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Aug 2013 31 Aug 31, 2013

A few days ago I alerted you to an excellent article by Robert Gagnon concerning the decision by the PCUSA (Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.) to remove the modern hymn “In Christ Alone” from their new and revised hymnbook. Gagnon has now written a follow-up piece that addresses the remarkable irony (lunacy?) of this being done by a historically “Reformed” and “Presbyterian” denomination. You can find the article at www.layman.org/the-presb...Read More

Aug 2013 31 Aug 31, 2013
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[Please take a minute and read this excellent article by Andrew Wilson.] A Question for Piper’s Critics Andrew Wilson / 8-28-13 http://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/a_question_for_pipers_critics The question is familiar, at least to anyone who has met a biblically literate sceptic: "How can God wipe out men, women and children in the Old Testament?" This answer, from John Piper, shocks many with its bluntness and its implicit theology: "It's right for God to...Read More

Aug 2013 31 Aug 31, 2013

I can’t recall which of my seminary professors first made the point, but I’ve never forgotten his emphasis on the word “therefore” whenever it appears in Scripture. “Always ask the question,” he said, “what is ‘therefore’ there for?” That is to say, what is its function? To what does it refer? Does it point backwards or forwards? How does it help set your passage in context? It obviously means, at least to some ...Read More

Aug 2013 30 Aug 30, 2013

“Patience . . . is a habit of mind and heart that grows out of inner peace. Patience trusts God to be at work even in the frustrating events of life, whether it is engorged traffic or crying babies or implacable vendettas or a seemingly unending series of personal disasters. Patience thinks before speaking, aiming to avoid offending. Patience wills the self to see the world from someone else’s perspective – and to walk with that person through their wor...Read More

Aug 2013 30 Aug 30, 2013

Although neither the word “reverence” nor “awe” is found in Matthew 6, our Lord’s instruction concerning how we are to pray begins with that idea. Insolence and presumption, the antitheses of reverential awe, have no place in the heart of a believer who is seeking God’s face. Reverence must have been what Jesus had in mind when he told us to begin our prayers with the words, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” ...Read More

Aug 2013 30 Aug 30, 2013

In the light of an impending crisis, Peter urged his readers to be “self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7b). Simply put, when you pray, keep a cool head. Keep your wits about you. There is a mental and emotional balance that must prevail when we pray, lest in uncontrolled passion we request what is improper or in fearful reluctance fail to pray for what is needed. Peter would have believers lead a disciplined life, with ...Read More

Aug 2013 29 Aug 29, 2013
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“My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20). Here James envisions a believer intervening in the life of another, wayward, believer. The result is that you will “save his soul from death” and will “cover a multitude of sins.” Does this mean ther...Read More

Aug 2013 29 Aug 29, 2013

Several weeks ago I wrote a post on the decision by the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., to exclude the contemporary hymn “In Christ Alone” from its new hymnal. Today I read what is undoubtedly the most incisive and careful analysis of this decision and I thought it important to share it with you. I strongly urge you to read Robert Gagnon’s article, found at www.layman.org/the-presbyterian-pcusa-hymnal-controversy-around-the-doctrine-of-the-atonement-part...Read More

Aug 2013 29 Aug 29, 2013

“And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (Rev. 5:5-6). Edwards continues his meditation o...Read More

Aug 2013 28 Aug 28, 2013

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that a...Read More

Aug 2013 27 Aug 27, 2013
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Let’s now turn our attention to this magnificent passage, starting with its portrayal of the Son of God in eternity past. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of de...Read More

Aug 2013 26 Aug 26, 2013

Some statements in the Bible leave you scratching your head, asking: “What could this possibly mean?” Other texts leave you wiping tears from your eyes, wondering: “Did God really do that for me?” Then there are those passages that blow your mind and leave you shouting: “Wow! I can’t believe what I just read!” And finally there are some things in the Bible that leave you gasping for breath, struggling to maintain your composure, ...Read More

Aug 2013 24 Aug 24, 2013
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These are the guidelines we provide at Bridgeway Church to facilitate the proper exercise of prophecy in our small groups. I hope you find it helpful. Three Foundational Principles 1. The primary purpose of prophetic ministry is to edify, encourage, and comfort God’s people (1 Cor. 14:3). 2. All believers are exhorted to earnestly seek after spiritual gifts, especially prophecy (1 Cor. 14:1). 3. All prophetic words must be judged/weighed by the body of Christ (...Read More

Aug 2013 23 Aug 23, 2013

Charles Spurgeon would never have been accused of fanaticism or emotionalism. Yet he understood the critical importance and incomparable delight of enjoying God. Although he was addressing the church of the 19th century, his reflections on Psalm 32 have special relevance for us today: "Our happiness should be demonstrative; . . . men whisper their praises decorously where a hearty outburst of song would be far more natural. It is to be feared that the church of the pr...Read More

Aug 2013 23 Aug 23, 2013

What I mean by this is that the life of a Christian devoted to community is a life in combat with numerous enemies. There are forces and temptations and trends and even some people who if not resisted and overcome can undermine your relationship with Christ and seriously erode your growth as a Christian. Thus when you choose to pursue community with the people of God you are fighting the insidious and destructive influence of these enemies. So let me mention a few. (1) ...Read More

Aug 2013 22 Aug 22, 2013

"When we are delighted with flowery meadows and gentle breezes of wind, we may consider that we see only the emanations of the sweet benevolence of Jesus Christ. When we behold the fragrant rose and lily, we see His love and purity. So the green trees and fields and singing of birds are the emanations of His infinite joy and benignity [i.e., kindness]. The easiness and naturalness of trees and vines are shadows of His beauty and loveliness. The crystal rivers and murmuri...Read More

Aug 2013 22 Aug 22, 2013
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Many Christians have a less than biblical understanding of what being a Christian is all about. More than a few liken it to a casual stroll down the proverbial yellow-brick road on our way to some heavenly OZ. Others think that being a child of God entitles a person to a pain-free existence, or at least an existence in which all pain is easily, if not automatically, eliminated. Of course, there are plenty of Christians who err at the other end of the spectrum. They have ...Read More

Aug 2013 21 Aug 21, 2013
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The Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Gifts (a review from www.verticallivingministries.com). As someone who was brought up in Cessationist churches and schools I was always taught that the miraculous gifts in the Book of Acts and 1 Corinthians had ceased and were no longer in use today. In 1999 I went on a missions trip to India and witnessed several healing miracles, heard several prophecies, and personally experienced the power and presence of the Holy Spirit like ...Read More

Aug 2013 21 Aug 21, 2013

Petition, in which we seek blessings that we need, and thanksgiving, in which we are grateful for blessings received, together constitute the language of dependence, a constant reminder to us that in God “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Petitionary prayer is based on the scriptural declaration that nothing in the lives of God’s children is too trivial or unimportant that we should hesitate to bring it to the throne of grace. If the p...Read More

Aug 2013 20 Aug 20, 2013

“And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (Rev. 5:5-6). Edwards continues his meditation on ho...Read More

Aug 2013 20 Aug 20, 2013

A brief review of Tough Topics by Jason Garwood, Lead Pastor of Colwood Church in Caro, MI. Jason blogs at www.jasongarwood.com. In his book ‘Tough Topics,’ Pastor Sam Storms attempts to tackle some of the most often asked questions in Christianity today. I applaud Storms’ efforts because the church must be able to answer them in accordance with the Scriptures, and Storms does a masterful job at doing so. To pick out my favorites would be an impossibl...Read More

Aug 2013 20 Aug 20, 2013

J. I. Packer has great insight and excellent advice for us when it comes to the discipline of self-examination and our battle with pride. “Whereas introspection, whether it ends in euphoria or in the gloom of self-pity and self-despair, can become an expression of self-absorbed pride, self-examination is the fruit of God-centered humility, ever seeking to shake free of all that displeases the Father, dishonors the Son and grieves the Holy Spirit, so as to honor ...Read More

Aug 2013 19 Aug 19, 2013

I began following Jesus at a time when the Left Behind series of books was entering the height of popularity. I was reading each one that came out, and as a new believer I just assumed this was how the end times were going to happen. I stopped reading the series about halfway through when I realized that one of the books I had just read covered only one day in what was supposed to be a seven year tribulation. I got weary of how long the story was going to drag out, but I...Read More

Aug 2013 18 Aug 18, 2013
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[The following is a selection taken from a sermon I preached yesterday at Bridgeway, Sunday, August 18, 2013.] Most are probably unaware of this, but I frequently speak with people who are new to Bridgeway and I hear one of three observations. Almost all of them are somewhat surprised by what they encounter and experience here. It certainly wasn’t what they expected. First of all, there are those who have come to Bridgeway because they are desperately hungry for ...Read More

Aug 2013 17 Aug 17, 2013

J. I. Packer defines “complaint” in prayer as “a kind of speech that blends lamentation (raging, glooming and despairing over what is bad, frustrating and hurtful) with supplication (begging and pleading that someone will do something about it)” (Praying 190). But is it ever permissible to “complain” to God in prayer? Or should the believer gird up his loins, grit his teeth, and keep his mouth shut? More than permissible, it is often ...Read More

Aug 2013 17 Aug 17, 2013

“The bottom line for us all is: Choose togetherness, the radical togetherness of those who know they are inseparably and eternally one in Christ and whose relationship is rooted in praise and prayer together. Choose not to be held back by shyness, embarrassment, social convention or any form of personal inhibition (attitudes anchored not in concern for dignity and good taste, as some make themselves believe, but in a panicky fear of vulnerability). Choose to give a...Read More

Aug 2013 16 Aug 16, 2013
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Notwithstanding all that was said in my previous article on why God didn’t choose or elect all unto salvation, there is still in the human soul an uneasiness concerning God’s sovereign choice. To many, it seems arbitrary and unfair. If this is problematic to you, read carefully Charles Spurgeon’s response. It’s lengthy but well worth the effort: “But there are some who say, ‘It is hard for God to choose some and leave others.’...Read More

Aug 2013 15 Aug 15, 2013
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The one question I’m asked more often than all others combined is this: “If God could have chosen or elected everyone for salvation, why didn’t he?” Or again: “If election is solely based on what God wanted and not anything in us that might differentiate the chosen from the un-chosen and thus account for why this one and not another, why didn’t God choose all? If he could have, why didn’t he?” With this question we run he...Read More

Aug 2013 14 Aug 14, 2013

“And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (Rev. 5:5-6). This remarkable passage was the occasi...Read More

Aug 2013 14 Aug 14, 2013

As we continue our study of Philipians 2:1-4 and the biblical strategy for cultivating a Christ-exalting relational culture in our churches, we turn our attention to the “how” question as it is answered in vv. 3-4. There Paul writes: “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” There are three specific w...Read More

Aug 2013 13 Aug 13, 2013

“Since the world would be altogether good for nothing without intelligent beings, so intelligent beings would be altogether good for nothing except to contemplate the Creator. Hence we learn that devotion, and not mutual love, charity, justice, beneficence, etc., is the highest end of man, and devotion is his principal business.” (Jonathan Edwards / Miscellany kk)...Read More

Aug 2013 12 Aug 12, 2013

Let’s look again at Philippians 2:1-2. Paul writes: “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (Phil. 2:1-2). What is it that Paul is asking them to do? He wants the Philippians to bring his joy to consummation, to cap it off, to cause it to bubble up and overflow. D...Read More

Aug 2013 12 Aug 12, 2013

People often wonder if their capacity to experience pleasure and joy in heaven will be the same as is presently possible on earth. In other words, are the range and depth of our experience now the measure of what it will be in the new heavens and new earth? Or will there be a transformation in us both physically and spiritually such that the pleasures we currently enjoy pale in comparison with what we will know and see and feel in the age to come? Jonathan Edwards has an...Read More

Aug 2013 12 Aug 12, 2013

What kind or sort of relational culture do you want to see and experience at your local church? What ought to be the personal, inter-relational atmosphere in your church? For what do you want to be known by those outside your community? When people speak of your church and the way all of you interact with one another, what do they say? What you do want them to say? That’s what I want us to think about in this article. But before I go any farther, let me give you an...Read More

Aug 2013 10 Aug 10, 2013
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Some people are unnerved by the thought that God is omniscient. To know that God knows everything, and especially that he knows everything about us, can be frightening. But it shouldn’t be. J. I. Packer explains why: “Certainly there are moments when we have reason to be grateful that no other person can read our own minds – except God! Even that may feel a little unnerving. That the God who knows every square inch of the faintest star in the unviers...Read More

Aug 2013 10 Aug 10, 2013

“Heavenly lovers will have no doubt of the love of each other. They shall have no fear that their professions and testimonies of love are hypocritical; they shall be perfectly satisfied of the sincerity and strength of each other’s love, as much as if there were a window in all their breasts, that they could see other’s hearts. There shall be no such thing as flattery or dissimulation in heaven, but there perfect sincerity shall reign through all. Every...Read More

Aug 2013 9 Aug 9, 2013

“How soon do earthly lovers come to an end of their discoveries of each other’s beauty; how soon do they see all that is to be seen! . . . And how happy is that love, in which there is an eternal progress in all these things; wherein new beauties are continually discovered, and more and more loveliness, and in which we shall forever increase in beauty ourselves; where we shall be made capable of finding out and giving, and shall receive, more and more endeari...Read More

Aug 2013 8 Aug 8, 2013
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Many people who pray do so with great hesitation in their hearts. They virtually tip toe to the throne of grace, fearful of upsetting God with what they perceive to be their own insolence or presumption. They lack confidence and courage. This is why we need to hear yet again the exhortation of Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” But confidence in ...Read More

Aug 2013 8 Aug 8, 2013

Won’t our remembrance of sin spoil the joy of heaven? No, said Jonathan Edwards. The saints in heaven “will so perfectly see at the same time, how that ‘tis turned to the best, to the glory of God, or at least will so perfectly know that it is so; and particularly, they will have so much the more admiring and joyful sense of God’s grace in pardoning them, that the remembrance of their sins will rather be an indirect occasion of joy” (Misc...Read More

Aug 2013 8 Aug 8, 2013

Duty and morality are the language of “ought” and “must” that often run counter to desire. They shouldn’t, but they do. We are sinfully selfish creatures who must be told by God what is right and how we should live. But in heaven, where all sinful and selfish impulses will have been eradicated, desire and duty will converge. What we “ought” to feel and think and do will come spontaneously, as an expression of our deepest inner de...Read More

Aug 2013 7 Aug 7, 2013

“I will exalt thee, Lord of hosts, For thou’st exalted me; Since thou hast silenced Satan’s boasts, I’ll therefore boast in thee.   My sins had brought me near the grave, The grave of black despair; I look’d but there was not to save, Till I look’d up in prayer.   In answer to my piteous cries, From hell’s dark brink I’m brought; My Jesus saw me from the skies, And swift salvation wrought.   Al...Read More

Aug 2013 7 Aug 7, 2013

Your immediate response to such a question is probably, “Yes, he often says No!” In which case, I encourage you to reflect on J. I. Packer’s answer. “God’s yes is regularly a case of ‘your thinking about how I could best meet this need was right’; his no is a case of ‘not that, for this is better’ – and so is really a yes in disguise! – and his wait (which we infer from the fact that though we have aske...Read More

Aug 2013 6 Aug 6, 2013

“The best, most beautiful, and most perfect way that we have of expressing a sweet concord of mind to each other,” said Jonathan Edwards, “is by music” (Misc. 188, Yale, 13:331). Thus in heaven, he continued, it is probable “that the glorified saints, after they have again received their bodies, will have ways of expressing the concord of their minds by some other emanations than sounds, of which we cannot conceive, that will be vastly more...Read More

Aug 2013 6 Aug 6, 2013
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The recent acquital of George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin has stirred up the debate over racism in a way that transcends any that I can recall. I don’t pretend to have the answer for this problem, although I highly recommend John Piper’s insightful and convicting book, Bloodlines, for those who want to dig more deeply. So let me say up front that what follows has been influenced greatly by John’s contribution to this volatile subject. How ...Read More

Aug 2013 5 Aug 5, 2013

“To pretend to describe the excellence, the greatness or duration of the happiness of heaven by the most artful composition of words would be to darken and cloud it, to talk of raptures and ecstasies, joy and singing, is but to set forth very low shadows of the reality, and all we can by our best rhetoric is really and truly, vastly below what is but the bare and naked truth, and if St. Paul who had seen them, thought it but in vain to endeavor to utter it, much le...Read More

Aug 2013 5 Aug 5, 2013

The word “diligence” describes that devotion, urgency, and alertness in prayer that is so frequently urged upon us in the New Testament. For example, lest we become careless or mechanical in our prayers Paul urged that we “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2). Be on your guard against sloth. Be sleepless in prayer if circumstances should demand it. Be vigilant. Beware of lethargy. This holy devotion t...Read More

Aug 2013 3 Aug 3, 2013
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Five years ago today, August 3, 2008, one of my heroes died. I never met him, but I think I know him. Of one thing I’m certain, the influence exerted on me by Alexander Solzhenitsyn is incalculable. It’s difficult to explain the personal impact of Solzhenitsyn. He was such a massive figure in the public eye and provoked controversy (the good kind) throughout the course of his life. He was born on December 11, 1918, in Kislovodsk in southern Russia. Toward th...Read More

Aug 2013 2 Aug 2, 2013

“Therefore, their knowledge will increase to eternity; and if their knowledge, doubtless their holiness. For as they increase in the knowledge of God and of the works of God, the more they will see of his excellency; and the more they see of his excellency . . . the more will they love him; and the more they love God, the more delight and happiness . . . will they have in him.” (Miscellany, 105)...Read More

Aug 2013 2 Aug 2, 2013
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Prayer devoid of humility is presumption. That is why James warns us that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Js. 4:6). Can you imagine anything more horrifying than being opposed by God? As strange as it sounds, people are being told today that pride is more a virtue than a vice (although they typically use a synonym for “pride” lest they lose their audience from the get-go). It is tragic because this gospel of self-absorptio...Read More

Aug 2013 1 Aug 1, 2013
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“We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught. Ironically, the billions of dollars we’ve spent on youth ministers, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced a culture of young Christians who know next to nothing about their own faith except how they should feel about it. Our young people have deep beliefs about the culture war, but do not know why they shoul...Read More

Aug 2013 1 Aug 1, 2013
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Matthew Everhard, Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, FL, recently reviewed my book, "Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative," and has granted permission to post it here. It is taken for granted that pretribulational premillennialism (or dispensationalism) is gospel truth in most quarters of the evangelical world today. This, however, has not always been the case. Pretribulational premillennialism, popularized by such fictional wor...Read More