Coded for Worship

John Piper says, “To get justification right is a matter of eternal life and death.  I want Jesus Christ to get the glory for being all that he is for me and my salvation.  Not part of it.  Not just blood covering my sin, but righteousness providing my righteousness.”

Amen.

Today, the thought occurred to me that the one and only John Piper should weigh at least 400lbs., if not more. I don’t get it, though.  To look at him, the man can’t weigh more than a buck fifteen, soaking wet.

Why would I expect him to be morbidly obese? Why, I’m glad you asked.

Today, like so many other days in recent history, John Piper ate my lunch.  Plus, I am almost positive that I’m not the only one he’s done this to, either.  So how is it that this bad man doesn’t weigh 400lbs. by now?

Because, when it comes down to it, John Piper is not the one “eating my lunch.”  It’s the Holy Spirit through John Piper.  That very thing happened this morning while listening to Piper’s sermon, “Songs That Shape the Heart and Mind.”  Piper makes clear God’s purpose for passing down these holy songs and stresses their importance (along with the rest of Scripture) in the lives of believers.

I encourage you to go read / listen to this sermon for yourself.  It was certainly impacting to me.

In the meantime, I pray that I continue to have my lunch eaten, if you will, by the Holy Spirit — through both John Piper and John Owen.

Do your ears and your spirit a favor and go to iTunes and drop the $6 they’re charging for Brooke Fraser’s album, Albertine. After you do, listen to it immediately — you can come back and thank me later.  I’ll wait…

When I woke up this morning, I wasn’t “feeling” that great.  I had awakened 2 hours earlier than I had planned and had a very hard time going back to sleep.  That made my morning get off to a slow and bumpy start.

However, the Holy Spirit came along as I was making my morning rounds on the ‘net and reminded me that no matter how I feel or how much sleep I did or didn’t get, that I had awakened to the awesome truth that:

The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
- Psalm 145:8 (ESV)

Even though I didn’t take the time to open my Bible this morning, God used my blog and some RSS to remind me of what I was walking in — and that is His grace, mercy, and love coupled with the absence of His condemnation.

And what a sweet walk it is.