In 1 John 1:9 we read this brilliant promise, “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Because of Jesus atoning work we – sinners – can be forgiven. The stipulation is we must confess our sin; we must humbly acknowledge our...
Category: Josh’s Thoughts
Psalm 19 – Enlightening the Eyes
Psalm 19 extols six aspects of the Word of the LORD. Personally I find this section (v 7-9) to be one of the most poetically beautiful paragraphs in all of Scripture. Today I want to briefly focus in on one of those aspects: “The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes”. To say...
Holiness of God
John’s message is this: God is Light (1 John 1:5). That message has been interpreted a few different ways, but I do believe the primary understanding is a reference to His moral purity or holiness. This is the point Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes: I say it with reverence that before I begin to think and consider...
Nicene Creed – An Important Moment in Church History
During this past Sunday’s sermon – 1 John 1:1-4 – I briefly mentioned the Nicene Creed and it’s importance in establishing the humanity and deity of Jesus. Though we are 1700 years removed from this council I am grateful for their defense regarding the person of Jesus. Daniel Akin summarizes the situation well: One final...
Hinderances to Fellowship
Recently at Meadowview we were working our way through 1 John 1.1-4 and discussing our fellowship with the Father, Son, and Saints. This fellowship (partnership, shared life, shared commitment) is often hindered and therefore limits our joy. As I was preparing I noted these helpful diagnostic paragraphs from Lloyd-Jones on various hinderances to our fellowship:...
Psalm 11 and God’s Eyelids
As I was reading Psalm 11 this morning I noticed something unusual in verse 4 – “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.” Notice anything unusual? For me it was the, “his eyelids” phrase. I get that the LORD’s...
CrossCon24
This week I had the privilege of leading a group of young adults (including two of my own) to CrossCon24. Two years ago we took a group and joined 5,000 others. This year we joined 11,000 others. That’s right 11,000, 18-25 year olds gathered to be challenged to make their life count by making Christ...
Knowing God Leads to Prayer – My Desire for 2024
Lloyd-Jones captures well what I desire to work on this year - to more truly, more personally know and love my Savior. "The ultimate test of my understanding of the Scriptural teaching is the amount of time I spend in prayer. As theology is ultimately the knowledge of God, the more theology I know, the...