Camping at Manning Park, Lightning Lakes

Manning Park is a Campground located in British Columbia, Canada.

I spent the last two days camping with some friends at the lakes.

Here are some pictures that I took:

Looking down the trail.

 

A heron at early morning.

 

This is Sheera our family pet!

 

 

I hope you had a great week as well!

Blessings,

       Lucas C. 

Thoughts for Young Men - J. C. Ryle (Part 3)

After a couple of days, I think it would be best to go back to the book Thoughts for Young Men and take a look at chapter 3. We have previously looked at chapters 1 and 2.

3. General Counsels to Young Men:

After seeing the many dangers that face young men, and then naming some reasons why young men need exhortation, today we are going to look at some general counsels for young men.
One such counsel is that as young men we need to get a clear view of the evil of sin. When we are still young we do not get a full grasp of the seriousness of sin. Like all men we are blind to the destroying effect sin has in our lives. We must be sure to realise that sin is not an insignificant matter! As young men we must see how the Bible talks about the seriousness of sin. It dwells in every one of our hearts, (Romans 3:23) and it defiles what we say and do (Matthew 15:19). Because of the sin in us we are all guilty before God and what used to be perfect creation is now a scarred world. Scarred by death, suffering, and disease. This is the awful change that sin has worked here on the earth. Not only did sin destroy our world, the cost to make atonement for sin was something greater than our minds could imagine. God's own Son, Jesus Christ, would take on human flesh and come to this world not only to live, but to die on a cross so that we may come to have life in Him. What a price to be paid that our sins would be washed away! J. C. Ryle States:

"Young man, consider these things, and you will not wonder that we warn you as we do. Surely, if you did but think of them, you would break off with sin forever. Will you play with poison? Will you frolic with hell? Will you take fire in your hand? Will you harbour your deadliest enemy in your bosom? Will you go on living as if it did not matter at all whether your own sins were forgiven or not, - whether sin had dominion over you, or you over sin? Oh, awake to a sense of sin's sinfulness and danger! Remember the words of Solomon: "Fools," not but fools, "mock at sin" (Proverbs 14:9)."

 

Aside from getting a clear of view of how sin is devastating and evil to all of us, us young men need to be acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ. The most important thing in your entire life is whether or not you believe in Jesus Christ. Not only believe that He is real but to truly believe that He is God (John 10:30) and is the only Saviour of sin (Matthew 1:21). Seek to know Jesus Christ as Lord and King. He is all that we need and His Word contains all that we need to live. Mr. Ryle states:

 

"Young Man, I set before you Jesus Christ this day, as the treasury of your souls; and I invite you to begin by going to Him, if you would so run as to obtain. Let this be your first step, - go to Christ. Do you want to consult friends? - He is the best friend: "a friend that sticks closer than a brother" - (Proverbs 18:24). Do you feel unworthy because of your sins? - Fear not: His blood cleanses from all sin. He says, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow: though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18)."

 

Also, we need to remember that there is nothing as important as our never-dying souls. Our soul is eternal and will live forever either in heaven or in hell. All this world shall pass away, but your soul will never pass away. The earth and all that is in it will be burned up (2 Peter 3:10) but our souls will never be destroyed. We must understand that our soul is something worth living for. It is of most importance to keep you soul right with God. Man can hurt your body, your property, your name, and can even take your life, but he can never hurt your soul (Matthew 10:28).

 

"Young man, God is no respecter of persons. He regard's no man's coat,

or wallet, or rank, or position. He sees not with man's eyes (1 Samuel 16:7).

The poorest saint that ever died in a workhouse is nobler in His sight than

the richest sinner that ever died in a palace. God does not look at riches, titles,

learning, beauty, or anything of the kind. One thing God does look at, and that

is the never-dying soul. He measures all men by one standard, one measure

one test, one criterion, and that is the condition of their souls." 

- J. C. Ryle

 

While we are young there are many snares placed to destroy our service to God. The world tells us that youth is time for fun and play, not a  time to be serious. This is a lie we must not believe. We are responsible to God the very moment we know right from wrong. This is no easy road for us young men to take. The world constantly throws in our path numerous temptations to try and draw us away from God. But stronger than our will to sin is our will to obey God. Run to His Word in time of temptation! Serve God while you are young, before it is too late. We know not when we will die so let us serve God while we are still alive.

 

"Young Man, try to serve God. Resist the devil

when he whispers it is impossible. Try, - and the

Lord God of the promises will give you strength

in the trying. He loves to meet those who struggle

 to come to Him, and He will meet you and give you

the power that you feel you need."

- J. C. Ryle

 

While we serve God we must make the Bible our primary guide and advisor. It will guide our paths straight and lead us in the ways of God (Proverbs 3:6). All that we need to know while we live this short life on earth is contained in the word of God. The Psalmist asks, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to your Word." We need to familiarize ourselves with God's 

Word. Read it not for the sake of reading but so that we will know how to live the Christian life. So we will know what God loves and know how to obey Him. We must give the Bible the honour that it deserves. For us Christians, the Bible is the law. It matters not what my parents think is right, or what my friends think is right. God's Word divides right from wrong and it will not fail in giving you a clear answer. Let us study the Word with an open and prayerful heart so that we would be pleasing to our King. J. C. Ryle offers words of wisdom on how we should read God's word.

 

"A hasty glance at the Bible now and then does little good. At that rate you will never become familiar with its treasures, or feel the sword of the spirit fitted to your hand in the hour of conflict. But get our mind stored with scripture, by diligent reading, and you will soon discover its value and power. Texts will rise up in your heart in the moment of temptation. Commands will suggest themselves in seasons of doubt. Promises will come across your thoughts in the time of discouragement. And thus you will experience the truth of  David's words, "Your Word I have hidden in my heart that I might no sin against you."

 

Lastly, one extremely important advice that young men must take is that we should never make an intimate friend of those who are not friends of God. This does not mean acquaintances. As Christians we must interact with people of the world by sharing the truths of God with them. But with our friends we must make very careful choices. We need to make friends only with those people who will be helpful to our soul. Those who rebuke us when we sin and encourage us to obey Christ. A bad friend can lead you down wrong paths and even into grievous sin. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, "Do not be deceived, 'Bad company corrupts good morals.'" Did you hear that, "Do not be deceived!" This fact is especially true for us young men when we plan on choosing a wife. Will she help us become like Christ, or drag us into despair? Will she encourage my love for God or discourage it? Will she help my soul or harm it? For us young men we need to look for a wife that loves Christ so much more than she will ever love us, for then she will truly be a blessing to our souls.

 

"Do you ask me what kind of friends you should choose? Choose friends who will benefit your soul, friends whom you can really respect, friends whom you will like to have near you on your deathbed, friends who love the Bible, and are not afraid to speak to you about it, friends such as you will not be ashamed of acknowledging at the coming of Christ, and the day of judgement...But depend on it, bad company in the present life, is the sure way to obtain worse company in the life to come."

- J. C. Ryle

 

Blessings,

       Lucas C.     

Going Camping!

Hello everyone! I won't be blogging for the next day or two cause I'm going camping! Always keep your mind focused on the truths of Christ.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our

behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Lightning Lakes - Manning Park

Holiness in Mind

Holiness in Mind.

Yesterday I looked at Isaiah chapter 6 and how we as Christians ought to be holy in our speech. We said that ultimately, what comes out of our mouths is what is in our heart. Today, I would like to study what God's Word says about having holy minds.

A holy mind is a precious thing to have. To have a perfectly holy mind, us Christians would have to be free from sin. This we know is not possible while we live on this earth. Perfect holiness will only be attained when we see the Lord Jesus face to face (1 John 3:2). For now, we live in our sinful bodies and, we still sin, everyday. Since we hate our sin, we must live in a way so that sin is rooted out of our lives. This is what it is like to live a holy life. We separate ourselves from the world and set ourselves towards Christ, studying His word so that we will become more like Him.
To have holy minds, we must think of practical ways to train our minds to think Holy thoughts. A good place to start would be to turn to Philippians 4:8. It reads,

 

 "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

 

This marvelous verse speaks of what should be occupying the thoughts of our minds. For Christians, we must search out what these characters are and seek to fill our minds with them. Our minds need to be pure so that we can be honouring to God. So, let's unpack this verse a little bit more.

 

True:

What is truth? Well we know that God says in John 17:17, "...Your Word is truth." It is scripture alone that is true and has truth that is applicable to our lives. God's Word is everlasting and perfect. There are absolutely no errors in it. Whatever is found in God, the Holy Spirit, and Christ is true.

 

Honourable:

Something that is honourable is 'worthy of being respected'. As believers we are to think about things that are worthy of our love and praise. Things that are honourable bring glory to God's name. We will only attain honour with God is we pursue a righteous life. Proverbs 21:21, "He who pursues righteousness and loyalty finds life, righteousness and honour."

 

Right:

Things that are right are in line with what God says to be true. To do something right is to do that which honours God and to do it in a proper way.

 

Pure:

Purity of heart is extremely important for a Christian. To be pure means to be clean, not only morally but also spiritually. We are made pure in a spiritual sense when are sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. When we live a saved life in obedience to God's Word, morally purity is the result. Those who live pure lives desire to be holy just as their God is holy. Matthew 5:8 says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

 

Lovely:

In the Greek, lovely means, "pleasing" or "amiable". As believers, we are to focus on what pleases God. Also we must focus on true love, that is, a love that is sacrificial and serves other before serving self. John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."  When we think of love, we should think of Christ's ultimate love for us. That He died on a cross for us and took the punishment that we deserved while we were still his enemies so that we may repent of our sins and be blessed with everlasting life.

 

Good Repute:

Whatever is of good repute is usually something that is sought after. It would be having the traits of kindness, justice, and mercy. For us Christians, whatever is right in God's eyes is something that is of good repute. We love what He loves and that which He says is good, we say is good as well.

 

Worthy of Praise:

We know that God most high is worthy of all our praise. If we strive to live a life that is honouring and pleasing to Him then we will bring Him praise. We need to live our lives in a way that our minds would be holy and honouring to our King. The best way to have a holy mind is to saturate it with the Word of God. It will act as a filter and help us discern between truth and error. To the praise of the God who saved us and called us His own!

 

Blessings,

       Lucas C.



Holiness in Speech

A  couple of days ago I talked about the holiness of our God. I also looked at how we as Christians are commanded to live holy lives (1 Peter 1:5-6) and that it is such a great gain for us to know Christ and His power of salvation in our lives.
Today, I would like to expand on the this theme of Holiness. As Christians our holiness is key to our sanctification. The more we are holy in our lives the more we are pleasing to Christ. It is His desire for us to become sanctified and more like Him. Hebrews 12:14 says, "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord."

Holiness in Speech.    

As Christians the Lord wants us to have holy mouths. What we say with our lips reflects what is in our heart. Mark 7:20, "And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man." We must be extremely careful to guard our mouths lest we say something that dishonours the name of our God. For us to better understand what it means to speak in a way that is pleasing t to the Lord, let us look at Isaiah Chapter 6. I had quoted verse 3 in my other post on holiness, but today I'm going to look at verses 1-5.

Isaiah 6:1-5

"In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, "Woe is me, fir I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."

 

In this passage of Scripture Isaiah, who was Israel's prophet, sees a vision of the Lord God seated on His throne. In this vision, Isaiah is given a glimpse of the perfect Holiness of our God. Two Seraphim fly beside the throne of the Lord and constantly speak of God's holiness. At this point even the vision that Isaiah is seeing cannot contain the majesty and glory of God most High. The foundations tremble and shake and the temple is filled with smoke. As he sees all this Isaiah falls on his face and cries out that he is a man of unclean lips. The very prophet of God says that his lips are unclean! At this time in Israel, there were very few people who had clean lips, above any of them though, Isaiah should be the first to be declared 'clean'. Isaiah spoke the very words of God to the people and yet when was in the presence of God he fell as a dead man.

The reason for this is that he realized that his heart was unclean in the sight of God. The uncleanliness of the mouth comes from the heart. We have unclean mouths because our hearts are filled with sin. When we stand before a Holy God, all we can do is fall in humility and shame of our sinful hearts. What we need to do is turn to God and repent of our sinful practices. We must ask Him to cleanse our minds and hearts. James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded."

We must realise that to have clean lips, our hearts must be clean before God. What we put into our minds will flow out of our mouths. We need to have a daily input of God's Word so that our mouth will speak that which is true. Let us be committed to read, and listen to that which is true so that we would be honouring to our God and be able to serve Him with our entire lives.

 

Blessings,

       Lucas C.                



        

Sunday Psalm

 

Always have confidence in the Lord our God. He is our Keeper. Put your trust in His Holy name.

Have a blessed Sunday!
       Lucas C.

Thoughts for Young Men - J. C. Ryle (Part 2)

Today I am going to continue my study through the book Thoughts for Young Men. We looked at the first chapter a few days ago. Chapter two of this book is called:

2. Dangers Facing Young Men:

In the second chapter of his book, J. C. Ryle addresses certain dangers and temptations that face young men. One of the most common dangers that young men face is the sin of pride. Being a young man myself I can most assuredly agree with this one! Pride is a sin that is as old as our earth. Satan was cast from heaven because of his proud and rebellious heart and Adam was cast form paradise because he wished to be like God. Sin entered our world through the proud heart of man and it is no different today. Pride dwells in all of us by nature. Pride teaches young men to trust their own strength and not the strength of God. Many young men reject counsel, are rude, un-courteous, and think that only themselves should be treated with respect and dignity. Young men seem to think like those who Job mentioned, “We are the people, and wisdom shall die with us.”

J. C. Ryle addresses young men with these words of wisdom:

"Be not proud of your own abilities, your own strength, your own knowledge,

your own appearance, your own cleverness. Be not proud of yourself, and your

 talents of any kind. It all comes from not knowing yourself and the world. The older

you grow, and the more you see, the less reason you will find for being proud.

Ignorance and inexperience are the pedestal of pride; once let the pedestal

be removed, and pride will soon come tumbling down."

Think of the great example of humility given to us by our Lord. He washed his disciple’s feet! The very king of Heaven bended his knee to wash common man’s feet (John 13:3-15). Not only did our Lord wash feet he died a cruel death on a cross to save your soul and mine! What an example for us young men. We need to be humble like our Lord. Proverbs 26:12 says, “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” If we are to be wise young men, we must beware of the sin of pride.

Besides the sin of pride, the love of pleasure can be a major danger that faces Christian young men.

Youth is generally the time that we have the most strength and the least cares or anxiety. This fact makes us young men think mostly of pleasure. Now, pleasure is not a bad thing in itself, but we must beware that the love of pleasure does not take over our lives. Besides from begin wasteful, earthly pleasure are usually harmful to either our minds or bodies. 1 Peter 2:11 says, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.” And Colossians 3:5-6 says, “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience.”  Mr. Ryle states:

"Go and take your fill of earthly pleasures if you will, - you will never find your heart satisfied with them. There will always be a voice within, crying, like the horse-leech in Proverbs 30:15, “Give, give!” There is an empty place there, which nothing but God can fill. You will find, as Solomon did by experience that earthly pleasures are but a vain show, - vanity and vexation of spirit, - whited sepulchers, fair to look at on the outside, full of ashes and corruption within. Better be wise in time. Better write ‘poison’ on all earthly pleasures. The most lawful of them must be used with moderation. All of them are soul-destroying if you give them your heart."     

Young men also struggle with thoughtlessness and lack of consideration for others. Many young men do not think of their future or the end of their lives. We think that youth is the time to be foolish and unreasonable. It is only too common to see young men who waste their lives on themselves. They have no serious thoughts of God or His Word. The things of God are serious, and must be treated with respect.  Whether we believe them or reject them is a serious matter. It is the difference between spending eternity in heaven or Hell. Mr. Ryle states:

 

"Just as a bad servant does wrong, and then says, “I never gave it a thought,” so

young Men run into sin, and then say, “I did not think about it, - it did not look like sin.”

Not look like sin! What would you expect? Sin will not come to you, saying, “I am sin;”

It would do little harm if it did. Sin always seems “good, and pleasant, and desirable,” at the

time of commission. Oh, get wisdom, get discretion! Remember the words of Solomon:

“Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established” – (Proverbs 4:26)"

 
Sadly, many young men in our culture have a contempt of religion. They scorn and mock the things of God. I know this from experience in my own life and I have seen young men who live like this. Young men seem to think that they do not need religion in their life. Oh, if only they saw how much danger their souls are in! They are fast on the way to hell and will do nothing to stop it. They are ashamed to speak of the things of God, ashamed to sing, ashamed to publically read God's Word, ashamed to pray, ashamed to talk of Christ. Besides all of this they claim to be Christians! I plead with those men who follow Christ, do not be ashamed of Him or He will reject you from being His child (Luke 9:26). For those who don't believe, you must look long and hard into what lies before you. Only the fool has rejected God, but he has never disproved God 's existence. The existence of God is written on your heart (Romans 1:18-22). Do not despise Him. He will save your soul if you call upon His name! J. C. Ryle says:

"Be very sure of this, - people never reject the Bible because they cannot understand it.

They understand it only too well; they understand that it condemns their own behaviour;

they understand that it witnesses against their own sins, and summons them to judgement.

They try to believe it is false and useless, because they do not like to admit it is true."

 

One other danger that young men face is the fear of man's opinions. Proverbs 29:25 says, "The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted." Many young men today do not have opinions of their own. They are caught up with the crowd or what their peers say. Their conviction is weak and mostly based on what they think is right and wrong and not on what God says is right and wrong. 

 

"Few young men 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 right,they think right; and what others call wrong,

 they call wrong too."    

- J. C. Ryle 

 

As Christian young men, we must develop conviction from the word of God. It does not matter whose side my friends are on, as long as I am on God's side! It does not matter what people say or do to me. Remember what God says in Matthew 10:28, "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." How unreasonable it is for us to fear what man may think of us. It will not benefit us, but rather only discourage us and bring shame to God's name. Let us as young men be strong and courageous! Man can give you nothing but God can give you, "everything pertaining to life and godliness." (2 Peter 1:3). May the Lord grant us strength to resist pride and the love of pleasure. May we be thoughtful of others and may we never, ever scorn God's word, or fear what man can to do our bodies. Our soul is a very precious thing. We must guard it from evil so that when we see the Lord, we will be pleasing in His sight. To the praise of His Glory alone!

 

Blessings,

       Lucas C.

A Call to Holiness

Our God is a Holy and majestic God. Isaiah 6:3 speaks of how God is worshiped in heaven. It says,  "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." The Bible speaks countless times of Gods holiness and our responsibility as Christians to live holy lives. 1 Peter 1:5-6 says, - "but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behaviour; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY FOR I AM HOLY."

Holiness as we know it is dying in our modern 'Christian' culture. Professing believers disregard sinful behaviour under the unbiblical excuse of 'Christian Liberty'. Instead of living in a way that pleases God most, they see how close they can get to the edge of sin before they fall. Holiness is thought of as old-fashioned and boring. This is not true of our God. God is not old-fashioned; instead God has given us the most relevant thing in this world; that thing is His living Word the Holy Bible. What we Christians need to do is step back from the world and see what God's Word has to say about things that are happening in our culture. What I hope to do is write some articles that will clear up issues about holiness that are permeating the Church and Christianity. Holiness is an issue that God wants us to understand. As we looked at earlier, if we don't live Holy lives there is no reason that God would sanctify us. As well as bringing glory to God's name, one of the main reasons we live a holy life stems from this quote.

"For a person to be convinced God can save form sin, one needs to

live a holy life. When Christians claim to believe God's Word but do

not obey it, the Word is dishonoured. Many have mocked God and His

truth because of the sinful behaviour of those who claim to be Christians."

  -John Macarthur

 

Christians need to see the importance of holiness. When we look like the world, act like the world, and do what the world does, it says to the world that God has no power over sin. Christians need to examine their lives and to rid themselves of what is unholy. Whether it be books, movies, music, recreational activities or anything that causes God's name to be dishonoured is sin. Let us make a commitment today to turn to God from idols and to serve Him with not only our lips but our lives.

 

Philippians 3:7-11, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have sufferer the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."  

 

Blessings,

       Lucas C.

As the Deer - Worship Song

Once in a while I hope to post a favourite worship song of mine.

This one is called As the Deer played by Carlton Forrester.
The song is based on Psalm 42:1 which reads,
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God."

 

 

As the deer panteth for the water

So my soul longeth after thee

You alone are my hearts desire

And I long to Worship thee

 

Chorus:

You alone are my strength my shield

To you alone will my spirit yield

You alone are my hearts desire

And I long to worship Thee

 

You're my friend and you are my brother,

Even though you are a king.

I want you more than any other,

So much more than any thing.

 

I want you more than gold or silver,

Only you can satisfy.

You alone are the real joy-giver,

And the apple of my eye.

 

Blessings,

       Lucas C.

Thoughts for Young Men - J. C. Ryle (Part 1)

For the past few weeks, I have been studying a book by J.C. Ryle called Thoughts for Young Men. I plan on posting something that impacted me or something applicable to young men from each chapter for the next few weeks. The posts may be a bit sporadic as I haven't finished the book just yet. The first post will be from chapter one which is called:

1. Reasons for Exhorting Young Men:

In our modern world, there are few young men who take any interest in religion. Although this is sad it is true. Many young men are focused on self and pleasure. These two things have ruined many peoples souls. Young men like myself need to be serious minded and focused on the word of God. This day, I need to choose whom I will serve, will it be God or self? Let us young men be like Joshua who, speaking to Israel, renouncing the false god's of the land and instead chose to serve the Lord his God. (Joshua 24:15)
Besides not caring for religion, many young men live as though the day of their death is far away. As a young man myself, I do not know the day of hour that I am appointed to die, but I do know that it could be at any moment. My life is but a breath, a drop in a vast ocean of time. I cannot wait till tomorrow to attend to the most important things in my life. Proverbs 27:1 says, "Do not boat about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring forth."  Many young men think that tomorrow they can serve God, tomorrow they will trust in Christ, or tomorrow they will attend to  the meaningful things of life. This is how I used to live and I would have kept living that way if Christ had not stepped in and saved my soul. As one who knows form experience, I tell you that you must not put off important things for tomorrow, because that 'tomorrow' may never come.

J. C. Ryle states,

"Young man your time is short. Your days are but a span long, a shadow, a vapour, a tale soon told. You bodies are not brass.  "Even the young men," says Isaiah, "shall utterly fall" (Isaiah 40:30). Your health may be taken from you in a moment: it only takes a fall, a fever, an inflammation, a broken blood-vessel, and the worm would soon feed upon you.

There is but a step between you and death. This night you soul may be required of you. You are fast going all the way of the earth, you will soon be gone. Your life is all uncertainty, you death and judgement are perfectly sure. You too must hear the Archangel's trumpet, and go forth to stand before the great white throne. You too must obey that summons, which Jerome says was always ringing in his ears: "Arise, you dead and come to judgement." "Surely I come quickly," is the language of the judge Himself (Rev. 22:20). I cannot, dare not, will not let you alone."

 

 



As young men, we must realise that every day we need to fight sinful temptations that war against our bodies, minds, and souls. the life patters and habits that we practice now will be extremely hard to uproot when we grow older. The character patters that we develop now will be with us for our entire lives. We cannot expect to serve self now and God later. We mock God when we do this. It will not be easy to turn to God when it suits us. The longer we live an unrepentant life the farther we drift from the knowledge and ways of God.
It is especially important for us as young men to live for God now, not only because it will benefit our souls, but also because we make up the next generation. If we don't know how to serve God, how will we teach our family to do the same? While on earth, we need to, I need to, fix my eyes on Christ our joy and crown. He is more important and valuable than all the pleasures of this world. He is the Saviour of my soul and He will save your soul as well if your turn from your sin and put your trust in His name. (Romans 10:9-10)
Finally, young men must realise that they need to start serving God now. Right now is the time when us young men are the healthiest and strongest. We need to use our energy for the glory and praise of God. Flee from youthful lusts so that you will not have to face the consequences of sin, later in your life. Live like a wise man and not a fool. To do this we must saturate ourselves in the word of God and learn what it wants us to do. Study the Bible, it is the most profitable thing you could do. 2 Timothy 3:16, - "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

 Ryle concludes the chapter with this statement:

"Experience," says the proverb, "keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other."

I want you to escape the misery of learning in that school. I want you to avoid the

wretchedness that youthful sins are sure to produce.

This is the last reason why I exhort you. 

 

 

Blessings,

       Lucas C. 



A Poem

May We Never Forget!

 

May we never forget

The Heroes of old

We shall never deny

Their witness was bold

 May we never forget

The martyrs who died

Their precious life taken

“Lord save us!” they cried

 May we never forget

Our Lord on the tree

In agony suffered

For you and for me

 May we never forget

The cost of our lives

We reject all we are

For Heaven we strive

 May we never forget

The King on his steed

He’s coming to conquer

Our souls are in need

 May we never forget

Our lives must be right

This world will fade away

The new one is bright

 May we never forget

The price of our sin

Without true repentance

We’re separate from Him

 May we never forget

The Lord on the throne

His praises we’re singing

When we’re finally Home

 Lucas Champ

 

 

Glorification

4. Glorification

In the final installment of this mini series I will be looking at the Glorification of the believer. So far we have seen how God elects the believer before the beginning of time (Eph. 1:4), how he justifies us at the moment of salvation (Rom. 5:1), and how day by day we are sanctified and made into the image of Jesus Christ our Saviour (Rom. 12:2). Finally we will look at the Glorification of a believer.

Glorification is the final state of the believers transformation into Christlikeness. As Christians, we daily strive to become changed into the image of our Saviour. While we live on earth, we fight a constant battle against sin. This battle ends when we pass from this life to the next and see our Saviour face to face. As I quoted earlier, 1 John 3:2b says, "...We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him just as He is."

The moment of glorification will happen either when we die on this earth and go to be with the Lord in Heaven or, it will be when the Lord Jesus comes back to this earth and will take us to be with Him. This moment will be the most glorious event in our lives. We will see the God of the universe face to face. We will see Christ, the precious lamb of God who died to take away our sins. We will see all the host of heaven bowing down and worshiping the Lord and we will join them in praise for all eternity. What an amazing day that will be! Let us run with perseverance the race before us so that when we see Christ he will say to us, "Well done good and faithful slave...enter into the joy of your master." - Matthew 25:21.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed into the image of His Son so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."

Romans 8:29-30 

 

 

Blessings,

       Lucas C. 

My Church

Well, its Sunday morning today so I figured it would be good to post what church that I go to.

Our Church is Valley Heights Community Church located in Chilliwack British Columba.
Here is a link to the website: http://www.valleyheights.ca/

The Church was started about 13 years ago and has grown lots in the passing years. We have received so many blessings from the Lord and hope to continue to minister to this community for many years to come.

It would be such a blessing if you would pray for our church. Pray that that the word of God would be preached and that it would be handled accurately so that we would be pleasing to the Lord. You can also pray that souls who hear the word of God would be saved from their sins and put their trust in the Saviour Jesus Christ.

Well I hope you have a great Sunday Morning Worshiping our King!

Blessings,
       Lucas C.
 

Sanctification

3.Sanctification.

In the third part of this mini series I am doing we will be looking at the sanctification of a believer.

The believer, after being justified at the moment of salvation instantly begins another process in his life. This is the process of  sanctification. Sanctification is a life-long process in which day by day, a believer grows more into the image of his Saviour Jesus Christ. His heart is tender towards the Word of God and he is a new man. Sanctification is complete when a believer enters heaven and sees Jesus. 1 John 3:2, - "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is."

Although we become more and more like Jesus Christ, it is no easy task. We have God's Spirit dwelling in us and He is a constant help against the battle with sin. (1 Corinthians 3:16) But just as the Holy Spirit dwells in us, our sinful flesh fights against the Spirit.  In the book of Galatians, Paul lays out how the spirit and the flesh relate to one and other. Galatians 5:17 says, "For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." Although the believer still sins, he is no longer under the power of sin.

Our flesh is like a snake with its head chopped off. When you chop off the snakes head, you have effectively killed the snake. But, even though the snake is dead, its natural, responses are not. A snake with its head chopped off can and will still bite you if you get close enough to its head! This is just like our sin. Although sin no longer reigns in us and we are dead to sin, we still can and do sin. The flesh has been conquered but it still bites! This is why as Christians we must be diligent to study the scriptures so we may distinguish between that which is good and evil.

Since we still fight against the daily temptations of sin, God has provided for us the ability to have victory over sin. Although sin will never be eradicated from us on this earth, we can still fight against it. The renewing of our minds with the word of God is the chief way for us to fight sin. Romans 12:2 says, - "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." The only way for us as believers to know what God's will is, is to go to His word and study how He desires us to live.

The process of sanctification is a battle! A battle against our sinful flesh and our desire to please ourselves. This process is life-long and life changing! Day by day, moment by moment we are becoming more and more like our Saviour Jesus Christ. He is the one who purchased us, by His death on the cross of Calvary. He is the one to whom we will go to see when we leave this earth. And we will become like Him when we see Him face to face. What a glorious day that will be!
      
Blessings,
       Lucas C.
 

Justification

2. Justification.

Justification is the moment in time when a person puts their trust in Jesus Christ. During this instant the Holy Spirit moves in the heart of the unbeliever and stirs it up to trust Jesus as Saviour. The believer is justified by his faith in Christ. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The timing is immediate. The unbeliever passes from being a slave of sin to a slave of Christ, a heart of stone becomes a heart of flesh, the dead man comes to life! Now he is justified, that is declared righteous, in the sight of his glorious God.

The new believer, has been accepted, as Christ was accepted, loved as Christ is loved, and is joined with Christ never to separated from Him. Not in this age or the one to come. Justification is the very beginning of salvation. The world as the believer has known it is totally changed. He now hates the passing pleasures of sin and loves the Word of God. Although he still sins, he has remorse and hatred for his own sin, not because it makes him feel bad, but rather that it offends his Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, the very one who died to redeem him from that sin.

From this point on, the believer now grows more and more into the image and likeness of Christ. Every day he will learn to understand the great love that saved him from a life of guilt and shame. At this great moment of salvation, the guilt of sin is removed and trust in the shed blood of Christ is given to him. The believer has access to every spiritual blessing in Christ, (Ephesians 1:3) and is absolutely complete in Christ their Saviour and King.

"We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ." - Colossians 1:28

 

Blessings

       Lucas C.     

Election

In the next four days or more, I am hopefully going to explain four major parts involved in the salvation and future of a Christian. These four things are biblical and I hope to lay them each out carefully by going to God's Word and explaining what each of them mean.

The four parts are election, justification, sanctification, and glorification. Today I'm going to look at the election of a believer.

 

1. Election.

Election is a biblical teaching that can be summed up into a sentence like this,  "Before the beginning of time, God, in his mercy chose people in this world to believe in Him and trust in His Son as their Saviour."

Ephesians 1:4 says, - "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the World, that we would be holy and blameless before Him..." The reason for God's choice is so that His glory can be put on display in and through our lives. As a Christian, the way I live tells unbelievers whether I really believe in a God and do His will. When I obey God's commands I show by my life that I love God and trust in His salvation in my life. When I disobey God, and live in sin, I show a rebellion against God. If I turn, and repent of my sin, Christ is faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9) so that His name would be honoured.

 

 Although it is based on God's gracious choice of us, election does not contradict the fact that man must turn to Christ and trust in Him as Lord and Saviour of their life. 2 Peter 3:9 says, - "The Lord is not slow about His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but everyone to come to repentance." Nevertheless, man cannot make the decision to be saved apart form the Holy Spirit of God moving in His heart. Everyone whom God calls to Himself comes to Him by faith , and all who come to Him in faith He has called, and He will receive them, because He called them to Himself.

 

The salvation of a man is by the unmerited favour and mercy of God in one's life. God grants to totally depraved sinners this gift of salvation. Not because they earned it or deserve it but because of His mercy and sovereign grace. Titus 3:5, "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit."

 

It also must be understood that election is not based on a random sovereignty of God but it is indeed His perfect will. Election goes hand in hand with God's other attributes such as love, justice, mercy, holiness, wisdom, grace, and omniscience. Romans 9:11-18 is a lengthy passage that speaks of God's sovereignty in the lives of man here on earth. Although it may seem unjust to our fallen human minds, we must remember that there is no injustice with God. May we rest in the knowledge that what God wills, is what is best for our lives. He is our creator and giver of every breath that we take. While we live on earth, let us strive to honour and glorify Him so that we will become pleasing in His sight.

 

Blessings,

       Lucas C.

 

 



The Gospel

What is the Gospel? The gospel is the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It encompasses all His teachings that are laid out in the Bible books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The gospel is what saves us from the reign and rule of sin in our lives. It gives us the freedom to obey Christ and to be free from sin. As a Christian, I can testify that the gospel has changed my me. Although I am still a sinner, Christ has forgiven me and given me His righteousness. I now have different desires. I have the desire to please Christ with my body, soul, and spirit. I have a desire to read God's Word and to see what God would have me to do.

For a long time we have had these four points of the gospel posted above our kitchen sink. They show us who God is, what man has become, what Christ has done for us, and how we should respond to Christ.

1. God is Holy!

Our God is a holy and awesome God. He is the creator of the universe and everything in it! (Genesis 1:1-31). He upholds all  things by his power, even our seemingly unimportant lives. Not only is God our creator He is also a holy God. (1 Samuel 2:2) As well as being perfect, He desires man to be perfect as well. God says in Matthew 5:48, "Therefore you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."  There is a problem though, in the beginning man sinned and rebelled against holy God. He is now separate from God but also guilty which brings us to,

2. Man is Guilty!

Every man has sinned grievously against God and His law. We are guilty and should be punished. God is our judge and we are criminals in His eyes. It is as if we have an immeasurable debt to pay and we are standing condemned to die unless we can pay it. We have to offer something to God so we can go free, but it is not something we can offer. The only way to pay for our sin is to be perfect! This we cannot attain. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We are without hope for we can't pay our fine, we can never be perfect. Now, here is where God's plan for mankind becomes amazing.

3. Christ is Saviour!

2000 years ago, Holy God sent to us, perfect man. Jesus Christ, God's very own Son came to earth and took on human flesh. He lived with us for 33 years and pointed mankind to God. He lived no ordinary life here on earth, He lived an absolutely perfect life! He never sinned, and never disobeyed what God's will was for Him. While on earth, mankind killed Him! He came to save us and we killed Him on a cross! But, it does not end with Christ's death. Instead, three days later, Jesus rose from the grave, defeating death and the power of sin! 40 days later He ascended to the right hand of God the Father and now He intercedes on behalf of those who call upon His name.
Now He says to all men that...

4. Sinners must Repent!

Now there is hope for us as sinful man. When we stand guilty before God, as sinners condemned to die, we can point to Christ as our Saviour. He lived a perfect life for us and died for us so that we may be set free! But we must choose this day whom we will serve. We must repent and turn from our sin to Christ putting our trust in Him. God says that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness Romans 10:9-10 says, "That is you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in sanctification."

Blessings,
       Lucas C.

Redeeming The Time

 The older I get, the faster time seems to go by. Although I'm only 17 and still hopefully have lots of my life ahead of me, I strongly feel the need to be making the most of the little time I have here on earth.

As God's Word says in Job 7:16, "...my days are but a breath."

We live such a short while in this earth, in light of eternity. Every day approximately 150,000 people  die on this earth. There is no reason that today could be our last. 

 Not only can our lives be snuffed out at any moment, as Christians we believe that Christ's return to this earth is imminent. Without warning us Christians will be caught up into the clouds and go to be with Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 4:17). So the question that I ask is this;

 

'Since it is appointed for every man to die, how should we as

Christians make the most of time to the glory of God?' 

The question stems from the verse in Ephesians 5:16 which says, "making the most of your time, because the days are evil." I'll give three reasons why Christians should "Redeem the Time" 

 

 

1. The Days are Evil.

 

The first reason comes straight from the verse we are looking at. Paul states in Ephesians 5:16, that we need to redeem our time, because the days are evil. The world that we live in is constantly bombarding us with sin, satan, and his schemes to get mankind to fall. Numerous temptations surround our everyday lives in all kinds of forms such as TV, Advertisements, books, movies, music, our sinful mind, and others. We have come to a place where we must be actively and constantly fighting sin so that our thoughts can remain pure in the sight of our Lord. We need to redeem time because the days are evil!

 

2. Time is easily wasted. 

 

Another reason we need to be aware of how we use our time to live is because our time is easily wasted. In our media saturated culture, it is easy for anyone, even myself, to be caught up in doing something on our computers, iPods, phones, or anything else. I myself have wasted precious hours when I could have been studying God's Word, or serving someone else. It is not that these things are wrong, it all depends on how much we use them. When they replace our time that is needed to do far more valuable things, they may have become an idol. Discretion is needed as time does seem to fly by when one looks through Facebook posts or reads the latest tweets from their friends. As Christians, we must remember to redeem our time because time is easily wasted.

 

3. Christ's Return is Imminent.

 

The third, final, and most important reason that Christians should redeem their time is because Jesus Christ, our sovereign Lord could return at any moment. 1 Peter 3:10, 12 says, - "But the day of the Lord will come like a  thief, I which the Heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up...looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!"

At any moment Christ could return to take us to be with Him! Since we know not the day or hour, we must live as though it could happen any time. Live as though Christ could be with you in a instant, in the blink of an eye. And with this thought have a desire to be Holy so that we may not be caught in sin when he returns. 1 John 2:28 says, "Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming."

What a terrible thing it would be to shrink away from my Saviour who gave His life for me on the cross. How can I live in sin and dishonour Christ? I must not! May we not be of those who shrink away because of sin but instead, may we boldly trust in the life of Christ and live in such a way that brings glory to His great name!

 

Blessings,

       Lucas C.   

          

 

  

After a Leave of Absence....

Since I haven't blogged in over 7 months, (wow) I think I'm going to start it up again. It will help me keep a daily/weekly devotional time which will be good for me. :)

So here goes my first post since December 2012.~

A reflection on Trust

 

As a Christian I find it such a blessing to be able to rest in God's sovereign power in my life. He knew the hour of my birth and He knows the hour of my death. Not only can I trust in His sovereignty, I can also know that He will keep safe because I am His Child! What peace their is in Christ! It reminds me of the Hymn:

 

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

Just to take Him at His Word,

 Just to rest upon His promise,

    and to know thus saith the Lord

 

Jesus, Jesus, How I trust Him

How I've proved Him o'er and o'er

Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus

O for grace to trust Him more

 

 

To know that one day we will be with Jesus our Savour is overwhelming! We can be confident that, as Romans 14:8 says, "for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's."

Although it is easy to loose sight of the Lord when we stumble and sin, we must remember that Christ will forgive those who repent, and obey Him. It was Jesus Himself who paid the punishment of a cruel death and took our guiltiness upon Himself. He received the scourging, bruises, and beatings that we, sinful man, deserved. He was nailed to the tree in our place so that we may have life in Him! Since He died for us, how much more will he keep us in Him till we meet Him in the clouds and become like Him! Even though He is not physically present on earth now, His Spirit Lives in us! (1 John 4:13)  May we not waver in faith but be steadfast, trusting the Lord and doing His will. May we be convinced with Paul in Romans 8:38-39,

 

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

      

Till we go to be with Him,

 

Blessings,

       Lucas C.