Ben Zornes

Living and Dying to Show the Preciousness of Christ

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The Hardened Heavens

The Hardened Heavens

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Leviticus 26 (Part 2)

The Punishment for Unbelief

Continuing on in Leviticus 26, we notice a dramatic shift from the overwhelming blessings that God desires to pour out upon those that keep the covenant. The blessings could be split into three categories:

  1. The blessing of rain from the heavens resulting in a miraculous and abundant harvest. The Christian cannot make the heavens rain, but in keeping the covenant of grace, God has promised to open heaven’s windows and provide a bountiful harvest of the fruit of His Spirit.
  2. The blessing of a conquering and overcoming of any evil beast or any multitude of the enemy. The Christian cannot overwhelm the powers of this world or the works of Satan, but through our God we shall do valiantly. This blessing is a blessing regarding the battle against the enemy.
  3. The final category is the overflowing barns. God fills the Christian brim-full so that they have “strength to spare,” so to speak.

[Read more…] about The Hardened Heavens

Edwards on Neglecting So Great a Salvation

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Did Christ labour so hard, and suffer so much to procure this salvation, and is it not worth the while for you to be at some labour in seeking it? Did our salvation lie with such weight on the mind of Christ, as to induce him to become man, to suffer even death itself, in order to procure it? And is it not worth the while for you, who need this salvation, and must perish eternally without it, to take earnest pains to obtain an interest in it after it is procured, and all things are ready?

~~~Jonathan Edwards

Eating the Old Store

Eating the Old Store

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Leviticus 26 (Part 1)

Leviticus 26 is a profound chapter full of convicting truths. In essence God speaks to the people of Israel and delineates a series of “if/thens.” The first section deals with the “if/then” of walking in God’s paths, keeping his commandments and doing them, and the subsequent blessings that God would pour out:

Leviticus 26:3 – If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then . . .

The second half of the chapter has statements like this:

Leviticus 26:14-15 18, 21, 23, 27-28

But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: [then] . . .  [Read more…] about Eating the Old Store

When Feminism Wins

When Feminism Wins

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As the assertion goes, Christianity oppresses women. However, Christianity, as based upon the Bible, is not oppressive of females, in fact it is far more protective of women than any other religion/worldview in existence. I give Leviticus 20 as Exhibit #1. Note that the commands of this chapter all deal with sexual deviancy (and it is one kinky can of worms). Each command centers around a key statement: “If a man (insert sexual deviancy here).” Levitical law places the onus on MEN for sexual and gender confusion. If a man seduces a women, or he has a strange attraction to his uncle’s wife, his father’s daughter, his employee, etc. the man takes the main blame.  It is clear that God places the responsibility for sexual clarity directly on the broad shoulders of men.  [Read more…] about When Feminism Wins

And They Saw

And They Saw

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It might be said that the most crucial component of faith is that it sees. After all, as Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is more than wishful thinking. Faith is spiritual eyesight. The god of this world, however, works overtime to blind our vision of the eternal glories and realities of God Almighty (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Photo Credit: Christopher JL via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: Christopher JL via Compfight cc

I stumbled across a verse that I’ve probably read dozens of times by now, but this time it smote my heart with an earnest desire for the same. In Exodus 24:10, we read of Moses and the 70 elders of Israel, “And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.” They saw the God of Israel. That simple statement, followed by the description of His throne, ought to pierce our hearts with conviction, for we treasure so many earthly things when held before us-through the evidence of Creation, the truth of God’s Word, and the inner light of our conscience-is the surpassing glory and worth of Jesus Christ (i.e. the God of Israel made flesh). [Read more…] about And They Saw

The Lion on the Other Side

The Lion on the Other Side

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One of the key principles of Christian discipleship is that to say the same things over and over again must not be grievous to1254727240_e0501a7535 the teacher, because this repetition is safe for the disciple (Phi. 3:1). I remember hearing an anecdotal story about someone in Luther’s ministry telling him that he was always saying the same thing in all his sermons, and by gum, when will Luther say something new. Luther replied, “Well, when you start living what I’m preaching now, then maybe I’ll consider preaching something else!” We are creatures that oft forget, and need continual reminders of what it is we actually believe.  [Read more…] about The Lion on the Other Side

Ben Zornes