Justin Joseph

Believers often say 'live to please God, not man.' Problem: sinners can't please God. They should rather say 'be who you are in Christ,' keeping The Savior in the foreground. Christ pleased God FOR us. If you're in Christ, God IS pleased with you. That can't increase or decrease.

@espinoza_dy I believe the confession supports using those terms interchangeably. In my screen capture, you can see *emotions* marked with the annotation *a,* and *passions* underneath the paragraph next to it.

Now I’m wondering… What is emotion, and what it is not. When we say that God is without passions, do we mean that he has no emotions?

Brothers and sisters, why ought we rest in Christ? Because... He lived and died. He obeyed and paid. He finished his work, then sat down. That is the concept of rest in a nutshell. And because we're united to Him, his work is counted to us. We're on the way to final rest.

'Preachers' who hide God's smile for His people and the song God sings over His people will be held accountable by God. God wants His people to know that He delights in and rejoices over them. Brothers, sisters: it is life-changing to embrace that smile and song. See and hear!

"The Spirit prays in us because Jesus prays for us." - Justin Perdue

God gave the Israelites manna in the wilderness. It pointed to Jesus, the bread of life. The manna was temporary. The Israelites died. Many, sadly, in unbelief. Brothers and sisters, we believe and have received Jesus. Even if we [physically] die, we will [ultimately] live.

*14:15

John 14:5 1 John 4:19 Those verses say essentially the same thing.

@1689Reformed Amen to every word of that.

@ReclaimingRest I have seen good versions of it and bad versions of it, but give me the faithful who saint who reaps the meaning out of the Scriptures over a vain boaster who presents his or her memorized verses like a trophy.

I believe messaging about Scripture memorization is mostly hype. It can be good, but it's not the be-all-end-all of meditation and pursuing holiness. Many first-century Christians didn't have personal copies, and were illiterate anyway. They depended on hearing while gathered.

"We're setting out for the place The LORD promised, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well, for The LORD has promised good things to Israel." - Numbers 10:29 Brothers and sisters, The LORD is our Father. Bank on His promises. He won't disappoint.

"When you enter into battle in your land against an adversary who is attacking you, sound short blasts on the trumpets, and you will be remembered before The LORD your God and be saved from your enemies." - Numbers 10:9 Each time The LORD 'remembered,' He acted redemptively.

Pollyanna Christianity and Lamentations are mutually exclusive.

I've memorized more Scripture being encouraged and comforted by Its Gospel messaging over time and meditating on it, than I ever did using traditional methods. I believe traditional means are little different than multiplication tables. The why is more important than how.

@SteveMeisterVDM I appreciate the suggestion.

@ReclaimingRest I would look into the auditory memory techniques in the ancient world, which were quite impressive by our standards and abilities today.

Contrary to mainstream teaching, Scripture memorization doesn't guarantee the defeat of temptation. It can be good, but no [hyped up] 'discipline' guarantees it. (Colossians 2:16-19) Brothers and sisters, the grace of God alone causes us to defeat temptation. (Titus 2:11-14)

Jesus quoted Scripture while he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. Yet the point of the narrative isn't that temptation is defeated via Scripture memorization. It's that Jesus is The Savior who succeeded where Adam and Israel failed. Christians, be encouraged by that.

Brothers, sisters: we can't cleanse ourselves from sin. (Psalm 19:12, 51:2; Proverbs 20:9) Only Jesus could, and did. (Ezekiel 27:23; John 3:18, 2 Peter 1:9, 1 John 1:7) In the same vein, we can't transform ourselves. Only Jesus can, and does. (Romans 12:1, 2 Corinthians 3:18)