“And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” -Colossians 1:18
“Jesus Christ is the refreshing center of summer. He is preeminent in all things (Col. 1:18), including vacations, picnics, softball, long walks, and cookouts…. The summer sun is a mere pointer to the sun that will be: the glory of God. Summer is for seeing and showing that.” -John Piper (via GirlTalk)
“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul…” -Psalm 19:7
“Even on days when every cinder in our soul feels cold, if we crawl to the Word of God and cry out for ears to hear, the cold ashes will be lifted and the tiny spark of life will be fanned. For ‘the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.’” -John Piper
[via GirlTalk’s post “For Our Profit”]
“I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.” -Jeremiah 24:7
The hope of Israel and our hope. Sovereign grace. “I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, ” (Jeremiah 24:7).
[via John Piper‘s Twitter]
“Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” -1 Corinthians 1:31
This is my confession:
I was born into a believing family through no merit of my own at all.
I was given a mind to think and a heart to feel through no merit of my own at all.
I was brought into the hearing of the gospel through no merit of my own at all.
My rebellion was subdued, my hardness removed, my blindness overcome, and my deadness awakened through no merit of my own at all.
Thus I became a believer in Christ through no merit of my own at all.
And so I am an heir of God with Christ through no merit of my own at all.
Now when I put forward effort to please the Lord who bought me, this is to me no merit at all, because
…it is not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)
…God is working in me that which is pleasing in his sight. (Hebrews 13:21)
…he fulfills every resolve for good by his power. (2 Thessalonians 1:11)
And therefore there is no ground for boasting in myself, but only in God’s mighty grace.
Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:31)
[by John Piper, originally posted at Desiring God]
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” -1 John 2:15
“In the end, the sum of all beauty is Christ, and the sin of all worldliness is to diminish our capacity to see Him and be satisfied in Him and show Him compellingly to a perishing world.” -John Piper
[excerpt from John Piper‘s forward to Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World, edited by C.J. Mahaney, pg. 13; Crossway Books 2008]
This is a song I love but it rarely comes to my mind. It’s packed with Scripture and the Gospel is clearly presented. What a great reminder! Thanks, Piper!
Original Post
By John Piper of Desiring God
As I sang “My Hope Is in the Lord” in my devotions, it became a sweet whispering of my faith in Jesus. The thought entered my mind: This would be a beautiful expression of faith for someone who wondered, How do I become a Christian?
“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 2:24
So, for any of you who would like to be saved from your sin and be reconciled to God and have eternal life, I invite you to sing this song with me.
No, you don’t have to sing it. You can say it. Mainly, you need to mean it.
If you do, from your heart, God will confirm to you in the coming days that you are his because of your faith in Jesus. You will not be able to forsake him, because he will not forsake you.
Here’s the song with some Bible verses where you can read the biblical foundations for what you are singing (or saying).
My hope is in the Lord
Who gave Himself for me,
And paid the price of all my sin at Calvary.(1 Corinthians 6:20; 1 Peter 2:24)
Refrain
For me He died, For me He lives,
And everlasting life and light He freely gives.No merit of my own
His anger to suppress.
My only hope is found in Jesus’ righteousness.(Philippians 3:8; Romans 5:18-19)
And now for me He stands
Before the Father’s throne.
He shows His wounded hands and names me as His own.(Romans 8:34; Revelation 5:6-9)
His grace has planned it all,
‘Tis mine but to believe,
And recognize His work of love and Christ receive.
“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” -2 Corinthians 4:6
Piper on Personal Evangelism from the last chapter of his new book, Finally Alive:
“Don’t stop because you can’t do this. Of course you can’t. Only God can open the eyes of the blind (2 Cor. 4:6). But the fact that you can’t make electricity or create light never stops you from flipping light switches. The fact that you can’t create fire in cylinders never stops you from turning the car key. The fact that you can’t create cell tissue never stops you from eating your meals. So don’t let the fact that you can’t cause the new birth stop you from telling the gospel. That is how people are born again–through the living and abiding word, the good news of Jesus Christ.”
(As if I wasn’t already impatient enough for this book to arrive on my doorstep!)
[HT: Justin Childers]
“There are many who say, ‘Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!’ You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.” -Psalm 4:6-7
“If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation for the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.” (John Piper, A Hunger for God, p. 23)
1. “For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.” (John 18:37)
2. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8; cf. Hebrews 2:14-15)
3. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)
4. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
5. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
6. “God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:5)
7. “For God so loved the world that whoever believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:16).
8. “God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:9; cf. John 10:10).
9. “The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” (1 Timothy 1:15).
10. “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against . . . that the thoughts of many may be revealed” (Luke 2:34f).
11. “He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” (Luke 4:18)
12. “Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.” (Romans 15:7-8; cf. John 12:27f).
By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org
Jesus Christ isn’t only a ticket, He’s the show!
-John Piper at New Attitude 2008 (paraphrased)
New Life Baptist Church 