it in perfection. If you are dying to sin and living to righteousness, you are on the right track. Keep it up. There are many people who have persevered before you. Continue and persevere in the grace of God. By His wounds we are healed.

Follow Christ in His Footsteps.

Beethoven's Fifth Symphony

I am going to go off an a bit of a tangent here. I learned this in music class and I found it appropriate to celebrate the God-given genius of Ludwig van Beethoven. The most spectacular thing about Beethoven was his deafness, and his ability to compose, write, and develop music far beyond the recesses of his time. What I mean is that Beethoven paved the way for the Romantic era of music? Beethoven was living in the Mozart era of Classicism, which Mozart literally dominated; but even before Mozart's death, Mozart actually listened to Beethoven play. Mozart said, "Look out for this man, he is going to be great." Overall though, the main thing that separated the greatness of Beethoven from the greatness of Mozart was Beethoven's ability to develop music beyond the era of Classicism. That was the key difference between arguably the two greatest composers of all time.

Did you know that Beethoven was not born deaf? His hearing started straying from him around his early 30s because of lead poisoning from the cups that he drank from. It started getting worse and worse that he eventually stopped going to social events, parties, and the like because he couldn't bear the thought of anyone knowing that he was losing his hearing. At that time, he was a great composer, but he started fading out of the public eye until he lived in seclusion the rest of his life. Only going out when necessary. Most of all, the greatness of Beethoven rests in the music that he wrote after his ears succumbed to total deafness. Beethoven wrote his greatest music at this time. Even though he could never hear it, he could play it in his mind and put it down from pen to paper. He was that great and that talented. He knew every note and recalled to memory the most important pieces that fit together perfectly. He was a natural musician. A natural genius. His most famous piece The Fifth Symphony is a small taste of his genius. This piece is over 30 minutes long and what is more impressive about this piece is the fact that the most famous first part is played more than 700 times throughout the symphony in many different forms. Simplistic, but entirely complex. The same type of piece played over 700 times throughout the symphony in many different complex forms. It was unheard of back then. Only Beethoven could do it and only God could have given that talent to Beethoven.

I don't know if Beethoven ever accepted Christ as his Lord and personal Savior. It would have been a horrendous choice if he didn't, but he gave us the most beautiful classical music ever written. I am thankful for the music of Beethoven and for my teacher Dr. Ball (DB) in teaching our class about the greatness of classical music, and music in general. Enjoy the first two movements of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and I will talk to you later.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Christ Has Risen!!!!!!!!!!!

He is Risen! He is alive. I love this hymn from Keith Getty and Stuart Townend called the Resurrection Hymn.

"See, What a Morning" (Resurrection Hymn)
Words and Music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2003 Kingsway Thankyou Music

See, what a morning, gloriously bright,
With the dawning of hope in Jerusalem;
Folded the grave-clothes, tomb filled with light,
As the angels announce, "Christ is risen!"
See God's salvation plan,
Wrought in love, borne in pain, paid in sacrifice,
Fulfilled in Christ, the Man,
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

See Mary weeping, "Where is He laid?"
As in sorrow she turns from the empty tomb;
Hears a voice speaking, calling her name;
It's the Master, the Lord raised to life again!
The voice that spans the years,
Speaking life, stirring hope, bringing peace to us,
Will sound till He appears,
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

One with the Father, Ancient of Days,
Through the Spirit who clothes faith with certainty.
Honor and blessing, glory and praise
To the King crowned with pow'r and authority!
And we are raised with Him,
Death is dead, love has won, Christ has conquered;
And we shall reign with Him,
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

I hope that everyone's Resurrection Day is filled with peace, joy, and happiness. Praise Him for He is Alive!

Voddie Baucham - The Supremacy of Christ

Voddie Baucham is one of the lesser known great preachers in this day and age. His faithfulness to Christ and the gospel is one of the great things about Voddie, but the more I listen to him-- the more I am convicted each time. Enjoy this snippet that came from the Desiring God Conference at Bethleham Baptist Church in 2007 I believe. Correct me if I am wrong anybody.

Christ's Sufferings

As we approach Good Friday, I am reminded of a black shirt that I wear often. On the front of the shirt it says, FOR YOU HE WAS.... Then it says on the back, Betrayed, Falsly Accused, Mocked, Judged, Condemned, Whipped, Punched, Slapped, Spit upon, Pushed Around, Humiliated, Stripped Down, Cursed At, Abused, Pierced, and Crucified. John 3:16 with a cross in the background.

Reflect on that throughout the day and throughout Good Friday in a couple days.

Soli Deo Gloria!