Generally we say, “living and dying.” Life comes first, then death. Yet for the believer, the order is reversed. There is death, and then there is life eternal in all its fullness. I thought of that as I read the blog accounts of the passing of J. Alan Groves. I was unaware of the life […]
Read More Thoughts on Dying and LivingIn this morning’s devotional, Oswald Chambers asks a number of helpful questions to stimulate sanctification in our lives: When we pray to be sanctified, are we prepared to face the standard of these verses? We take the term sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared for what sanctification will cost? It will cost an intense […]
Read More Questions to sanctify your lifeI just finished reading Adolphe Monod’s Living in the Hope of Glory this morning. Several statements stood out as I completed the book: “We have no idea of what we would be able to do if we were completely lost in such total harmony with God; if we would seek no other will than his. […]
Read More Final Thoughts from Adophe MonodA comment made by David Wells in his book God in the Wasteland resonates in my mind as I think about discipleship and the state of the church: “God rests too lightly — too inconsequentially on His church.” That is, too many believers follow God too superficially. And too often, He is followed weakly because […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (2/4/07)Speaking of the difficulty the disciples had in hearing Jesus’ words concerning marriage in Matthew 19, John Piper said Sunday, “…how much more will the magnificence of marriage in the mind of God seem unintelligible in a world that we live in where the main idol is self, and its main doctrine is autonomy, and […]
Read More A pmrovocative statement about arriageI don’t often purchase new music — most of what I buy was written 200 (or more) years ago. And I rarely make musical suggestions to others. But the other day I found a reference to some new music, and on a whim, listened to some excerpts and then made a purchase. In the album, […]
Read More Music worth a listenThe cartoon character Broom Hilda once lamented, “I’ve searched all my life for the key to happiness. “I found the key to happiness once…” “The next day someone changed the locks.” Even believers are not immune to such thinking. We believe that we have found the key to happiness, and then realize that what we […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (1/28/07)If you read one thing on the Internet today or this week or this month, let it be this morning’s commentary by Al Mohler, “The Scary Logic of Peter Singer.” The topic of bioethics and eugenics may not be a favorite of yours, but as believers, we must be informed about how the culture thinks […]
Read More Must readingOne of the great (and often over-looked) truths about salvation is that God draws (compels) men to believe. This action originates with the Father’s eternal plan (Jn. 6:44; Eph. 1:3-6), but it also includes the resurrecting work of Christ as the means by which salvation is fulfilled (Jn. 6:39, 40, 44, 54) and the revealing […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (1/21/07 )Yesterday morning I made that statement that James 1 is a difficult passage for us to comprehend (and apply) because it is so contrary to the fleshly response when trials occur. In addition to the eternal help we receive from God’s Word, God also provides us with godly people who respond to trial in God-exalting […]
Read More Lessons learned in a crisisThis is from Adolphe Monod’s book, Living in the Hope of Glory. It is a fitting preparation for our worship for Sunday, and for our preparation of our service today (and any day): My God, forgive the way in which your church, which alone in the world knows enough to pray, does pray. Forgive the […]
Read More A prayer for a lack of prayerIt has been said that “the trouble with life is that it’s so daily.” Most of us identify well with that statement. Daily-ness is not only the trouble with life; it is also the “trouble” with the spiritual life (it’s what makes the spiritual life difficult). We desire a sanctification that is instant and complete, […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (1/14/07)Oswald Chambers makes a surprising and perceptive (and true) statement about the cost of obedience in this morning’s devotional. If we obey God it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the sting comes in. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost […]
Read More The Cost of ObedienceJohn Piper has long said that he has written only one book — Desiring God — all the other books he’s written are merely expansions and explanations of that book. That is particularly true of the book When I Don’t Desire God, which became one of my most favorite books by Piper after I read […]
Read More The darkness of depression — a helpAfter Sunday’s message I was moderately rebuked for not listing John Owen’s works on sin, particularly On the Mortification of Sin in my resources. So here they are: John Owens, Of the Mortification of Sin — this edition includes the classic introduction by J. I. Packer. Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor, Overcoming Sin and Temptation: […]
Read More Owens on Temptation
Words of Grace 