Christmas, is over...or is it?

Christmas is over or is it? For most of us, the tree and decorations have been dismantled, boxed up and put back in the attic or storage for another year. Christmas 2013 is over….or is it? For the Christian should Christmas in a sense ever be “over”? The Christmas holiday is a special time to sing Christmas songs and to celebrate Christ’s birth in a manager. Shouldn’t we consider and remember His birth the rest of the year? This particular Christmas season has caused me to ponder more about that fact that the helpless little baby born in a feeding trough was and is King, Lord, and God. What a privilege and responsibility to be Jesus’ parents. In the various accounts of Jesus’ birth, you cannot help but notice the godly character of both Joseph and Mary. They were both very simple people, not at all rich yet they together raised the Son of God. When you think about earthly kings, they have lavish surroundings and have privileges that common people were not able to access. Think of Moses and the education that he received being the prince of Egypt. Jesus was raised with none of the pomp and prestige of a king (other than the gifts that were presented to him by the magi around his second birthday). When you think of a king’s son, he rarely has to do any menial work. Not so with Jesus. Jesus was trained by his father to be a carpenter. He worked with his hands. He got dirty! I think when he was born During the month of December, I read though Matthew and was reminded that his whole life was characterized by humility. He never looked or even acted as the King of Israel. He was opposed constantly in his ministry and surrounded by men who at times just did not understand Him. At the end of his life, he was betrayed by one of his disciples and was hung unceremoniously on a cross for a crime that he did not commit. In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul writes that Christ took the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. I kept coming back to the fact that He is God, always has been God. From the beginning of time, he was God when everything was created. He was God at His birth in the manger. He was God at His crucifixion willingly being spit upon and nailed to a cross, forsaken by God the Father. He did all this that He might die that we may live if we repent and put our trust in Him. It should change our perspective as we endure trials. Can they compare to what Christ experienced? Never… While holidays like Christmas and Easter provide special times to remember Christ and what he did, we should remember and be an aware of who he is and what he did every day. As we consider these things, it will change the way we live. How do we remember Christ, the God man? Read the Scriptures every day. Read through all the Gospel accounts and consider God who was born in a manger.

Snapshots from the Very First Christmas: A Look at Joseph, A Righteous Man

The Christmas story is familiar to most people, Christians and non-Christians.  We know the story about Mary being overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and trekking to Bethlehem where they had the baby Jesus in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.  How well do we know the main characters in the first Christmas?  Let's take some snapshots from the first Christmas and look at several of the major characters in the familiar story of Jesus' miraculous birth.

Both Joseph and Mary were common people.  Joseph was a carpenter and Mary was a young woman from a simple background.  They were normal every day people with a strong faith in the Lord.  Marriages were arranged in their culture.  The Bible does not indicate their ages when they were engaged but it is safe to say that Mary was probably in her mid to late teens and Joseph was probably in his late teens at the most. 

When Joseph was informed of Mary’s pregnancy, it put Joseph in an awkward position.   Scripture does not indicate was his initial reaction was to the news.  We do not know if he was upset from Matthew’s account, Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace Mary.   Joseph very much loved Mary.  It is likely that Mary was shunned due to being pregnant outside of wedlock and probably was not viewed very highly by those around her.  Joseph, though, did not want to disgrace her.  He knew the character of Mary and knew that she came from a righteous family.  Her premarital pregnancy was out of character.  It made no sense.  According to Deuteronomy 22:20-31, a woman should be stoned if she was found to be pregnant out of marriage.  Mary should have been stoned but due to the laxness of the Jewish theocracy and because they were under Roman law in Joseph’s day, there were two other options.  One, Joseph could make a public example of her by charging her with adultery in a public court.  She would be shamed in front of everyone and her reputation would be permanent ruined.  A second option was that he could quietly write a bill of divorce before two or three witnesses and end their relationship.  There would be no fanfare and nobody would need to know.  Mary could simply go away some place and secretly bear and raise her child.  Joseph considered what to do.  The word “consider” (in Matthew 1:20) can be translated from the Greek to also mean ponder or reflect upon.  Joseph, in being a righteous man but also one in love with Mary, he likely considered and prayed about this for some time.  He did not want to make a rash decision.  He may have even asked others for counsel considering the seriousness of this situation.  While Joseph mulled over his options, he fell asleep and received the dream from God.  Mary had no way of protecting her reputation and was at the mercy of Joseph.  She could have tried to explain what happened to him, but would he believe her?  There had never been a virgin birth before.  The angel’s words must have provided Joseph with a great deal of relief and comfort.  Not only could Joseph go ahead and take Mary as his wife with honor and righteousness, but he also could rejoice at the privilege of being allowed to bring up God’s own Son.  Joseph believed God.  Would we expect anything else considering God chose before the beginning of time who would be Jesus’ parents? 

I think Joseph is an example of man who wanted to do what was right and when God spoke to Him in a vision, he obeyed without wavering.   Do we take God at His Word, as Joseph did or do we trust our own thinking in making decisions?   All of us are sinners and therefore will never follow the Lord fully in our sinful flesh but for those know Him, we should desire and strive to follow His Word more daily and strive to take Him at His Word.  His Word is always true! 

 

In the next blog, Lord willing, we will look at Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  It is hard to believe that this Sunday will be the first day of December.  Now that Thanksgiving is over (except for the wonderful leftovers) and Black Friday is almost a memory, there are 26 more shopping days until Christmas.  I would like to suggest a few great Christian resources available for your consideration. 

1)      The Biggest Question DVD

The people at Wretched Radio put this together to explain what it means to be saved and how to be saved.  It is a video tract and is great to hand out to family, friends and even co-workers.  You can buy these in 10, 20 and even 100 quantity at discounted prices.  What better gift to give someone during the Christmas season.  It features R.W. Glenn, Kirk Cameron and Todd Friel talking about different aspects of salvation to help you to repent and turn to the Lord.  There are a number of extra videos on this DVD as well worth watching so it is worthwhile even for Christians.  You can get the video at the Wretched Radio store at http://www.wretchedradio.com/store/catalog.cfm?id=48

 

2)      God’s Gift of Christmas by John MacArthur

I got this book and few years ago and read it every year at Christmas time.  John MacArthur explores Christ’s birth look at Scripture and looks at each of the main characters involved in the story and the different names of Jesus in the Bible.  This is another great gift for both Christians and non-Christmas.  MacArthur does a great job of looking at what Scripture says about Jesus.  You can get this book at Amazon.com

 

3)      A Tale of The Sons by John MacArthur

 This is probably one of my favorite books by John MacArthur.  This is a verse by verse study of what has been popularly penned the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  MacArthur looks at how this story is more about the father than about the sons.  This book is written in a way that is gripping like any novel and is hard to put down once you start reading.  After reading this book, my view of the Lord increased and better understood this parable.  You can also get this book at Amazon.com.

 

4)      Voices from the Past by  Richard Rushing

I was given this book a few years by a church friend.  This would make a great devotional.  It is one page exerpts from many of the Puritans like Thomas Watson and Richard Baxter for each day of the year  It is very insightful and would be great for any believer in Christ.  The selections are very challenging messages.  This book can be found also at Amazon.com

Two Paths:  Life and Destruction (Psalm 1)

 

Psalm 1:1-6  How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!  ² But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.  ³ He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.  ⁴ The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.  ⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.  ⁶ For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.

 

Our lives are full of decisions.  Each of these decisions leads us down a particular course or path.  We decide to take certain classes in a particular field of study in hopes that when we graduate we will be able to get a job in that area.   We court or date people to find out if he or she is the person we should marry.  Decisions that we make have ramifications in this life but some of these decisions have ramifications beyond our present life.

Psalm 1 is a very familiar psalm to most and probably a fair number of us have memorized parts or the whole chapter.  It has been referred to as the preface psalm because its subject is the theme of most of the remaining psalms.  There are 2 paths of life – one leads to blessedness and the other to destruction.   . 

 

The psalm divides up nicely into 2 sections:

        I.            The Way of the Godly (v. 1-3)

     II.            The Way of the Ungodly person (v. 4-6)

 

Let’s look first at the way of the godly in verses 1-3.  Verse 1 starts out phrase How blessed.  We want to be happy but go to the wrong sources – our family, entertainment, and even ourselves.  God wants us to be joyful.  In the Westminster Confession, the first question asks what the main or chief end of man is.  The answer is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.   True happiness is only found in the Lord.  When we attempt to find happy elsewhere it is futile (Ecclesiastes 2).

 Here is what a few passages of Psalms say about true happiness:

Psalm 16:11  ¹¹ You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

 Psalm 21:6   ⁶ For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.

 Psalm 34:8  ⁸ Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Verse 1 describes what a godly man is not using 3 verb/actions:

1.  They do not walk in the counsel of the wicked – the godly person does not follow the world’s wisdom.  He refuses the man centered view that places man in the center of the universe and entices him to live by his own standards of morality and pursuits of pleasure.  His delight is in the Word of God.  To walk in the counsel of the wicked goes completely contrary to Scripture.  To walk refers to the series of steps an ungodly person takes in life, the decisions he makes, and the direction he pursues.  It is a conscious decision.

2.   They do not stand in the path of sinners.  The godly person refuses to participate in the carnal activities and sensual lifestyles of the world.  They ignore the urges to please and indulge themselves.  To stand describes the commitments a person makes to various causes.  There are many temptations around us that can overtake us.  The godly man fights and resists them.  It does not mean he is always successful but he is more successful in the choices that he or she makes.

3.      They do not sit in the seat of mockers.  They refuse to have close relationships with those who blaspheme and scoff at God.  In 1 Corinthians 15:33, it says that bad company corrupts good character.  To sit represents the settled attitudes of the heart, the fixed disposition of a person’s heart.

 

There is a progression from walking (making an initial decision) to standing (participating in the sin) to sitting (settled and fixed).  It is reminder of the power of sin and the need to avoid it and not get to get tempted by its lure. 

In verses 2-3, there is a description of the godly person.  The godly person delights in the law of God.  Those who delight or find pleasure in the God’s Word will meditate on it day and night.   He will have true joy in reading and applying God’s Word.  He has a great hunger to better know the Word.  His mind is set on the truths of the Bible and he focuses in on it throughout the day.  God’s Word is 66 love letters that were written.  I met my wife on an online dating website.  She was living in California and I was living in Virginia.  We corresponded via email every day.  When we finally met, because of the emails and phone calls we were not complete strangers.  We knew each other pretty well.  Imagine if my wife-to-be wrote to me and I never read her emails and responded to them.  What kind of a relationship would I have with her?  I would never know her.  How much more is in with God and His Word.  We have the privilege in the U.S. that have multiple copies of God’s Word and to meet and fellowship together.  Other countries do not have that privilege.  Bibles are hard to come by and are even banned in certain countries.  We need to yearn for God’s Word just like a deer pants for water (Psalm 42).

In verse 3, the psalmist provides a word picture of a godly person as a tree planted by water (

What do we know about trees?

a)     God created and planted them – In the same way, no one becomes a Christian on their own.  God regenerates and brings a person to repentance and faith in Christ and it is not based on good works.  (Titus 3:5-7)

b)     A tree needs water to grow and thrive – A Christian needs God’s Word daily to help him/her grow and mature – to refresh, revive, renew, cleanse and satisfy. (Psalm 19:7-10)

c)     A tree yields fruit in season – You can tell a Christian by his/her fruits.  Are you exhibiting more fruits of the Spirit each day? (Galatians 5:22-23)   Do you have a greater hatred of sin as we mature in Christ?  A believer in Christ will exhibit fruit.  Believers grow differently just like trees which is an important reminder not to try to compare our growth with another people.

d)     A good and healthy tree produces leaves that do not wither – If a tree is firmly rooted in the streams of water, it will not die in time of drought.  How do you react to trials/temptations?  Do they draw you closer to the Lord or do you handle it in your flesh?  A true believer in Christ will prosper in whatever he does. (Philippians 4:4-7, Psalm 112)            

Now, we have a pretty good picture of the godly person.  Let us now turn to what characterizes the ungodly person in verses 4-6.

In verse 4, the wicked person is compared to chaff.  Chaff is the part of the grain that is worthless and is of no value (Psalm 14:1-4, Psalm 53:6, Psalm 56:8).  Before you can hear the good news, you need to know the bad news.  What do we need to be saved from?  Have you kept the Ten Commandments?  Before Christ saves us, we were all haters of God.  We disobeyed and did not love Him.  We are children of wrath, dead in our trespasses (Ephesians 2:1-9).  It is only by the grace of God that anyone can be saved from his/her sins.  Chaff is light and the wind can blow them away – there is no foundation.  When trials come, the wicked person is blow around.  He/she tries to do things in their strength but do not prosper.

In verse 5, the wicked person will not stand in the Day of Judgment.  They will not have God’s acceptance when they stand before Him in the last day.  Instead, they will be exposed for who they really are. They will be justly condemned for their sin, sentenced to eternal punishment in hell.  The ungodly deserve hell.  They live for self and their own pleasure and do not think about the One who gave them life.  They do not live their days to glory and honor God. God will sift believers from nonbelievers. (Revelation 20:11-15, Revelation 15:3-4).  The Word is clear that judgment will come (Hebrews 9:27, Hebrews 2:1-3)

God is withholding His judgment until all His elect have come to repentance (2 Peter 3:8-12).  His instrument of declaring salvation is through preaching the gospel.  Are you praying for and declaring the gospel to those around you?

In verse 6, the ungodly path leads to destruction.  The ungodly person will spend his eternity in hell.

Revelation 20:12-15   ¹² And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.  ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.  ¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.  ¹⁵ And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Do we think about hell and that some will spend eternity there? 

What will heaven be like?

Revelation 22:1-7  Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,  ² in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  ³ There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;  ⁴ they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.  ⁵ And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.  ⁶ And he said to me, "These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.  ⁷ "And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book."

 In reality, all of us are ungodly.  In Psalm 14:1, its says there no one who does good.  Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  I always enjoy the old Dragnet shows where they show the criminal getting his or her mug shot holding their sign with the prisoner number.  All of us are sentenced criminals who deserve hell.  Yet, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us and took the penalty that resulted in his death.  He took our place on the cross.  Christ calls people to “repent and believe in the Gospel: (Mark 1:15).  In order to be saved, we need to confess our sins – to agree we are sinners and ask for forgiveness and repent (turn around).  If you have not done so, I would encourage you to do it today.  If you have any questions regarding what it means to be a believer in Christ, please email me at wretchedsagers@gmail.com

Faith in action – Christian response to the Government Shutdown

 

A week has nearly passed by and still no resolution to the budget debacle.  Both sides are blaming the other side for the shutdown.  The shutdown is also affecting government contractors.  I received news on Friday that 1,000 employees from my company thus far are on furlough as a result of the shutdown.  There is no doubt that there is a lot of frustration over the lack of action and concern about how long this may continue.  I have been pondering how Christians can respond to the Government Shutdown and have come up with 3 thoughts that I wanted to share.

1.       We need to be praying for our leaders.  It is easier for us to criticize, write and share critical things on Facebook, etc then to pray.  I, for one, do not pray as I should for those who are leading our country.    We are exhorted to pray for those in authority over us, regardless of whether we agree with them or not.

 

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV)  First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,  ² for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  ³ This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,  ⁴ who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

Romans 13:1 (ESV)  Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

 

2.       God is still on the throne and still sovereign.  The shutdown did not catch God off guard.  He allowed it for His good purposes – perhaps that more people would repent and put their trust in Him and perhaps to remind believers that our hope is in the Lord and not in government.  Whatever your political affiliations, I think we can agree government is not doing a very good job.   The U.S. operates each year with a budget deficit larger than the past one.  Our health care is broken.  Many of our roads and highways are in need of repair.  Our education system is lagging far behind other countries.  Government cannot bail us out of all the problems.  It is too large and too inefficient.  God though is bigger than our problems.  He wants us to trust Him.  He does not want us to worry.

Psalm 65:5-13  ⁵ By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas;  ⁶ the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might;  ⁷ who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples,  ⁸ so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.  ⁹ You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.  ¹⁰ You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.  ¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.  ¹² The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,  ¹³ the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

Psalm 135:6-7  ⁶ Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.  ⁷ He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

In Proverbs 10:3, God promises the righteous that they will not hunger.  If you have difficulty with anxiety, let me encourage you to listen to a sermon by R.W Glenn, pastor of Redeemer Bible Church.  I found this to be very encouraging and applicable.

3.       This will create opportunities to minister to those affected by the shutdown.  We can pray for them, maybe share a meal with them, and share the gospel with them if they don't know the Lord.

I am curious on how you have responded and if others have been furloughed.  Please feel free to post your thoughts and ideas!

 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Book review of What Every Man Wishes His Father Had Told Him

What does it mean to be man?  This is the main question that Byron Yawn tackles in the book What Every Man Wishes His Father Had Told Him.  Byron Yawn is pastor of Community Bible Church in Nashville, TN and is a father to 3 children.  Byron, himself, came from a broken home.  His father, a professional drummer, never made the transition to fatherhood when Byron and his sister were born.  His mother, after collecting enough money, left him to pursue his drumming career.  His mom remarried a doctor.  His “replacement” dad was like a biological father to Byron.  In fact, Byron never considered him as stepdad but as a dad.  He unconditionally loved him.  His stepdad and mom, some time after their marriage, came to know the Lord.  It was through his parents’ example and love for him that Bryon would turn to Christ.

As a father of a 2 year old energetic boy, I still fatherhood pretty daunting.  I have had the opportunity to read a few books on parenting and one on being the leader of the household.  This book, though, is different.  It is about what should characterize a godly man as he raises his children and leads his family.  Byron can be pretty blunt and convicting in this book but balances it nicely with humor (the “don’t be that guy” list is pretty funny).  It leaves you a little exposed in a good way (I am thankful the chapter on grace was early in the book J).  It is written in a style that I think men will understand.  Any man, young or old can find something to apply or perhaps even teach to others.  The book starts out with a foreword from John MacArthur where he describes that in Biblical time adulthood started earlier than it does today.  Boys would celebrate Bar Mitzvah at the age of 13 when it was formally recognized that they were men.  There was no concept of adolescence at that point.  Adolescence seems to have taken hold in the 19^th century and the age continued to rise every year or so into the 20^th and now the 21^st century.   Today, manhood is often discouraged while society as become more feminized.  There is a growing wave of fatherless households and of irresponsible fathers.  A number of young men are addicted to video games and other online entertainment. 

In reading the book, I was reminded that true manhood is found in the person of Jesus Christ.  In the chapter on grace, the author exhorts his readers to never get beyond gospel.  I can only love others because of Christ’s love for me.   When we remember the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross, it compels us to live selflessly.  When we try to live according to our abilities and standard, we come up short.  We can frustrated and angry.  This chapter, in my opinion, is the hinge on which the rest of chapters rest upon. 

There were a lot of things in the book that I knew but needed another reminder.  True masculinity is being a servant.  The author points back to the Jesus when he shared the last supper with his disciples, washing each of their feet.   Being a Biblical man is not going to be very popular.  It is probably not going to be very exciting.    It is the small things that go under the radar that show what a real man is.  He pointed to the example of Robertson McQuilken, former president of Columbia Bible Seminary, who left his position at its peak to take care of his wife who had Alzheimer’s.  There is another chapter on being comfortable in yourself – in your strengths and weaknesses, in the way God designed you.  We too often try to be what we are not.  He uses the illustration of a man combing over stray strands of hair on his head to try to make it look like he is not bald.  Everyone knows what he is trying to do, but he is to hide his baldness.  Another chapter touched on accountability (not the accountability groups where men all shared their struggles).  He differentiates between buddies (acquaintances that you get together with the watch football) and friends that you can be honest towards and be open up with one another about your difficulties and successes.   Manhood and fatherhood is not for the weak hearted.  There is a balance in the chapters in the book with taking the initiative to lead, being real and sincere and loving and dying to self.   

This book is a great resource and one of those books I will refer to again and again.  It is a timely book in a culture when more men do not understand what defines a Biblical man. What Every Man Wishes His Father Told Him would make a great book for young men, and they can read it together with their dads.

Just a note for the ladies, Byron Yawn and his wife have written another book called What Every Women Wishes His Father Told Him.  They are both available at amazon.com.

Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God alone)!

Why we chose the blog name “Wretched Sagers”

First, thank you for visiting the blogsite!

 

Wretched Sagers does seem like a strange name for a blogsite so thought it appropriate for my initial post to give an explanation. 

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word wretched means “deeply affected, dejected, or distressed in body or mind, very poor in quality or ability”.  In Romans 7:18-23, Paul describes a spiritual battle going on inside of him and inside of all who are Christians.  He is battling to do what is right.  He sees himself as not a good person.  In Romans 7:24, he declares himself a wretched man but thanks God for His comfort and that He has victory over sin through Jesus Christ.  The Bible talks a lot about us not being good.  In Psalm 14:3, the psalmist declares that none are good.  In Jeremiah 17:9, God Himself says that the heart is deceitful and desperately sick, who can understand it?  In Romans 3:23, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  The apostle John calls anyone who says he has no sin a liar in 1 John 1:8.  Since the fall of man as recorded in the book of Genesis, all have sinned – all are wretched sinners and are lost according to the Bible.   That can sound pretty depressing.  There is hope found in the person of Jesus Christ - Christ died and was raised from the dead that we might have victory over sin and death if we repent and put our trust in Him.  By seeing ourselves as wretched, it helps us to appreciate the cross and to remind us of our daily need for a Savior.  That is the reason for the name – as a reminder to keep my eyes on the cross and that I need the Lord. 

If anyone reading this blog does not know Christ, I would encourage you to consider Him and repent from your sins and turn to Him today!    If interested in learning more, please feel free to write me.