Title: Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters Author: Timothy Keller Publisher: Dutton, 2009; 210 pp. $19.95 Recommendation (4-star scale): I first started thinking of idolatry as something more than a metal or wood structure made with hands ten or twelve years ago when reading […]
Read More Book Review: Counterfeit GodsG. K. Chesterton, A Short History of England: I do not, in my personal capacity, believe that a baby gets his best physical food by sucking his thumb; nor that a man gets his best moral food by sucking his soul, and denying its dependence on God or other good things. I would maintain that […]
Read More Today’s Quote – Thanksgiving (Chesterton)Thanksgiving is a deeply theological act, rightly understood. As a matter of fact, thankfulness is a theology in microcosm — a key to understanding what we really believe about God, ourselves, and the world we experience. A haunting question is this: How do atheists observe Thanksgiving? I can easily understand that an atheist or agnostic […]
Read More Can an atheist give thanks tomorrow?Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods: Many, if not most, of these counterfeit gods can remain in our lives once we have “demoted” them below God. Then they won’t control us and bedevil us with anxiety, pride, anger, and drivenness. Nevertheless, we must not make the mistake of thinking that this story means all we have to […]
Read More Today’s Quote – Idolatry (Keller)A young boy was asked by his father to say grace at dinner. While the rest of the family waited, he slowly looked over every dish of food on the table. After his examination, he bowed his head and honestly prayed, “Lord, I don’t like the looks of it, but I thank you for it, […]
Read More In everything give thanksJohn Bunyan, All Loves Excelling: …that a person so great, so high, so glorious, as this Jesus Christ was, should have love for us, that passes knowledge. It is common for equals to love, and for superiors to be beloved; but for the King of princes, for the Son of God, for Jesus Christ to […]
Read More Today’s Quote – Christ’s Love (Bunyan)Are you reluctant to evangelize? You’re not alone. And Mark Dever’s book, The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, has been written to help you. He talks about the book to The Briefing.
Read More The reluctant evangelistB. B. Warfield, “The Religious Life of Theological Students:” Other men, oppressed by the hard conditions of life, sunk in the daily struggle for bread perhaps, distracted at any rate by the dreadful drag of the world upon them and the awful rush of the world’s work, find it hard to get time and opportunity […]
Read More Today’s Quote – Weariness (Warfield)On a very limited number of occasions — once, maybe twice — I have felt like I had reached the limits of my physical abilities. My arms and legs trembling with weariness, I was nearing the end of what my body could do. On a few of occasions I’ve watched sporting events and seen athletes […]
Read More Do not grow weary of doing goodTim Keller, Counterfeit Gods: What many people call “psychological problems” are simple issues of idolatry. Perfectionism, chronic indecisiveness, the need to control the lives of others — all of these stem from making good things into idols that then drive us into the ground as we try to appease them. Idols dominate our lives.… The […]
Read More Today’s Quote – Idolatry (Keller)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 […]
Read More Grab bagDo we know the strength and power of God in our lives? Do we know the strength and power of God in our praying? Much of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is concerned with the matter of strength for living for the Ephesians (e.g., 1:19-20; 3:16, 20; 6:10ff). Among the truths exposed by Paul are: […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (11/15/09)Our men’s conference is now complete. It was a wonderful morning with Tom Pennington. He spoke three times and participated in a Q & A. All the audio and a number of pictures are now available. The links are below: Audio A Man After God’s Own Heart God’s Design for Marriage, Pt. 1 God’s Design […]
Read More Men’s ConferenceElisabeth Elliot: Today is mine. Tomorrow is none of my business. If I peer anxiously into the fog of the future, I will strain my spiritual eyes so that I will not see clearly what is required of me now. (HT: Christianity Today)
Read More Today’s Quote – Anxiety (Elliot)The past couple of weeks we have heard much about freedom. This week the world recognized the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Our country also remembered the veterans who fought on her behalf, providing protection and freedom for all her citizens. And last week we watched in horror the images of […]
Read More Reflections on freedom and a week of remembrances
