Firebrand

"Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction." - Isaiah

48:10

I was a hard-wired screw up
Given righteousness in lieu of
The punishment that was due
I got a one way ticket to true love

Redeemed and blood-bought
From the stain of my offenses
Imputed with Christ’s perfection -
Propitiation for the defenseless

I was shown relentless grace
In the pursuit of my own glory
Went from being a vessel of wrath
To an instrument of his mercy

Trying to live out my dash
Was only coming up ashes
I was a masterpiece in the making
The magnum opus of a disaster

By the design of the Refiner
That was the day the fire started
Ignited in my bones
‘Til all impurity has departed

Old ways aborted
And old habits tend to die hard
But what’s left amidst the flame
Will be incorruptible and unharmed


"...so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter 1:7


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Marvel

I, alone…
I’m not enough to handle this on my own
My metropolis is in trouble
And all of the supermen are gone
Fade to black – everything is whack
And these dark nights keep risin’ –
These jokers say that I’m tokin’
To believe that there’s anyone who can stop it

No secret identity
Or hideout with slick amenities
Are needed to win this war
‘Cause we're battlin’ a different enemy –
Long ago defeated
Still severely pissed and heated
And he and his minions will stop at nothing
Until everyone else can feel it

So we need a hero
Who’s far beyond the discussions –
No hiding behind a mask
To deal with the repercussions
Not just an alien that got stuck
Not just some vigilante we trust
But someone who can justify the guilty
And at the same time dispense justice

From the punishment due
To wholeheartedly renewed –
Avenging us from the impenitent
And putting an end to the feud
With web-sight, he catches predators
His strength is so incredible
Takes the shame and turns it to gain
So it wouldn’t eventually fetter us

Even though death still remains
It’s now no longer in vain
And the suffering serves a purpose
Since he auto-tuned it with “T-Pain”
Does it all through a Ghost Protocol –
Impossible for evildoers to shake him
Marvel at this Man on a mission…
Who can stop him?! Any takers?

 Cf. Revelation 6:2, 19:11-21, 21:5, 22:12

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros & Ones: Gospel In Life [Week 7] - Justice (A people for others)

Many people get the Gospel wrong when they believe that their salvation is based on their repentance. Your repentance will never make up for your sins. In actuality, true repentance unto life is the acknowledgment of our utter guilt of sin and the justice that was served on Another in our stead...Repentance is the first fruit of good works.

(cf. Proverbs 28:5, 29:26; Isaiah 1:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros & Ones: Gospel in Life [Week 2] - The Heart (3 Ways to Live)

As we continue on with our discussion on the Gospel in life, we look at the deep implications of our justification in Christ and how this changes our hearts; moving us from works of self-righteousness to understanding our imputed righteousness in the person and work in Jesus. Comprehending the truth about the method of grace in salvation that justifies should lead to repentance and sanctification...Also, we discuss the difference between religion and the gospel.

"Once again, please excuse the sleeveless look...it's very hot down here in Texas." - Shon W.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Shake the Dust

Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.”

- (Genesis 18:27 ESV)

I am nothing more than dust…

Prone to feed my wanderlust

Made into a man from a collection of sand

But by the Lord’s mercy, now I am what I am

I am clean since I AM washed me in the blood of the Lamb

So, Here I stand; I can do no other

No, this is not a drill; I refuse to duck and cover

So you can go ahead; throw your stones, if you got ‘em

He’s the Chief Cornerstone, so I’m still gonna rock Him

I’m one of the elected…

A speck predestined to represent

After the order of Melchezidek -

A King with no precedent

A slave to the sentence

I’m the subject …He’s the Predicate

It’s in Him I trust, money

And not a bunch of dead presidents

Shake the dirt out of your pillow

Wake up your damned relatives

Because they’re sittin’ in a parlor room

With way too many elephants

They can’t see the light of day

Because the sun’s blocked out

And it won’t be much longer now

Before the rocks cry out…

With pachyderms, you better learn how to tell ‘em apart…

The difference between the back of the barn

Or the front of the Ark

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 - (Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Behold the Man

So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”  - (John 19:5 ESV)

Animosity builds to an atrocity

That leads to amnesty for bandits

While exposing religious hypocrisy

A philosophy of demons

Justifying the reason

To ridicule the Creator

And falsely accuse him of treason

 

Covered in humility

Stripped now of his dignity

Unbeknownst to the world

That within him is all divinity

Public enemy No. 1

Blasphemy to blasphemers

Because he came to seek and save the lost

Not self-righteous deceivers

 

Behold the man…

 

Paraded around as a delusional fool

The very King of the world

Used as a political tool

Justifying the guilty

Through an unrighteous execution

So that the accusations of Satan

Would never bring them to ruin

 

The Lamb of God

Who though he was slain

Would resurrect the temple in three days

So it would forever remain

All those he claims

Are now without blemish or stain

So even when brought low

They too shall rise again

 

Numbered with the transgressors

So that we become confessors –

Witnesses to his craft

Escaping the cup of wrath

That he drank on our behalf

 

Behold the feet

Behold the hands

Behold the man

Who gives pardon to the damned

 

Amen.

 

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  - (John 1:29 ESV)

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

"Not What My Hands Have Done": Justified By What's Been Done For Us - Alistair Begg

via youtube.com

John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8.

Posted via web from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)