Merry Christmas From the Eatons

I hope you all have a great Christmas remembering the birth of our Savior.

Contentment

A man needs very little of this world's goods to carry him through his pilgrimage, until he comes to his home--until he comes to heaven. A little will satisfy the demands of nature; though nothing will satisfy a man's lusts!

"I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content--whether well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need." Philippians 4:11-12

A Christian, in the midst of all his worldly delights, comforts,and entertainments, says, "Oh these are not the delights, the comforts, the contentments which my soul looks for, which my soul expects and hopes to enjoy. I look and hope . . .
for choicer delights,
for sweeter comforts,
for more satisfying contentments,
for more durable riches!

A Christian's motto always is, or always should be, "I hope for better things! I hope for better things than any the world can give to me, or than any that Satan can take from me!"

"They admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. Instead, they were longing for a better country --a heavenly one." Hebrews 11:13, 16

(Thomas Brooks, "A String of Pearls" 1657)

This Is Not Our Resting-Place

This life is full of trials, full of troubles, and full of changes. Sin within, and Satan and the world without, will keep a Christian from rest, until he comes to rest in the bosom of Christ. The life of a Christian is a race--and what rest have those who are still a-running their race? The life of a Christian is a warfare--and what rest have those who are still engaged in a constant warfare? The life of a Christian is the life of a pilgrim--and what rest has a pilgrim, who is still a-traveling from place to place? The fears, the snares, the cares, the changes, etc., which attend believers in this world, are such that will keep them from taking up their rest here. A Christian hears that word always sounding in his ears, "Arise, for this is not your resting-place, because it is polluted." Micah 2:10. A man may as well expect to find heaven in hell--as expect to find rest in this world! Rest is a jewel very desirable on earth; but we shall not wear it in our bosoms until we come to heaven.

(Thomas Brooks, "A String of Pearls" 1657) Grace Gems

Tending Our Pleasant Plants

Isa 17:10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips: In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.

The world in which we live is full of distractions that pull us away from our Savior. The lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the pride of life can easily ensnare us causing us to place our focus somewhere other than our Lord. The problem lies in the fact that when we take our eyes off Christ and place them on the things of this world, we find that all or labor and work is in vain.

There are several interesting things pointed out to us in this passage. This first one is that when we forget the God of our salvation, and are not mindful of the rock of our strength, what we begin to focus on will actually be pleasant. As this passage indicates we “plant pleasant plants,” Our focus away from our God will always seem pleasant at first. We find something that brings us joy and pleasure or at least we hope it will bring us joy and pleasure and we begin to put our time and effort in that direction. But we must realize that the slips we plant are strange. Slips in this context were plant cuttings that would be put into the ground to bring forth growth. When the passage calls them strange, it carries with it the idea that they are foreign. Foreign to what God would have us be living for.

The passage goes on to say that we shall make the plant grow, and the seed to flourish. This shows us that hard work and effort go into making these plants grow. Crops that are planted in areas where the climate and soil are not fit for that specific crop will not flourish without special care. And so we begin to place our efforts on growing this crop. And as the passage seems to say there will even be success. Our diligence on these pleasant plants will spring forth a harvest, which may even bring us some temporary satisfaction, but the passage goes on to warn us that it will not last. In the day of grief and of desperate sorrow it will be a heap, offering us nothing of real value.

Times of prosperity and ease have a way of causing us to forget the God of our salvation. We become no longer mindful of the rock of our strength as we take comfort in some of the earthy blessings God has given us. Time of adversity can also do this to us if we become too focused on finding worldly comfort for our struggles.

What are you living for? Where is your hope and strength found? Do you spend all your time taking care of the earthly issues of this life? Are you constantly focusing on relationships, business, and recreation and the pleasures they can bring?

If so we have perverted our way, and we are living for earthly comforts which will end up being a heap that will be destroyed when trouble comes. Without doing all things for the glory of God, our pleasant plants will leave us empty, and we will cry out “vanity of vanities” when it is all said and done.

Let us be like those who are willing to suffer affliction and be done with the passing pleasures of sin and serve the living God. When we do this, we exchange the imitation for the genuine, because in the rock of our strength we will never be let down in the time of trouble. For nothing that is done in Christ’s name will be in vain.

-Doug Eaton-

Ready My Heart

Ready my heart for the birth of Immanuel

Ready my soul for the Prince of Peace

Heap the straw of my life

For His body to lie on

Light the candle of hope

Let the child come in



Alleluia, alleluia Alleluia,

Christ the Savior is born



Mine is the home that is poor and is barren

Mine is the stable of cold and stone

Break the light to each corner

Of doubt and of darkness

Now the Word is made flesh

For the birth of me



-Steve Bell-

A Shepherd's Message

And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. Luke 2:18

What would it have been like to hear the shepherd’s testimony? Though we don’t exactly know what they were saying, it may have been something similar to this…

There we were out in the middle of a pasture, all the sheep where sleeping. Then all of the sudden the sheep began to stir. We didn’t know what was going on. Then we saw them, the Angels who came to tell us that born this day in the city of David, was a child who is Christ the Lord…the long awaited Messiah.

Prophets have long been prophesying His coming. But what I can’t believe is that the Angels came to tell us; shepherds. Why us? Most people despise us, and see us as dirty and not worthy anything, and we are dirty. The only thing I can think is that this Messiah is willing to save anyone, even those like myself the dirty and despised. But God Himself was born today and the Angels came to tell us. Not only that, but the prophets called Him the "Good Shepherd."

What is most humbling is what the prophet Isaiah said. He said the messiah will be wounded for our transgressions, and be bruised for our sins: and it will be by His stripes that we will be healed. I’m not sure what all this means, but to think that this little child, whom I just saw, is the one who is going to redeem His people, only makes me love Him more. Maybe that’s why when I saw Him, all I could do was bow down in adoration. Some people may only see a child, but I see my Savior and my King.

Make sure you tell everyone, HE’S HERE, THE MESSIAH HAS COME!!!

-Doug Eaton-

Hope Shone Forth From an Infant Child

Hope shone forth from an infant child.
In the manger that cold dark night
In humility, God himself appeared mild.
Yet His plan moved forth in all its might.

Salvation to humanity was born
The angels could not help but sing
This Infant Child would bear our scorn
This newborn Sovereign King.

Helpless was mankind in sin
Until the star shone forth its light
Our salvation to begin
Bringing hope to the contrite

The sin we bear has shown us guilty
Under the righteousness of God
Our defense is proven faulty
As He sees through our façade

But this Child would fulfill
This law that we could not
And by our sin, His blood we’d spill
to pay our debt and take our lot

There is no guilt, which can’t be cleansed
The darkest stains can be removed
When His Grace has been dispensed
By Jesus Christ, in Him approved

Let us worship the infant child
Born, a life, to set us free
By His grace we are beguiled
Infant born of sovereign decree


-Doug Eaton-

The Trinity and the Nature of Personhood

Hey Everyone,

This past Friday we did a radio show on the Trinity and the nature of personhood. If you want to check it out you can download it here.

Or you can go to the itunes store and search under podcasts for apologetics.com.

God bless,

Doug

Truths Exhibited by the Crucifixion

The crucifixion of Christ
(Archibald Alexander)

The truths which are exhibited in a clear and strong light by the crucifixion of Christ, are such as these:

1. The infinite evil of sin, which in order to its pardon, required such a sacrifice.

2. The holiness and justice of God, which would not allow sin to pass without full evidenceof the divine disapprobation, and His inflexible purpose to visit it with deserved punishment.

3. The wisdom of God, in contriving a method of salvation by which His own glory would be promoted in the eternal salvation of hell-deserving sinners. This wisdom is chiefly manifest in the incarnation of the Son of God, by which the divine and human natures are united in one person.

4. But the most wonderful exhibition of the cross is the mercy of God, the love of God to sinners;such love as never could have been conceived of, had it not been manifest by the gift of his own Son!

Grace Gems (choice electronic books, sermons & quotes)