My 27th Year Living on Earth

I was born on the earth, created from the DNA of my father and mother, devoloped within my mother's womb and born into the world on a cold, icy day in 1983. If Jesus Christ does not return in the next 100 years, my physical body will die on the earth.

But praise and thanks be to the God of Israel, to Yahweh, that He came to earth through the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ, more than 2,000 years ago, suffered for my sins, was killed and raised back to life again, so that by the power of His Spirit and the faith that is in Him, I have become a new man, a child of God, a citizen of another world, to which my body will be raised to inherit with Christ!

Was this something I did by my own choice, my own superior intellect, the strength of my own will?
No!
The Bible says it was by the mercy and grace of God alone!
(See John 1:12-13; 3:3; Titus 3:5-6, 7-8; Ephesians 2:1, 4-5, 8-9; 1 Cor. 1:30-31; etc.)

Contemplating Premillennial Calvinism

For a long time I was sort of a mix of amil/premil eschatology, depending on what passage of Scripture I was reading at the moment. That was long before I knew what amillennialism or premillennialism were about. Now I have had to think the issues over a little more.

Recently, I have been contemplating premillennial calvinism. Especially Why Every Calvinist Should Be A Premillennialist by John McArthur.

Grace Abounding: Memorizing Scripture in Tongues?

A few years ago I memorized all of Romans chapter 5 in the ESV version. Since then, I didn't do a lot of memorizing whole chapters (except for Psalm 119, which I never did get past verse 40), but spent a lot of time studying other areas of interest.

In the past year, I began learning to speak in tongues. I started with the Spanish tongue as a result of meeting many latino people in Philadelphia who speak very little English. I am now able to say a few things to them and share briefly about the gospel with them in their own language.

I have now begun memorizing Scripture in Spanish in order to help me learn to speak it and to witness. Currently I have been working on Romans chapter 1, and am up to verse 17 (soon to begin the second half the chapter on the doctrine of total depravity). What a chapter! I can't wait until I can use it to witness to people on the street. I was in Pittsburgh this past weekend, and the vision to get the gospel out to the nations just flooded me with fresh excitement.

So if any of you have memorized Scripture in another language: 1. What different languages have you memorized Scripture in? 2. What verses did you memorize? and 3. For what reasons?

New Years: 2008 is set in eternity!

Well, this is the last day of 2008. I am thankful to the Lord for all that He has given to me and taught me this year (I certainly do not deserve any of it). For the most part of 2008, I have been blogging, which I never had done before. Not only that, but I have also lived past a quarter of a century this year! And many other things have happened as well.

As I reflect, I am more humbled by the death of Jesus Christ today, because He is the only reason why I should not suffer for eternity in hell for what I've done this past year. And it will still be the same if I live on during 2009. It will still be Christ as my life, Christ as my pardon, Christ as my acceptance with the Father forever, and Christ as my portion and joy too! Although there are many things I've learned this year, as well as many experiences, one thing remains the same - it is all of Christ, in other words: ALL OF GRACE! :)

Thank God for His wonderful grace today, and never stop growing in your amazement of Him! (2 Peter 3:18, read this verse and meditate on it!)

Things I'm Thankful For: just sharing from my heart

First, I am thankful to YHWH (Jehovah, the LORD) because He is good and His steadfast love, His lovingkindness and mercy endures forever: "Give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever." (Psalm 136:1). And also Psalm 138:2, "I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted your word above all your name."

I am also thankful that He chose me, loving me forever, even though I am the least worthy of the smallest dirt-crumb of loving kindness from the King of all ages. He loved me by giving His Son to die for me and rise so that I am accepted in His presence, not just for a little while, but forever and ever and ever! (I already feel humbled to the floor just by this thought).

I am thankful for the Bible in English, because that is my language, and people were literally hunted down, arrested, imprisoned, tortured, murdered, strangled and burned for translating the Bible into this language.

I am thankful for everything because I have eternal life, and so everything, whether good or bad is working out for good in eternity according to God's purpose (Rom. 8:28).

Therefore, I am thankful for grass, and for the sky, for stars, and for family.

For frogs and for salamanders, for water, for the internet, for self-control, for the Holy Spirit in me doing His work by God's grace.

For friends, and for enemies.

For disease, hurts, broken relationships, emotional pain, mental confusion, the misunderstandings and slander of people who do not love the truth.

For wearisome toil, for traffic, for Satan's opposition, for my own temporary humiliation, for God's grace that works through faith which works by love.

For God's promises, and for the birth from above.

For being separated from the world.

I'm thankful for my mother, for my niece and nephew, for my parents and brothers and sister.

Even more, I'm thankful I have true brethren in Philly, Pittsburgh, and all around the world who are my eternal family in Christ (we'll be together forever). I'm also thankful for sugar, and insulin too :)

Honestly, I don't feel very thankful right now, but I truly am, and I am thankful that God will flood my heart again and again with thanksgiving at the right time... Oh, Lord, make me a thankful man!

How about you?

God bless to all who are resting in the righteousness of our King Jesus!

Responses Welcome: How Has Grace Worked to Change You?

You may share whatever you like about God's grace working in you...

I would like to simply say that Romans 5 and six are two interlocked chapters. The first dealing with the glory of God's grace toward the vilest of sinners, and the second dealing with the power of His grace to transform lives completely through the death and resurrection of Christ. As I've been reading Romans 6, I am reminded of how grace changes lives forever, and how being freed from sin and living in obedience to God through Christ is as much the gift of God as justification by faith alone.

Grace took me from being a self-deceived hypocrite, who used to justify sin by claiming forgiveness since I "believed" in Jesus, therefore God would forgive the evil that so characterized my heart and life, both inwardly and outwardly. Grace opened my eyes to the severity of my sin as I read the Bible, and grace gave me a completely new life hidden in Christ, where knowing God through Christ and being holy and sanctified to Him are what I hunger and thirst for now. This all is a gift of God's grace to me through the work of Christ my Lord when He died and He rose and He lives forever as my great High Priest.

How about you? How has grace changed you?

Six Lessons Learned, Even Seven I'm Reminded of This Year

Stephanie had me on her list of people to tag about sharing six things I learned this year. While many of these things I may have learned over many years, I am at least reminded again this year of them and their importance.

So here are six things I've learned this year, even seven that I've been reminded of (these aren't necessarily in order):

1. Getting enough sleep and exercise, as well as eating carefully is extremely important to keeping yourself able to do just simple daily things well like work or ministry. Oh, how I learned I need discipline to do this.

2. Not only is God able to do the impossible, He does do the impossible for those who believe His Word!

3. I've been learning Spanish, and this year I've learned to say Efesios 2:8-9 and Romanos 3:10-12 without looking at the page. I have also learned many other words, and can sometimes even understand people when they speak in Spanish! I also just learned that in Vietnamese, "Gong Lam" means "Very Good," which I said to the people at the restaurant this Sunday and they laughed and smiled because I knew something in their language. I also learned that Chao Ahng is hello to men and Chao Ba is hello to women. Doc Kinh Tanh means Read the Bible.

4. I've learned about blogging this year (before I knew very little about this crazy internet world).

5. I learned that you have to spend time with and talk/witness to your family members (like grandparents) before they die and you lose the opportunity. There are no excuses that can be made. Time is short and they/you may not be alive tomorrow.

6. This one certainly is not the least important, but knowing, understanding and holding to the correct gospel is absolutely essential to being a Christian. What salvation do we have if we have faith in the wrong message??? Don't be lazy about examining your own beliefs about this with Scripture! The Bible teaches one gospel, and that is Christ. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ, and the Scriptures show us that. We can't add anything to it, like baptism, good works, miracles, dreams/prophecies, our obedience, our own natural faith, some gifted leader, the church we attend, sacraments, or anything else. Christ has done all the work on the cross, and salvation is by believing the good news in Him, not about what you have to do. We must repent and believe, but that is by looking to Christ as the Scriptures reveal to us the way He has been manifested. Obedience is the essential fruit, but not the root of salvation in Christ. Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, who died and lives, who is God in the flesh, He is the gospel! I cannot make this point more important to remember each and every day and year!

7. I'm always reminded that it is all of grace! :) Salvation is all of grace. Living the Christian life is all of grace. Evangelism is all of grace. Knowing God in Christ is all of grace. Waiting on God through prayer is all of grace. Seeing Him answer my prayers is all of grace. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is all of grace. Walking in obedience to my Lord is all of grace. I am sooooooo thankful for His abundant grace through Christ Jesus my Lord!

I'll pass it on to Phylicia, Sean, CJ if they'd like to participate.

Grace Abounding: My Grandmother's Funeral

I traveled with my mother, my younger brother Lee, and my sister Maria to Wooster Ohio for our grandmother, Elizabeth Tomassetti's funeral. We took our black lab, Caesar, along with us because we didn't want to leave him home alone. Our cousin's children loved playing with him. I had asked for prayer here on the blog not long before we left, and I am very grateful for all those who did pray for us. I was comforted being in Wooster Ohio knowing that family in Christ were praying for me and my natural family during this visit.

My grandmother was born in Ireland. During WWII, she met my grandfather who was a U.S. Navy man. After they were married, they lived in Scotland for three years where my dad was born, then they moved to Wooster Ohio where my grandpa Tomassetti was born. My entire family on my dad's side were raised Roman Catholic.

My parents raised my brothers and sister and I in a protestant church. Nevertheless, I was not saved by grace until I was in college. Now that I know Christ and am His, it is my desire that my family members, both immediate and extended, also come to God through Christ by faith alone. Faith is not easy to come by, we need the Word of God in the Holy Scriptures to teach us (Rom. 10:17), so I make it my aim to share the Word at whatever opportunities the Lord provides.

Wednesday night, I spent a lot of time talking with a family friend's teenage son. I had shared the gospel with him in April at my grandfather's funeral, but he had not been reading the pocket NT I gave him. We must have spent almost an hour talking. He did not know anything about Jesus or what the Bible teaches, so I explained a lot to him about why Jesus came into the world, who He was, why we need a Savior (using Children of the Corn as an illustration of our spiritual deadness, because it came up in our conversation) and what He will do when He returns. This young man started to see that this was more interesting than he had previously imagined. His mother told me at the graveyard that he went home talking about what I said to him. I also gave him one of my new ESV pocket NTs, which I told him would be easier to read the the KJV or NKJV one I had given him last time we talked. My prayer was that he will read it, and get his family to read the Bible as well. May God do so and more.

I had a bad cold this week. I could barely talk during our visit. However, I did get to ask one of my older relatives if he would go to heaven when it was his turn to lay in the casket. He said that he would probably not go there. I asked him if he knew the song, "Amazing Grace"? He said yes, (it was playing on the slideshow in the funeral home). I said, well it goes... "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a WRETCH like me." And I pointed to myself. I said "It is good news for bad people, but bad news for good people." I think I also said something about how that is why I needed Jesus to die in my place so that I can be saved... something along those lines. He said he would talk to me again about this, but we didn't get to talk again yet.

During the trip, I talked with my mom about salvation by grace, how that we deserve hell, and that God should hate us, but His love for us is extraordinary since it cost the life of His dear Son (Rom. 5:8-9,10). I also talked some about salvation by faith alone (Rom. 3:27-28). The funeral mass was held at the Roman Catholic church, and it always grieves me to hear that blind guide stand there and tell people that sins are cleansed by baptism and holy communion and that those who practice those things are the "faithful" who will be in heaven with Christ. There is no mention of the utter ruin of our sinful hearts and our need to be regenerated by an act of the Holy Spirit and to be justified by faith apart from any works that we perform, and of the powerful effect of Christ's substitutionary death (even though he did mention the resurrection quite often, which is important, but we need to know why Christ died and then how He lives to save). Without Christ's salvation by grace apart from human works or ordinances, where is the gospel (good news) by which we must be saved? See Ephesians 2:1,5,8-9 and 1 Corinthians 15:1-2,3-4.

Again, thanks so much to God for all who prayed!

Grace Abounding: Update on some things

I cannot express the thanks I have toward God for all who have been praying for my grandma. My dad arrived home tonight. He is pretty sad, because he lost his dad five months ago and now his mom is very ill. We have lived 8 hours away from his family all my life. We always only would visit them occasionally. Please keep praying for faith in my grandmother, that she would trust in Christ alone as her salvation. I hope to go visit her before she dies, so I will probably drive out with my siblings this weekend.

I'm still memorizing Psalm 119, although it has slowed down, since I need to make it stick. So I'm going over what I've got so far of it. I can still fly through Alef like crazy, but I'm working on keeping some other lines in my mind before moving on. With all that is going on lately, I have some things on my mind, nevertheless, my joy in Christ has been greatly increased this past week. There is nothing better than joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:11)!

There are some new things added to my internet life on the sidebar there: Pennspod (which is some audio clips of my evangelism adventures and other things which I decided to share for encouragement); Learning to Speak in Tongues (my new blog to help me perfect a gift I've requested from the Lord); and there is a song sung by Michael Card and Sarah Groves on the sidebar, called "Jubilee" (you have no choice, you have to hear it!).

In thinking on the topic of marriage according to a post from a few days ago, I thought the lyrics to this song were pretty insightful. No matter what our circumstances, these words are true for me:

These lyrics accompany the song "You're So Good To Me" from the I Stand In Awe album by Steve & Vikki Cook (Sovereign Grace Music).

Lyrics

You’ve given me so much
More than I’d ever dreamed
And so much more than I deserve
Your mercies surround me, reminding me anew
That all I have has come from You
It’s all from You

For You have crowned my days
With overwhelming grace
Lord, You’re so good to me
Though troubles fall like rain
This precious truth remains
Lord, You’re so good to me
Yes, You’re so good to me

You chose me, You saved me
And made me Your own
Promised that You would never leave
Soon one day, You’ll call me
And we’ll see face to face
‘Til then You’ve given me a taste of paradise

This is grace abounding in a world of sin and trouble (...I'm sorry, that line I just wrote reminds me of a Tupac song I used to listen to because of the words "in this world of sin" - don't ask why that just came to my mind - but now I think this way: this is grace abounding over and above sin and trouble in the promises of God's Word).

Grace to you all.

Please pray for my grandmother and family

I just told my dad to call my mom, because she told me my grandmother's heart and kidneys are failing and they took her to the hospital. The family in Ohio wants my dad and mom to come there before she dies (if the Lord wills, perhaps she will recover). My grandmother's name is Elizabeth Tomassetti, and she was born in Ireland. My grandfather Tomassetti just died in April this year. Most of my Tomassetti family lives 8 hours away in Wooster Ohio. They all need prayer for salvation and for peace. This will be tough for my parents to travel tomorrow in this situation.

Thank you all in Christ Jesus my precious Savior.

Penn

Teth

[a photo from my first apartment in Pittsburgh]

Those were the new old days...

times when bright sunlight

cleared away the haze;

time for future days

never to be the same.

~ Penn 9/08

Here is my next section of Psalm 119 I memorized. I am slowly moving forward, and badly in need of some review time:

Teth
You have dealt well with your servant,
O LORD, according to your word.
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
You are good and do good;
teach me your statutes!
The insolent smear me with lies,
but with all my heart I keep your precepts;
their heart is unfeeling like fat,
but I delight in your law.
It is good for me that I was afflicted,
that I might learn your statutes.
The law of your mouth is more to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

How true are these words to a quickened spirit! I was once dead to the love of God's Word. I could fake it, but I couldn't say truthfully, "The law of your mouth is more to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces." I know that for me, it was good that I was afflicted... how about for you? I can remember standing in my college apartment, after all I had was cleared out and thrown away as a mistake except for the things I had brought with me from home and my radio, and thinking, "God did this." I remember saying this, "It was good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes."

A prayer from my early days of being transformed:

This is not Scripture, but I was thinking of how Psalm 119 had influenced me so much in the past, as I was just beginning to understand God's Word back in 2003 or so. The bridge photo is where I walked every day during my first year in Pittsburgh, often praying as I passed over the river. I was 19 years old then, and I actually found verses from Psalm 119 written on one of my old notebook pages (I may scan it later and stick it here). Here is one of my prayers I found written waaaay back then:

O Lord, how majestic is your name?
No one knows my heart like you,
they don't believe me when I speak.
When I was in trouble, I called out to you,
and you answered me with your love.
The world is full of confusion,
though you perform miracles right in front of them,
they do not understand.
Through faith you came to me,
through hope you healed me.
But through your great love, you saved me.
How can I bear to disobey you?
Surely your will guides me,
and my heart rejoices along your path.
When you shone your light on me,
I saw my sins for what they were.
Who can see in the darkness without a light?
As surely as light contrasts dark,
righteousness contrasts sin.
Through your righteousness, I saw
the light of life.
Such a great thing cannot be hidden.
To speak of your great love,
is to speak all I know.

[There was no date on this page, but I think I was being influenced by certain Psalms when I wrote this?]

What a day... Gimel

I woke up late this morning feeling not so great. I was up late studying Spanish and reading the Scriptures last night. A morning dose of insulin and a glass of water quickly relieved my problem. Before I even had my first cup of coffee I was up and preparing to study Genesis chapter three. I have been listening to MacArthur sermons on Genesis three all week as it was read to me by my mac at work, and I have been listening to Genesis read by Stephen Johnston all week (I listened to all of it twice). All I can say is, "Wow!" and I can say it backwards, too, "woW!" :P

Today, I really looked into the first seven verses of Genesis 3, and was amazed at what I was seeing, and with connections it was making to other verses in the Bible (the picture is me studying last week with cheerios). I will have the study up on my other blog after tomorrow. At around 3 p.m., I helped my sister and mom pick out a good senior class photo for my sister, then I headed off in the pouring rain for Philadelphia. On the way to Philadelphia, I memorized the third stanza in Psalm 119, praying along the way. Since it was raining, the brothers and I decided not to go to our regular spot for street evangelism, so we headed down to the 30th Street Station in center city. We've been there before, and it is always a blessing. Well, I can't go into all the details, but we had a great time and left rejoicing in God's magnificent grace. I spoke to a Spanish Christian man from Puerto Rico, a drug addict from Ocean City (I think that's where he said), a homeless woman from Sierra Leone (W. Africa, her name was Christiana), and also brief interaction with a few other people. We didn't stay as long as usual, but went back to Pastor Mark's house to pray. Our prayer time was filled with rejoicing and requests to God, and we also prayed for souls in the hurricane storm down in the South, as well as for the police who are walking the streets now in Philadelphia (dangerous job). It was really wonderful to have fellowship with a bunch of "ordinary" men, who are fired up for reaching lost people in our cities. One brother, a former drug addict, alcoholic and homeless, is preparing to start Bible college soon (amazing to see the change in his life, as well as the same change in one of his old buddies - amazing). Others are just so much of a blessing to know.

When I left, it wasn't raining and the sky was clear. I came home, and behold, the stars where covering the face of the sky! One of our prayers tonight was a thanksgiving for God's faithfulness to His servant Abraham, that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens and the sand on the seashore. My reason for sharing all this, is for encouragement to any who read, and to give away a little info into my life, showing that I'm not just a "smart kid" (I always despised those kids while growing up, and now I am one, but for a good reason - to help others know the gospel). As one man said to me last Saturday, "I'm a real person," I answered, "I'm a real person, too" (even though I've never been stabbed or been in jail, or joined a muslim cult - I understood the guy's point and wasn't disrespecting him). So my life is richly blessed to be spent with the greatest people in the world, the poor, lowly, downcast and nobodies of this earth, who by the grace of our precious Lord Jesus will one day be numbered with those stars.

Here is where I'm at in Psalm 119, I practiced it again on my way home:

Gimel
Deal bountifully with your servant,
that I may live and keep your word.
Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law!
I am a sojourner in the earth;
hide not your commandments from me!
My soul is consumed with longing
for your rules at all times.
You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
who wander from your commandments.
Take away from me scorn, and contempt,
for I have kept your testimonies.
Even though princes sit and plot against me,
your servant will meditate on your statutes.
Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.

About the Author

Why I am posting this profile when I already have a profile: I like to know a little about the people I meet. I think you are probably like me in some ways, maybe not in others. So here it is, info about myself to help my readers know who they are talking to. Maybe, even some "people from my past" will find me here?

Bible verses that have changed me: Romans 2:1-2,3,4,5; John 6:37; John 8:31-32,34-36

Interests: Reading and understanding the holy Scriptures; helping others understand them; witnessing in cities; doing whatever I can to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus my Lord; photography; design; spending time talking with people; meeting people with foreign accents and languages; learning new languages; blogging; learning how to do things; reading Bible-based, Christ-centered books; learning about Creation; creative artistry, writing and music.

Who I used to be: totally selfish; deceived into thinking I was saved when I was living an unredeemed lifestyle; wanted to set myself up as better than others so that I could have a reason to get praise for myself. Excused my evil desires, disobedience to Christ, and hatred for what is righteous and holy by having a superficial faith. I was a hypocrite who was under the righteous wrath of the Almighty Creator, until I was 19 years old...

Who I am now: In Christ, dead to the Law and sin, but alive to God through Him; free from the guilt and condemnation that my evil heart deserves; justified forever through faith in Christ Jesus who died for me and rose again; desire to serve my family for the sake of His name; love talking to people about God's Word; I have met hundreds of individuals from every class and lifestyle and culture, and I have tried to point them to my Savior; I love sincerely and dearly my fellow laborers and all who call on the Lord from a pure heart; I also love doing good to all men, but especially to the household of God (pray I will be more diligent in this).