Already Part of New Order

"..when the Bible says you are a new creation, it means that you have already been made part of that whole new order of things. Jesus is the first of the new creation, and in him you too are a new creation (see 2 Cor. 5:17; cf. 1 Cor. 15:23). In Christ, we are transformed.  Idolators, thieves, liars, sexual perverts, addicts, abusers, and victims - all of us already get new names, new identities, and new hearts with new desires (see 1 Cor. 6:9-11). Already, he is healing our wounds, covering our shame, and freeing us from the bondage to sin and temptation."

Mike Wilkerson, Redemption: Freed by Jesus from the Idols We Worship and the Wounds We Carry, page 36

Getting Out

Getting Out - Tim Keller - TGC 2011 from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

This video shows Tim Keller demonstrating how to preach Christ from an Old Testament text, by preaching Exodus 14, i.e. the Crossing of the Red Sea.  He teaches that the Christian life is about "Getting Out":  (1) What we are getting out of, (2) How to get out of it, and (3) why we can get out of it.

An Isrealite living in the days of the exodus would say that he was a slave under sentence of death who sheltered his life under the blood of the passover lamb, was led through the water by his mediator and redeemer, on his way to a promised land guided through a desert by the Spirit of his God, fed by the bread of life and guaranteed that God would be with him until he reached his promised land at the end.  Don't Christians say the same thing?

Well worth the time to listen!

Hat Tip:  The Resurgence:

A Litany of Humility

O Jesus meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That in the opinion of the world, others may increase, and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Written by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val. HT: Kevin Edgecomb

Hat Tip:  Kingdom People: