The fight against sin

The battle against sin is a battle that is fought and won or lost in the mind. Long before any of us sins in any way we have lost the battle against that sin in our minds. And before we ever decisively act against any sin with our bodies, we have won the battle against […]

What can one do to mortify the flesh?

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from Heaven Taken by Storm. What can one do to offer violence to himself in mortifying the flesh? Withdraw “the fuel that may make lust burn. Avoid all temptations. Take heed of that which nourishes […]

The repentant are sin-haters

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is from The Doctrine of Repentance, chapter 4: “The Nature of True Repentance.” The fifth ingredient in repentance is hatred of sin. The Schoolmen distinguished a two-fold hatred: hatred of abominations, and hatred of enmity. Firstly, there […]

Stop letting sin reign

The father had been busy all week and made a plan to have a special time with his son. So Saturday morning, off they went. First stop? The donut shop. A few minutes later they were headed down the road. “Dad, can I hold the donut holes?” An interesting proposition that was fraught with possibilities! […]

They did not drive them out completely

Moses was gone and God had replaced him with Joshua. Egypt with its leeks and cucumbers and the wilderness were a fading memory and the Promised Land with its milk and honey were a delightful new reality. The nation had reaffirmed its commitment to God and His Word (Josh. 1:16-18) and demonstrated that faith when […]

The mortified man

Christopher Love, The Mortified Christian: A truly mortified man is like a warrior: he will either kill or be killed. He will kill his sins or else his sins will kill him. Now examine yourselves in this: are you only fencers, to sport and play with your lusts, or are you warriors who fight with […]

What the flesh hates

Kris Lundgaard, in The Enemy Within: Which is easier: to sit with a bucket of butter-soaked popcorn and watch Tom Cruise on the big screen for two hours, or kneel and pray for five minutes? Tom Cruise wins hands down, because there is literally no competition. What the flesh hates is God, so it resists […]

Working with the Spirit of God

Jeremy Taylor: While the Spirit of God is doing this work [of regeneration] in man, man must also be ‘a fellowworker with God;’ he must entertain the Spirit, attend his inspirations, receive his whispers, obey all his motions, invite him farther, and truly renounce all confederacy with his enemy, sin; at no hand suffering any […]

Sunday Leftovers: Fighting against sin

In 1 John 2:1, the apostle declares, “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” He is telling his readers — believers in a group of churches in Asia Minor who had been taught by a group of heretics that sin was irrelevant and that one could be in good […]

Protect yourself

To protect itself from aggressors, the Texas horned lizard (more commonly known as the horny toad) uses some unique defense mechanisms, as the Smithsonian reported a few years ago: When the creature is threatened by a large predator, it runs through an elaborate behavioral repertoire. First, the lizard will hiss and swell its body with […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles from the last week: Chad Hall identifies “Three Reasons We Should Not Share the Gospel” — insecurity, arrogance, and narcissism. “What do all of these poor motivations have in common? Each one places the needs and interests of the evangelist ahead of the needs and interests of the other. Evangelism should always […]

Book blurbs

In the interest of “something is better than nothing,” here are a few blurbs and comments on some books I’ve recently completed reading: Title: Don’t Call it a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day Author: Kevin DeYoung (ed.) Publisher: Crossway, 2011; 252 pp. $16.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): Kevin DeYoung is fast becoming one […]

God’s knowledge: a preventative for sin

Keeping out of sin sometimes sounds easier than it is. After a passionate sermon on Sunday morning, it might seem inconceivable that one would ever knowingly choose sin again. But after a series of offenses from a boss on Monday afternoon, sin might seem the only viable and rational response. How can we keep from […]

The parable of the monkey grass

Today was a day to catch up on a few yard projects. We had a mature rose bush that had died that needed to be removed, and Raye Jeanne planned to transplant a crape myrtle sprout that had grown up elsewhere in the yard in its place. But to plant the fledgling tree in that […]

Fighting against lust

Many years ago, John Piper gave this brief exhortation to help in the battle against lust — look at something greater than the puny desires of sinful, sexual indulgence: “The sky is a great power against lust. Pure, lovely, wholesome, beautiful, powerful, large-hearted things cannot abide the soul of a sexual fantasy at the same […]