Have You Considered That God Loved You Before Time?

Remember, that God loved you from before the foundation of the world..It makes the tears run down one's cheeks to think that we should have an interest in that decree and council of the Almighty Three, when every one that should be blood-bought had its name inscribed in God's eternal book. .. He thought of you before you had a being. When as yet the sun and the moon were not,—when the sun, the moon, and the stars slept in the mind of God, like unborn forests in an acorn cup, when the old sea was not yet born, long ere this infant world lay in its swaddling bands of mist, then God had inscribed your name upon the heart and upon the hands of Christ indelibly, to remain forever. And does not this make thee love God?

Charles Spurgeon, Love, A Sermon (No. 229) Delivered on Sabbath Morning, December 19th, 1858, at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.

Glory in Our Midst

I'm enjoying preparing for our Advent Series: "Glory in Our Midst." We will be taking the next four Sundays to examine the truth that Jesus is God's glory in our midst. First we will look at verses 1-3 and learn that He is "Divine Glory in Our Midst." Then, we will look at verses 4-9 and see that He is "The Light of Glory in Our Midst." For December 11th we will look at verses 10-13 and see that we are called to "Receive the Glory in Our Midst." And, finally, on December 18th, we will ponder that we are, "Transformed by the Glory in Our Midst."
There are so many wonderful things in this short section. Perhaps we have read through this too often and missed its riches. One scholar believes it is a beautiful poetic structure called a "Chiasm." Whether or not the Apostle John intended this isn't clear but we can certainly see the beauty of the structure of this passage in this Chiasm. Check out this diagram of the chiastic structure:

 

Looking forward to learning together from this fantastic section of God's word!

Word Cloud for Philippians

Check out this word cloud (Wordle) for the entire book of Philippians (ESV)!


And in Koine Greek:

The Word Preached - Thomas Watson

A godly man loves the Word preached, which is a commentary upon the word written. The Scriptures are the sovereign oils and balsams; the preaching of the word is the pouring of them out. The Scriptures are the precious spices; the preaching of the Word is the beating of these spices, which causes a wonderful fragrance and delight. The Word preached is 'the rod of God's strength' (Psalm 110:2) and 'the breath of his lips' (Isaiah 11:4).

 

Taken from the book The Godly Man's Picture by Thomas Watson 1666

A Carnal Heart, A gracious Heart - Jeremiah Burroughs

A carnal heart thinks, I must have my wants made up or else it is impossible that I should be content. But a gracious heart says, 'What is the duty of the circumstances God has put me into?"

 

Taken from the book The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
By Jeremiah Burroughs 1648       

True Faith - DL Moody

True faith is man's weakness leaning on God's strength. When man has no strength, and he leans on God, he becomes powerful. The trouble is that we have too much strength and confidence in ourselves.

Taken from the book The Way to God by DL Moody 1837-1899

The Beginning of Warfare - John Owen

To labour to be acquainted with the ways, wiles, methods, advantages and occasions of (sins) success, is the beginning of warfare. So do men deal with enemies. They inquire out their counsels and designs, ponder their ends, consider how and by what means they have formerly prevailed, that they may get the start of them.

Taken from the book The Mortification of Sin by John Owen 1656

A.W. Tozer on Treasure

"The man who has God for his treasure has all things in one." A.W. Tozer - @Grace_Quotes