TAXES!!!

"There is no such thing as a good tax." -Winston Churchill

It is tax time!!! We all have to pay taxes, no matter how stressful it is, and no matter how painful it is, because we are commanded as followers of Christ to pay it. Man, wouldn't it be great if Jesus just said "Render nothing unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, because they don't really belong to him. It ALL BELONGS TO THE LORD!" Unfortunately our Lord chose not to say this, and instead has commanded us to submit to the lawful authority of the government placed over us... Therefore I say, "Yes Lord, I will pay my taxes..." or as our brother James might say "Oh alright..."

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RESOLVE!

"Resolved..." -Jonathan Edwards

So I recently have taken an interest in historical church figures like Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, George Whitfield, etc. and I came upon this man named Jonathan Edwards.

All I have to say is...Jonathan Edwards is the man! When he was in his late teens to early twenties he wrote a resolution to himself. The resolution contained a list of 70 resolutions that he had accumulated in the span of about 6 years. I chose some of my favorite resolutions from his list:

BEING SENSIBLE THAT I AM UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING WITHOUT GOD' S HELP, I DO HUMBLY ENTREAT HIM BY HIS GRACE TO ENABLE ME TO KEEP THESE RESOLUTIONS, SO FAR AS THEY ARE AGREEABLE TO HIS WILL, FOR CHRIST' S SAKE. (he wrote this opening statement in the beginning of the list)

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

8. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.

10. Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom, and of hell.

24. Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then, both carefully endeavor to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.

32. Resolved, to be strictly and firmly faithful to my trust, that that, in Proverbs 20:6, A faithful man who can find? may not be partly fulfilled in me.

41. Resolved, to ask myself, at the end of every day, week, month and year, wherein I could possibly, in any respect, have done better.

43. Resolved, never, henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God' s; agreeable to what is to be found in Saturday, January 12, 1723.

52. I frequently hear persons in old age, say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age.

56. Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

63. On the supposition, that there never was to be but one individual in the world, at any one time, who was properly a complete Christian, in all respects of a right stamp, having Christianity always shining in its true luster, and appearing excellent and lovely, from whatever part and under whatever character viewed: Resolved, to act just as I would do, if I strove with all my might to be that one, who should live in my time.

67. Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what am I the better for them, and what I might have got by them.

Pretty intense right?

Jonathan Edwards later on became one of the forefront leaders in the First Great Awakening. His life and list of resolutions makes one ponder "What the heck am I doing with my life?!" I hope this post will be an encouragement and challenge to the GGCEM family!

the complete list of Jonathan Edwards' resolutions

What's your favorite resolution from his list? And what resolution do you want to make on your list?

-Otus Mostus Postus Lotus

Shepherd's Conference

"Sissified" -Phil Johnson

A few of the brothers along with our Pastor Julian, went to the Shepherd's Conference hosted by Grace Community Church, who's senior pastor is Dr. John Macarthur. Now from the outset, I want to state that our church does not agree with everything that Grace Community Church believes in. We, however, believe that there are many good things to be learned there, and many things that Grace Community Church does the right way.

So we went. There we learned many things. We learned words like "sissified." We learned that dispensationalist drives in their convertibles with the top down. We learned that when a pastor said that he had "too much material to go over," he really actually ran out of things to talk about. We learned hand signals to the congregation, to signal when to stand and when to sit down.

We learned many things. But the main theme that was present in all the sessions, the seminars, the worship, was that God needed to be the center and focus of all parts of life, including corporate Sunday worship. We learned that the amazing work of Christ, The Gospel, should be ever present in every aspect of worship. We learned that without the divine power of the Holy Spirit, and His ministry, we cannot hope to accomplish anything. We learned the importance of the church.

The Shepherd's Conference were for pastors, and there were lots of them. Some of the people attending were lay people who served in the church, church leaders, church elders, or teachers. The majority of the people, however, were pastors. These were not young pastors (though there were many of them), the majority were old pastors that looked like they were in there mid 40's early 50's. These were people that, I personally, was not used to being surrounded with in a conference. It was good though. The kind of fellowship that we were able to share, no matter how much of a difference there was, was genuine and encouraging. Although we were strangers, we were children of God, and to varying degrees, laborers for Christ.

The praises that we sang, were not accompanied by flashy lights and a fog machines. The praises we sang were very simple hymns, but with exponential value and meaning. Many times the only thing being heard were the voices of all the people singing, with the music being a nice little background to support the singing. Simple yet profoundly deep. It was kind of almost like a small glimpse of what heaven would be like, worshipping with all the saints.

There were minor things that we disagreed on, but overall the conference was a huge blessing. We came out with a heavier sense of responsibility, encouraged, convicted, refreshed, and an anxiousness to worship with God's people on Sunday in our church. All in all, it was a good conference, with good people, and good food.

-Otus Mostus Postus Lotus

God is Good & Great

"This, however, is my comfort. 'Jesus Christ saw me from eternity; He gave me being; He called me in time; He has freely justified me through faith in His blood; He has in part sanctified me by His Spirit; He will preserve me underneath His everlasting arms till time shall be no more.' Oh the blessedness of these evangelical truths!"

-George Whitefield

Is your week hard? Are you suffering beyond measure? Is Satan buffeting your soul? Guess what? God is good. He has given us the grace needed to overcome whatever worries we have, and He has given us life eternal! Let us rely on God's grace and goodness, freely given to us through Jesus Christ, to get us through whatever darkness we're in!

Here's some hymn to soothe your soul:

-Otus Mostus Postus Lotus

An Interesting Article

This is an article written by an atheist in Time magazine. He writes about Africa and how it needs Christian ideology. Interesting. Check it out:

Article

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A Challenging Video

Just as the title says:

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Bring It On!

"God give me a deep humility, a well-guided zeal, a burning love and a single eye, and then let men or devils do their worst!" - George Whitefield

Hope everyone's week is going well. Even if our week isn't the best, let us finish it well, rejoicing always. Let's keep striving for holiness, and live for His glory! His grace given to us in full is more than enough to accomplish what needs to be done this week!

-Otus Mostus Postus Lotus

Let's be Thankful

Trying to start off this week on a good foot:

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Happy Monday

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." -Deuteronomy 31:6

Have a great week everyone! Hope your weeks are starting off great! If it isn't, I hope it will turn out better!

-Otus Mostus Postus Lotus

Our Week

"WITHOUT GOD... our week would be: Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday, Fightday, Shatterday, Seven days without God - Makes one Weak!!!"

Interesting huh? My friend sent me this email, and I thought it was clever, so I am sharing it with you guys!

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Remember This Song?

The intro to the song is kind of wierd, I think the guy who made this video added it on, but still a good song.

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