Sunday Leftovers (1/11/09)

It is easy to presume that Psalm 119 is only about Scripture — a defense of the authority and power of God’s Word. It is. And it isn’t. Psalm 119 is also about the love the writer has for God’s Word. The entire psalm reflects the happiness of a man in love with God. There […]

Today’s Quote – Obedience (C. Bridges)

Charles Bridges, Psalm 119: Then let me begin my morning with the inquiry, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”…Let me trade with all my talents for thee: ever watchful, that I may be employed in thy work; setting a guard upon my thoughts, my lips, my tempers, my pursuits, that nothing may hinder, […]

Bible reading reflections

In our weekly Bible reading plan, today is a day of reflection. As I think back over the passages we’ve read in the past week (Genesis 1-17; Ps. 1-6), it is sobering how rapidly the story of sin progresses. Just think through the major narrative stories in these first chapters in Genesis: Genesis 3 — […]

Today’s Quote – Bible (Calvin)

John Calvin, Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life: The law of God contains in itself the dynamic of the new life by which his image is fully restored in us; but by nature we are sluggish, and, therefore, we need to be stimulated, aided in our efforts by a guiding principle. A sincere repentance […]

Today’s Quote – Bible (Packer)

J. I. Packer, Knowing God: The whole Bible maintains this insistence that God’s word is His executive instrument in all human affairs. Of Him, as of no one else, it is true that what He says goes. It is in truth the word of God that rules the world, and that fixes our fortunes for […]

God knows

He knows. I know he knows. At least I thought he knew. My friend Ned has eyes that not only see you, but pierce you. They don’t blink. They don’t wander. They cut through you and seem to examine your heart. And so it was that when I met him my first thought was, “He […]

Today’s Quote (9/8/08)

“The Cambridge Declaration:” Scripture must take us beyond our perceived needs to our real needs and liberate us from seeing ourselves through the seductive images, cliches, promises and priorities of mass culture. It is only in the light of God’s truth that we understand ourselves aright and see God’s provision for our need. The Bible, […]

Today’s Quote (9/7/08)

Howard Hendricks, Living by the Book: The mark of spiritual maturity is not how much you understand [of Scripture], but how much you use. In the spiritual realm, the opposite of ignorance is not knowledge but obedience.

A few more thoughts about the Bible

A few more thoughts (from people who said it better than me) about the Bible (these are “leftovers” from the theology Bible Institute class last night): “I am a Bible-bigot. I follow it in all things, both great and small.” [John Wesley.] “Contemporary evangelicalism has been beguiled and sabotaged by a ruinous lack of confidence […]

Why we like the Psalms

In his most recent sermon, “Songs that Shape the Heart and Mind,” John Piper notes the variety of emotions that are contained in Psalms — one of the reasons that we are all drawn to them, whether glad or sad: One of the reasons the Psalms are deeply loved by so many Christians is that […]

The transforming power of Scripture

R. C. Trench — Lord, what a change within us one short hourSpent in Thy presence will prevail to make!What heavy burdens from our bosoms take, What parched ground refresh as with a shower!We kneel, and all around us seems to lower;We rise, and all, the distant and the near,Stands forth in sunny outline brave […]

Questions to ask when reading your Bible

Practical Tips for Reading Your Bible and Submitting to the Spirit — Read with the intent of knowing God and His mind, not “solving problems.” Establish a time and place that you will meet God every day — e.g., in the blue chair at 6:30 a.m. Keep a Bible, pad & pen (and maybe a […]

A new year of Bible reading

The spiritual life is simple, though it is not easy. It is simple in that the means to growing in Christ is not complicated; it is not easy in that the discipline required to apply God’s grace is difficult (discipline requires self-control, which is not natural for the natural man). So how does one grow […]

When the Bible is attacked

I haven’t looked at the newsstands recently, but my suspicion is that since it is a holiday season, there is soon coming a questioning of some measure of Biblical faith. Perhaps it will be another new gospel, or perhaps the discovery of a lost ossuary, or perhaps another tomb of Jesus, or another fiction book […]

Sunday Leftovers (8/26/07)

“If we understood Hell even the slightest bit, none of us would ever say, ‘Go to Hell.’ It’s far too easy to go to Hell. It requires no change of course, no navigational adjustments. We were born with our autopilot set toward Hell. It is nothing to take lightly — Hell is the single greatest […]