I’m glad the answer is “yes”. See how Thom Rainer suggests it can happen.
30 Reasons Why It Is a Great Thing to Be a Pastor
Amen!
Pursue Justice of Extend Grace in Sexual Harassment?
This is an important question—and I appreciate the answer.
One of the most important books that you can read on sex and pornography is Tim Challies’ book Sexual Detox. Tim really excels in teaching on this topic. Here is another phenomenal article.
This is funny and actually teaches us a good lesson.
“A weak faith may lay hold on a strong Christ”
I could have swore that this quote was from Richard Sibbes. I know for certain that Thomas Watson wrote it in his work A Body of Divinity. Regardless of where it came from I know that it has been used by God to encourage and strengthen my soul.
When I interviewed for my current position as associate pastor one of the questions asked me was this: What is the most important aspect of your faith? My response was simple. It’s object.
Of course you want to increase your faith. As faith increases our experience of God intends to increase. This seems to be what Paul was praying for when he prayed for the Ephesians that “the eyes of [their] hearts may be enlightened”. That’s a decent definition of faith: seeing Jesus with the heart. The result, says Paul, is that “you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe…” In other words,
more faith—>greater sight—>deeper experience of the grace already received
So, we should passionately pursue an increase in faith. But we must constantly remember that our pursuit is a greater sight of faith’s object; namely, Jesus Christ.
For those that feel weak in faith be encouraged by the fact that the gospel is true in your life no matter if your trust in Christ is weak or strong. The hope of the gospel is fixed for all those that embrace Christ, even if that faith is no bigger than a mustard seed.
Our faith doesn’t save us. Our Savior does. And he is very strong. As Spurgeon once said:
Ah! the bridge of grace will bear your weight, brother. Thousands of big sinners have gone across that bridge, yea, tens of thousands have gone over it. I can hear their trampings now as they traverse the great arches of the bridge of salvation. They come by their thousands, by their myriads; e’er since the day when Christ first entered into His glory, they come, and yet never a stone has sprung in that mighty bridge. Some have been the chief of sinners, and some have come at the very last of their days, but the arch has never yielded beneath their weight. I will go with them trusting to the same support; it will bear me over as it has borne them.
Jesus is indeed Mighty to Save!
—
Originally appeared here.
“Is dat funny”, says my daughter as she dances on the table after being told for the fourteenth time that we don’t dance on the kitchen table.
Part of me wants to laugh with her. But the other part of me is a little frustrated that we’ve told her a million times not to do this particular activity and yet she still wonders whether or not mommy and daddy will let it slide and laugh it off.
I want to say to her, perhaps rather loudly, “No honey it is NOT funny because it is outright disobedience. Mommy and Daddy will never laugh at you disobeying us. It’s just NOT funny”. In my finer moments I stay composed and calmly help her to see that it’s not all that funny because we’ve asked her to not stand on the table, then I try to redirect her towards things that actually are funny.
I see myself in my daughters actions.
I love making people laugh—and I’m discovering that she does too. Yet I’m beginning to wonder if maybe somehow she’s picked up a little of her daddies twisted sense of humor.
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. –Ephesians 4:29
This one has been a battle for me. I’ve always had a weird sense of humor—and for years before Christ captivated my heart it was pretty vulgar. I’m the guy that not only crosses the line but crosses the line and spanks it. (Hopefully that statement wasn’t doing that). Or at least I was that guy, the Lord has transformed my wit over the years.
Yet, I still struggle.
At times I foolishly assume that just because something is funny that the Lord is slapping his knee up in heaven and going to give my words a free pass. It’s the humor clause. And so I say something really dumb and I’m like my daughter saying, “Is dat funny, God”?
No, son, it’s not. It’s disobedience and disobedience is never funny…
—
*Just as a side note, my daughters disobedience is somewhat excusable. She’s not even quite three yet. She’s still trying to learn the ins and outs of humor. But that’s not the case with me. My “is dat funny?” moments are far less excusable.
Also isn’t my daughter about the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?
Dr. Eric Johnson is one of my favorite professors at SBTS. This article is good stuff.
It seems that more and more people are rediscovering John Newton. That’s awesome. Jared Wilson shares this Newton poem to his audience.
The Conservative Resurgence: Reflections of a Foot Soldier
I appreciated this perspective of the Conservative Resurgence in the SBC from Dave Miller.
9 Things You Should Know About Planned Parenthood
Here are 9 facts about PP, every one of them makes me sick.
I’m praying that somebody in Chicago gives this man a job: