Be on the alert

“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (1 Cor. 16:13; NASB) It was a simple task. Two bushes. One set of hedge clippers. One hour. No problem. I dove into the job with vigor. I really do enjoy trimming bushes and trees — I enjoy seeing the speedy […]

Memories

Memories. The first day of school. The first date with your wife. The night your child was born. The funeral of your best friend. The aching regret of a mistake, a sin, that cannot be undone. Water skiing on the lake with friends. The smell of hot-dogs and popcorn that takes you in your mind’s […]

A cake not turned…

This morning we read in Hosea the accusation that “Ephraim has become a cake not turned” (7:8). If you are reading carefully, you have to ask what the prophet means. Spurgeon provided one answer: A cake not turned is uncooked on one side; and so Ephraim was, in many respects, untouched by divine grace: though […]

Dry and thirsty?

Many years ago, my brother and I went on a hiking expedition in the Cleveland National Forest in Southern California. Unfortunately, we were ill-equipped for the day. What began as a cool, refreshing, spring-like morning quickly developed into a hot, parching, dead-of-summer day. Soon I was overcome with the most overwhelming drive to quench my […]

Three more sentences

Three sentences that were in my notes, but did not make it to my sermon on Sunday — A dead conscience and a misinformed mind is the result of failing to act on truth that has been heard and understood. There is probably no better barometer of our spiritual condition than how we handle the […]

Sin and the new man

The life of the believer is unique in many ways. One is the manner in which he must consider his sin. The follower of Christ is a new man — a new creature possessing a new life in Christ. And yet he still battles the flesh and sin on a daily basis — his only […]

Giving counsel and receiving correction

Meditating on the story of Moses and Jethro (Exodus 18), Jon Bloom meditates on how a godly man receives counsel and correction. “Moses: When God’s Direction Comes Through Correction” provides more insight than just how to receive correction, however. The article also serves to encourage those who give counsel about how to offer it in […]

Grab bag

Some random posts and articles that I’ve accumulated recently from around the ‘net: Charles Spurgeon meditates on walking with like Christ (this classic book, Morning and Evening can be downloaded in its entirety for reading at your leisure). Luther posts the 95 theses (if you’ve never really understood what the theses were all about…) Tim […]

The Fight

On June 28, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield fought a rematch of a previous boxing match. Holyfield had won the first battle, but some questioned whether he could withstand the powerful punches of Tyson again. It wasn’t the punches of Tyson that floored Holyfield, but the biting of Tyson that shocked the world. Tyson bit […]

Today’s Quote – Faith (Bonar)

Horatius Bonar, The Everlasting Righteousness: [The spiritual life] is ‘believing’ from first to last. We begin, we go on, we end in faith. The faith that justifies is the faith that overcomes (1 John 5:4). By faith we obtain the ‘good report’ both with God and man. By faith we receive forgiveness; by faith we […]

Today’s Quote – Strength (MacArthur)

John MacArthur, The Pillars of Christian Character: “Spiritual strength for believers is essentially an attitude of courage, and it includes such virtues as courage of conviction, courage to be uncompromising, courage to confront error and false doctrine, and courage to face intimidation and persecution and still remain true to what is right. A strong Christian […]

Book Review: A Passion for God

Title: A Passion for God: the Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer Author: Lyle Dorsett Publisher: Moody Press, 2008; 189 pp. $14.95 Recommendation (4-star scale): Shortly after beginning seminary, I purchased a small anthology of A. W. Tozer’s works. I did not need to read long before I was taken by this writer. I knew […]

Today’s Quote – Spiritual Blessings (Burroughs)

Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment: Every little that [the Saints, contented men] have is but as an earnest [guarantee] for all the glory that is reserved for them; it is given them by God as the forerunner of those external mercies that the Lord intends for them.

Today’s Quote – Spiritual Blessings (Chafer)

Lewis Sperry Chafer, Chafer’s Systematic Theology: As all these blessings indicated, salvation is a work of God for man, not a work of man for God. What a Christian experiences is what God’s love has prompted Him to do for those who had no merit before Him but who are now recognized in the merit […]

Today’s Quote – Spirituality (Lawson)

Steve Lawson, The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards: [Jonathan] Edwards possessed a rare combination of Reformed theology, extraordinary giftedness, and fervent piety. However, it was this latter virtue — his true spirituality, marked by a fixed resolve — that positioned him to be used so mightily by God. Few have equaled his relentless pursuit of […]