Jack McBride > Recent Status Updates

24:36-51

24:29-35

"There is nothing that will put you in your place, nothing that will correct your distorted view of yourself, nothing that will yank you out of your functional arrogance, or nothing that will take the winds out of the sails of your self-righteousness like standing, without defense, before the awesome glory of God."

On 2 Cor. 5:15; "[Paul] is arguing that the DNA of sin is selfishness. Sin inserts me into the middle of my universe, the one place reserved for God and God alone. Sin reduces my field of concern down to my wants, my needs, and my feelings. Sin really does make it all about me...as long as sin is inside of me there will be temptation to exhange God's glory for my own."

"I have now come to understand that I need others in my life...since, as one who has remaining sin still inside of him, it is right to say that the greatest danger in my life exists inside of me and not outside of me, then wouldn't it also be the height if naivety or arrogance to think that I would be okay left to myself?"

24:15-28

"...no one gives grace better than a person who knows he desperately needs it himself."

Lord, make this true of me.

"Since the [seminary] student has come to think of himself as more mature than he actually is because of the knowledge he has gained, he doesn't approach God's Word with a tenderness and neediness of heart. His study of the Word brings him again and again to his desk, but it seldom brings him to his knees."

Quite the heart check for me...

Great analogies thus far

Listening to the audio... didn't know how close to home this book would be hitting...

An enjoyable audiobook listen for a sunny Saturday walk

24:1-14

23:29-39

"We have all things in Christ, and Christ is all things to a Christian...
If we be sick, he is a physician;
if we thirst, he is a fountain;
if our sins trouble us, he is righteousness;
if we stand in need of help, he is mighty to save;
if we fear death, he is life;
if we be in darkness, he is light;
if we be weak, he is strength;
if we be in poverty, he is plenty;
if we desire heaven, he is the way."

"I remember a story of a godly man, who had a great desire to go to France, and as he was going to take shipping he broke his leg; and it pleased Providence so to order it, that the ship that he should have gone in at that very same time was cast away, and not a man was saved; and so by breaking a bone his life was saved...Though Providence did work cross to his desire, yet it did not work cross to his good."

"When I daily admit how needy I am, daily meditate on the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and daily feed on the restorative wisdom of his Word, I am propelled to share with others the grace that I am daily receiving at hands of my Savior. There simply is no set of exegetical, homiletical, or leadership skills that can compensate for the absence of this [devotion] in the life of a pastor."

"Sin may rebel, but it shall never reign in a saint."

"Since seminary tends to academize the faith, making it a world of ideas to be mastered...it is quite easy for students to buy into the belief that biblical maturity is about the precision of theological knowledge and the completeness of their biblical literacy. ... But it must be said that maturity is not merely something you do with your mind...no, maturity is about how you live your life."

A much needed reminder.

23:13-28

23:13-33

23:1-12

"The question of the book of Job is posed in its very beginning. Is it possible that a man or woman can come to love God for Himself alone so that there is a fundamental contentment in life regardless of circumstances (Job 1:9)? By the end of the book we see the answer. Yes, this is possible, but only through prayer."

This was a timely quote the Lord knew my hard heart needed in this season...

22:34-46