Reformed Reflections

Revelation 12:5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.

As Christmas approaches, let us not only focus on the peaceful, serene night of the Savior’s birth. Do not forget that although the Lord was incarnate as a babe, His coming represents the first shots fired in the Great War for dominion over this world; what was lost to Satan in Adam is being retaken by Christ. His cries—the war cries of a conquering King. Rejoice! Heaven has invaded Earth, and the Commander of the Heavenly Host has cast Satan out. Christ is come. Christ has won. Christus Victor. Christus Rex.

Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

If you only go to Church for Christmas and Easter services You are gay (and should repent) —Me

The one perfectly divine thing, the one glimpse of God's paradise given on earth, is to fight a losing battle - and not lose it. —G.K. Chesterton

If you knew how quickly people would forget you after your death, you would not seek in your life to please anyone but God. —John Chrysostom

The true Christian is called to be a soldier and must behave as such from the day of his conversion to the day of his death. He is not meant to live a life of religious ease, indolence and security. He must never imagine for a moment that he can sleep and doze along the way to heaven, like one traveling in an easy carriage. —JC Ryle

If you feel that you are unfit, weak, and lacking in faith, where will you obtain strength but here? Do you mean to wait until you have grown pure and strong, then indeed you will never come and you will never obtain any benefit from the Holy Communion. This is the right use of the Lord’s Supper, serving not to torture, but to comfort and gladden the conscience. For by instituting it for us, God did not intend it to be poison and torture to frighten us...The Lord’s Supper welcomes those who perceive their frailties and feel that they are not pious, yet would like to be. —Martin Luther

Free will I have often heard of, but I have never seen it. I have always met with will, and plenty of it, but it has either been led captive by sin or held in the blessed bonds of grace. —Charles Spurgeon

Job 19:25-27 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

The devil, though he is an enemy to all saints, is a conquered enemy. The Captain of our salvation has defeated and disarmed him; we have nothing to do but to pursue the victory. —Matthew Henry

In Christ, we behold the wisdom, goodness, love, grace, mercy, and power of God, all working together for the great work of our redemption and salvation. —John Owen

All of us this morning.

When life’s trials press in, it’s easy to wonder, “Why is this happening to me?” But God uses your trials to shape you and bring you closer to Him. Without these trials, you wouldn’t fully grasp the depth of God’s Word. It’s through struggle that you come to know the strength and comfort of His promises. Remember, real gold fears no fire. Whether you are facing sleepless nights, bitter inlaws, woke bosses or a financial strain, remember that God is leading you more into the likeness of His son. Don’t try and escape it, rather walk with God through it. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." — James 1:2-3 —The Forge (Daily Dose #0056)

Neo-Pagans have sometimes forgotten; when they set out to do everything that the old pagans did, that the final thing the old pagans did was to get christened. —G. K. Chesterton