(Law and) Gospel-centered Parenting
I think this is wise.
Posts like this are always so helpful to me.
Am I Disqualified From Ministry?
Questions like this are important. I believe Scotty Smith did a great job of answering it.
How to Endure Common-to-Man Temptations
I especially like the last section: Prepare to Not Want Escape.
Wow, this Granny can rock! Does anyone else get a picture of Church Lady in their head when you watch this?
Day Five: That Her Husband Would Be Pure
I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. –Psalm 101:3
One of the greatest things that our wives need from us is our personal purity. If we are to faithfully love, serve, and sacrifice for our wives we must do so as men of integrity. One of the greatest robbers of personal integrity and holiness is lust and pornography. Brothers, we must pray that God would sustain us and be our delight. Let us pray that he would protect us from temptation and give us the wisdom and strength to flee ungodly passions. Our wives need our holiness.
Father, forgive me for all of the times that I have not lived in absolute integrity. I thank you that Jesus Christ redeems and makes new everything that we’ve shipwrecked. May we live in His redemption and not foolish rebellion. Lord, create in us a holy passion for purity. Keep us from flirting with sin and not fleeing from it. Cause us to be men of integrity and purity. Might we be known as men that love our wives and love our Lord in such a way that “worthless” and “unclean” things have lost their luster. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from this great evil. In the absolutely pure name of Jesus, I pray, amen.
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If you need help with your battle against lust and pornography, these resources are quite helpful.
I’m not the Benny Hinn type, but I do pray for healing quite often. And I do it rather simply:
“Lord, heal _______ according to your will.”
It might sound as if I’m praying that because I simply do not know the Lord’s will in a situation. From my finite perspective I have no idea if the Lord has purposed to heal a person. While that is true, that is not all that I am communicating whenever I pray that the Lord heal someone according to His will. It’s actually a prayer that is jam-packed with theology and hope.
All believers will ultimately be healed
I know that whenever I pray for healing in the life of a believer that it will always ultimately be answered. I know this from Revelation 21:4 (among other places). I know that one day, “He will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away”.
Therefore, when I pray that the Lord heal someone according to His will I know that He is going to eventually answer that prayer. That might mean that my prayer for healing in the present is not answered—because God is going to answer the greater prayer—ultimate healing.
God heals in the present as a preview of His ultimate healing
Yet, sometimes God does answer our prayers for healing in the present. The Lord is kind and gracious. He binds up broken hearts. He causes cancer to disappear. He clears up cloudy minds. Yes, our great God wipes away tears even in the present. And he does this as a preview of things to come.
Therefore, I am praying that if it be the Lord’s good pleasure that He would provide healing in the present. When he answers these prayers it helps us to see that God is actively involved and concerned—not only for our future but also for our present. When he does not provide present healing we know that He is still good—and He has answered our prayers for ultimate healing.
What about unbelievers?
When I am praying for an unbeliever that God would heal them according to His will, I am not only praying for temporary healing. I am praying that they would come to know Jesus Christ and that their greatest problem would be answered; namely separation from God.
I know that while they remain in rebellion that they have no promise of ultimate healing. Instead it is the opposite. This present suffering pales in comparison to the suffering that is to come. Therefore, I pray that the Lord might use this to draw them to himself. I’m praying that they would experience ultimately healing because they have been rescued by Jesus.
This is what I’m praying for whenever I ask God to heal somebody according to His will.
Let’s not be uncomfortable in praying for healing. Let’s be bold. In my mind praying for healing is the same thing as praying Maranatha! So let us approach Him with confidence and hope, knowing that our prayers for healing in the life of believers will always ultimately be answered.
What I Learned About Leadership Listening to the Nixon Tapes
I found this interesting.
This is an interview with Heath Lambert, author of Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace.
This is an important question for the community that I live in.
I think I make all eight of these.
Would you try this?