This design comes from a sweet man from the church I came to Christ in as a young teenager. Whenever anyone asked how he was doing, he’d reply “better than I deserve.” He (and his family) were used by the Lord in ways that have shaped me greatly.⁣⁣
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What do you think you deserve?⁣⁣
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We obviously tend to think very highly of ourselves and what we deserve often as we covet what others have (that should be ours, right?), become jealous of others (because people should think as good, if not better, of us) and the pride and frustration with which we interact with those around us (as we know better than they do and are clearly beneath our level of understanding). And that doesn’t even touch our inclination toward self-righteousness as believers—to glory in our good deeds and puff ourselves up.⁣⁣
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What do we really deserve in the eyes of a holy God in exchange for our rebellion against Him?⁣⁣
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Romans 6:23⁣⁣
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“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”⁣⁣
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“The reason why death is the result of sin is, that sin deserves death. Death is due to it in justice. There is the same obligation in justice, that sin should be followed by death, as that the laborer should receive his wages. As it would be unjust, and therefore wrong, to defraud the laborer of his stipulated reward, so it would be unjust to allow sin to go unpunished…But the gift of God, the free, unmerited gift of God, is eternal life…Sin deserves death; holiness is itself the gift of God, and is freely crowned with eternal life. The idea of merit is everywhere and in every way excluded from the gospel method of salvation. It is a system of grace, from the beginning to the consummation. It is in Christ, as united to him, that we are made partakers of eternal life. Jesus Christ and his gospel…effectually secure what the law never could never accomplish...”⁣⁣
-Charles Hodge⁣⁣
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Praise God for His mercy—may it lead us to repentance, humility and loving obedience.

“Post tenebras lux” is a phrase in Latin from the Protestant Reformation that means “after darkness, light.”

“The phrase ‘post tenebras lux’, a rallying cry of Protestant Reformers, refers to the rediscovery of biblical truth in a time of spiritual darkness. Because the darkness of heresy and immorality constantly creeps in, the church must always be seeking to rediscover the light.”

           —Ligonier

We are in a what seems to be a corporate time of trial in the Church, a forfeiture of truth in exchange for comfort and unbiblically defined “love”. Though things appear bleak at times, Scripture tells us how the story ends and who the Victor is—we can fight the good fight knowing that.

Psalm 30:5b

“Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

“Weeping may endure for a night; but nights are not for ever. Even in the dreary winter the day star lights his lamp. It seems fit that in our nights the dews of grief should fall. When the Bridegroom's absence makes it dark within, it is meet that the widowed soul should pine for a renewed sight of the Well beloved.

But joy cometh in the morning. When the Sun of Righteousness comes, we wipe our eyes, and joy chases out intruding sorrow. Who would not be joyful that knows Jesus? The first beams of the morning brings us comfort when Jesus is the day dawn, and all believers know it to be so. Mourning only lasts to morning: when the night is gone the gloom shall vanish. This is adduced as a reason for saintly singing, and forcible reason it is; short nights and merry days call for the psaltery and harp.”

         —Spurgeon

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and ball the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Hebrews 10:23-25

So…if you follow us on Instagram, you know the origin of this design (memes, of course). But no worries if not—it’s pretty self-evident that jello salad molds were proof of man’s fallenness. 🤢

Sometimes we think things are a good idea and they’re not, right?

Jeremiah 17:9

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Proverbs 14:2

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

Romans 3:23

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

RC Sproul on Total Depravity:

“The doctrine of total depravity reflects the Reformed viewpoint of original sin…Some people assume that the term original sin must refer to the first sin—the original transgression that we’ve all copied in many different ways in our own lives, that is, the first sin of Adam and Eve. But that’s not what original sin has referred to historically in the church. Rather, the doctrine of original sin defines the consequences to the human race because of that first sin.

That is, as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve, the entire human race fell, and our nature as human beings since the fall has been influenced by the power of evil…Therefore, original sin has to do with the fallen nature of mankind. The idea is that we are not sinners because we sin, but that we sin because we are sinners.

The idea of total in total depravity doesn’t mean that all human beings are as wicked as they can possibly be. It means that the fall was so serious that it affects the whole person…It affects our minds and our thinking; we still have the capacity to think, but the Bible says the mind has become darkened and weakened. The will of man is no longer in its pristine state of moral power. The will, according to the New Testament, is now in bondage. We are enslaved to the evil impulses and desires of our hearts. The body, the mind, the will, the spirit—indeed, the whole person—have been infected by the power of sin.

I like to replace the term total depravity with my favorite designation, which is radical corruption…The Reformed view is that the effects of the fall extend or penetrate to the core of our being. Even the English word core actually comes from the Latin word cor, which means ‘heart.’ That is, our sin is something that comes from our hearts. In biblical terms, that means it’s from the core or very center of our existence.”

https://solagratia.co/collections/encouragement-week-tees

A reminder of both the common grace of pancakes + the reality of hardship here on earth!

From Charles Spurgeon’s sermon, “The Sweet Uses of Adversity”:

“[God]…delights to see [his child] put through hard questions, because he knows that it will be able to answer them all. So God glories in his children. He loves to hear them tried, that the whole world may see that there is none like them on the face of the earth, and even Satan may be compelled before he can find an accusation against them, to resort to his inexhaustible fund of lies. Sometimes God on purpose puts his children in the midst of this world's trials. On the right, left, before, behind, they are surrounded. Within and without the battle rages. But there stands the child of God, calm amidst the bewildering cry, confident of victory. And then the Lord pointeth joyously to his saint, and he saith, ‘See, Satan, he is more than a match for thee. Weak though he is, yet through my power, he all things can perform.’”

…Perhaps, O tried soul! the Lord is doing this to develope thy graces. There are some of thy graces that would never be discovered if it were not for thy trials. Dost thou not know that thy faith never looks so grand in summer weather, as it does in winter? …And dost thou not know that hope itself is like a star—not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity? Dost thou not understand that afflictions are often the black foils in which God doth set the jewels of his children's graces, to make them shine the better.

…Beloved, ye remember that it is written, that we ‘must bear the image of the heavenly,’ namely, the image of Christ. As he was in this world even so must we be. We must have fellowship with him in his sufferings, that we may be conformable unto his death. Hast thou never thought that none can be like the Man of Sorrow unless they have sorrows too?”