"...Calling the military chiefs from the crowd, [Joshua] orders them to step forward and face these Amorite kings, presumably bound and lying on the ground. Joshua tells these leaders of Israel to put their feet on the necks of these kings, and then he proclaims,
"'Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lᴏʀᴅ will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.' (Joshua 10:25)
"And he means it. All Israel’s enemies — God’s enemies — will ultimately be defeated. Even in the darkest days, when it seems evil is prevailing, it’s not. It can’t. Why?
"Because long before the chiefs of Israel put their feet on the necks of these foes, God promised us One who would put his foot on the neck of our greatest foe.
"This is where Joshua 10 is pointing...."
For the rest of this encouraging article from Desiring God, click here....
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Can you trust Him?
“Those hands that keep a million worlds from spinning into oblivion were nailed motionless to a cross— for us. . . . Can you trust him?” -- Elisabeth Elliot
(quoted by Timothy Keller in "Walking with God through Pain and Suffering", p. 174).
(quoted by Timothy Keller in "Walking with God through Pain and Suffering", p. 174).
Where is lasting hope to be found?
"Lasting hope is always found vertically; all the horizontal places you will look for hope are, like you, broken and groaning for redemption." -- Paul David Tripp
Sunday, January 12, 2014
"There is but a step..."
“‘Today,’ says our Lord to the penitent thief, ‘today you will be with me in paradise.’ He names no distant period. He does not talk of his entering into a state of happiness as a thing far away. He speaks of today, ‘this very day in which you are hanging on the cross.’
How near that seems! How awfully near that word brings our everlasting dwelling-place! Happiness or misery, sorrow or joy, the presence of Christ or the company of devils — all are close to us. ’There is but a step,’ says David, ‘between me and death.’ There is but a step, we may say, between ourselves and either paradise or hell.”
-- J. C. Ryle, "Holiness" (Old Tappan, n.d.), page 193.
HT: Ray Ortlund, Jr.
How near that seems! How awfully near that word brings our everlasting dwelling-place! Happiness or misery, sorrow or joy, the presence of Christ or the company of devils — all are close to us. ’There is but a step,’ says David, ‘between me and death.’ There is but a step, we may say, between ourselves and either paradise or hell.”
-- J. C. Ryle, "Holiness" (Old Tappan, n.d.), page 193.
HT: Ray Ortlund, Jr.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Fear of the Future
“Although it is very right to think about the future, it is very wrong to be controlled by it.
"The difficulty with people who are prey to these fears is that they are controlled by the future, they are dominated by thoughts of it, and there they are wringing their hands, doing nothing, depressed by fears about it. In fact, they are completely governed and mastered by the unknown future, and that is always wrong. To take thought is right, but to be controlled by the future is all wrong.”
-- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: "Spiritual Depression" p. 98.
"The difficulty with people who are prey to these fears is that they are controlled by the future, they are dominated by thoughts of it, and there they are wringing their hands, doing nothing, depressed by fears about it. In fact, they are completely governed and mastered by the unknown future, and that is always wrong. To take thought is right, but to be controlled by the future is all wrong.”
-- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: "Spiritual Depression" p. 98.
The life-giving Word
"...In his natural state the unregenerate man suppresses every aspect of God's natural and special revelation. The evidence in him, around him, and in Scripture is sufficient and final. There is no weakness in the evidence. The problem is that man cannot see. He doesn't need more evidence; he needs new birth. The living, abiding Word of God as self-attestingly sure, blessed by the regenerating activity of the Holy Spirit, is his only hope."
-- James M. Grier, "Essays on the Christian Worldview"
-- James M. Grier, "Essays on the Christian Worldview"
Thursday, January 9, 2014
James M. Grier on "Faith"
"Belief in God as He is revealed in Jesus Christ is the very essence of faith. To believe in God implies trusting Him, being loyal to Him, obeying Him and loving Him. Faith is the cardinal allegiance in life. It is the response to the first commandment in the Ten Words, 'Thou shalt have no other god before Me...' It is the answer to the initial petitions of the Lord's Prayer, 'Hallowed be Thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done.'
"Faith is the central allegiance that gives meaning and significance to all of life. Loss of faith implies movement to meaninglessness, the loss of the point of all things, the loss of the significance of one's actions. This loyalty to God as revealed in Christ is not one among many loyalties in life. It is the loyalty, the ultimate trust in God that gives meaning to all of life."
-- James M. Grier, "Loving the God of Truth" p. 143
"Faith is the central allegiance that gives meaning and significance to all of life. Loss of faith implies movement to meaninglessness, the loss of the point of all things, the loss of the significance of one's actions. This loyalty to God as revealed in Christ is not one among many loyalties in life. It is the loyalty, the ultimate trust in God that gives meaning to all of life."
-- James M. Grier, "Loving the God of Truth" p. 143
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
"Reading the Bible Like Jesus: Matt. 22:31"
...from Thabiti Anyabwile:
"Reading the Bible is difficult work. Or at least it can be if we intend to do more than simply read it for enjoyment or duty. There are many things we have to overcome in order to read effectively: the flesh, fatigue, distractions, time pressures from various sources, cold hearts, clogged ears and so on. Even when we overcome all these obstacles of the world, the flesh and the devil, we still find our Bible reading needs adjustment in order to read as Jesus read.
"Consider for example Jesus’ interaction with the Sadducees about the resurrection in Matthew 22:23-33. The Sadducees try to trip Jesus up with a question about a woman who marries seven brothers. They don’t believe in the resurrection and suppose that such a situation would obviously falsify the resurrection since she can’t be the wife of seven men in heaven. Here’s how Jesus replied:
29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at His teaching.
“Ouch” to verse 29. That must have stung the Sadducees.
"Then notice what Jesus does. In verse 30 he answers the silly question about marriage in heaven. If they knew the Scriptures and God’s power they would know that marriage is earthly but our heavenly existence is of another sort altogether when it comes to relationships.
"But verse 31 is where Jesus teaches us to read the Bible. Notices specifically the question, “have you not read what was said to you by God…?” Jesus presupposes two things here that help us to read our Bibles.
"First, Jesus suggests we should read our Bibles as a present tense, personal address. “What was said to you….” The text he quotes is Exodus 3:6, where God speaks to Moses from the burning bush. But Jesus says the Sadducees should have understood that as an address to them centuries later! That text had their names on it. And so every text we read, properly interpreted, has our name on it, too. It is addressed to us personally, even though it is not primarily about us. How would we read our Bibles differently if we approached it as if it were addressed to us? At the very least we would be enabled to approach the Bible with a new sense of personal investment and a sense of the Bible’s enduring relevance.
"Second, Jesus suggests we should read our Bibles as a conversation with the living God. Notice again: “What was said to you by God…”. Then consider the Master’s quote of Exodus 3:6 to prove that God “is not the God of the dead, but the living.” God lives and He speaks. Most fundamentally we are not being addressed by human authors when we read the Bible. We are being addressed by the living God. At least that’s how Jesus read the Bible. The Exodus account becomes a word from God in print addressed to Sadducees and Christians centuries later. Jesus presumes we should hear God’s voice and discover God’s mind when we read our Bibles. Our reading is God speaking. That makes sense if we understand that God breathed out the Scriptures as the true Author (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
"There are a couple things I have to do in order to hold onto these realities.
First, I have to keep reminding myself that God is alive and that He is talking to me. I find it so easy to approach the Bible as a book written by dead men. That’s not my self-conscious approach; it’s a creeping assumption that keeps dulling my mind. I keep forgetting that God is speaking to me, personally, as I read His word. I find myself thinking that God is speaking generally, to no one in particular, about things in general. I need to ready my mind with a sense of His addressing me personally and specifically or my Bible reading grows cold.
"Second, I need to speak more often of my Bible reading as “God talking.” I should more frequently say about my Bible reading, “God told me…” or “God said….” I tend to say, “he Bible says” or “Paul says,” which is fine, but it misses the deeper spiritual reality. If I have read my Bible well–as a personal address from God to me with a prayerful response and consideration–then I have been in conversation with God. We shouldn’t use the phrases “God said” or “God told me” to speak primarily of subjective impressions, as so many do. We should primarily speak this way about our Bible reading, where God speaks infallibly and most clearly. I need to remind myself that I not only talk to God a lot in prayer, but He talks back to me in Bible reading.
"Jesus is teaching me to read the Bible better than I have. I don’t know about you… but I need it."
-- Thabiti Anyabwile
"Reading the Bible is difficult work. Or at least it can be if we intend to do more than simply read it for enjoyment or duty. There are many things we have to overcome in order to read effectively: the flesh, fatigue, distractions, time pressures from various sources, cold hearts, clogged ears and so on. Even when we overcome all these obstacles of the world, the flesh and the devil, we still find our Bible reading needs adjustment in order to read as Jesus read.
"Consider for example Jesus’ interaction with the Sadducees about the resurrection in Matthew 22:23-33. The Sadducees try to trip Jesus up with a question about a woman who marries seven brothers. They don’t believe in the resurrection and suppose that such a situation would obviously falsify the resurrection since she can’t be the wife of seven men in heaven. Here’s how Jesus replied:
29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at His teaching.
“Ouch” to verse 29. That must have stung the Sadducees.
"Then notice what Jesus does. In verse 30 he answers the silly question about marriage in heaven. If they knew the Scriptures and God’s power they would know that marriage is earthly but our heavenly existence is of another sort altogether when it comes to relationships.
"But verse 31 is where Jesus teaches us to read the Bible. Notices specifically the question, “have you not read what was said to you by God…?” Jesus presupposes two things here that help us to read our Bibles.
"First, Jesus suggests we should read our Bibles as a present tense, personal address. “What was said to you….” The text he quotes is Exodus 3:6, where God speaks to Moses from the burning bush. But Jesus says the Sadducees should have understood that as an address to them centuries later! That text had their names on it. And so every text we read, properly interpreted, has our name on it, too. It is addressed to us personally, even though it is not primarily about us. How would we read our Bibles differently if we approached it as if it were addressed to us? At the very least we would be enabled to approach the Bible with a new sense of personal investment and a sense of the Bible’s enduring relevance.
"Second, Jesus suggests we should read our Bibles as a conversation with the living God. Notice again: “What was said to you by God…”. Then consider the Master’s quote of Exodus 3:6 to prove that God “is not the God of the dead, but the living.” God lives and He speaks. Most fundamentally we are not being addressed by human authors when we read the Bible. We are being addressed by the living God. At least that’s how Jesus read the Bible. The Exodus account becomes a word from God in print addressed to Sadducees and Christians centuries later. Jesus presumes we should hear God’s voice and discover God’s mind when we read our Bibles. Our reading is God speaking. That makes sense if we understand that God breathed out the Scriptures as the true Author (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
"There are a couple things I have to do in order to hold onto these realities.
First, I have to keep reminding myself that God is alive and that He is talking to me. I find it so easy to approach the Bible as a book written by dead men. That’s not my self-conscious approach; it’s a creeping assumption that keeps dulling my mind. I keep forgetting that God is speaking to me, personally, as I read His word. I find myself thinking that God is speaking generally, to no one in particular, about things in general. I need to ready my mind with a sense of His addressing me personally and specifically or my Bible reading grows cold.
"Second, I need to speak more often of my Bible reading as “God talking.” I should more frequently say about my Bible reading, “God told me…” or “God said….” I tend to say, “he Bible says” or “Paul says,” which is fine, but it misses the deeper spiritual reality. If I have read my Bible well–as a personal address from God to me with a prayerful response and consideration–then I have been in conversation with God. We shouldn’t use the phrases “God said” or “God told me” to speak primarily of subjective impressions, as so many do. We should primarily speak this way about our Bible reading, where God speaks infallibly and most clearly. I need to remind myself that I not only talk to God a lot in prayer, but He talks back to me in Bible reading.
"Jesus is teaching me to read the Bible better than I have. I don’t know about you… but I need it."
-- Thabiti Anyabwile
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Overly Confident Atheism
This is not an easy read, but it's some very insightful analysis, again, from Ross Douthat of the New York Times: "The Confidence of Jerry Coyne"
Monday, January 6, 2014
"Evangelicals and Hollywood Muck"
"...At what point does our cultural engagement become just a sophisticated way of being worldly?..."
Some worthwhile questions from Trevin Wax.
Some worthwhile questions from Trevin Wax.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
The Pulpit is the Prow of the World
“The pulpit is ever this earth’s foremost part. All the rest comes in its rear. The pulpit leads the world. From thence it is the storm of God’s quick wrath is first descried, and the bow must bear the earliest brunt. From thence it is the God of breezes fair or foul is first invoked for favorable winds. Yes, the world is a ship on its passage out, and not a voyage complete. And the pulpit is its prow.”
-- Herman Melville, Moby Dick (Boston, 1892), page 42.
-- Herman Melville, Moby Dick (Boston, 1892), page 42.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Luther on What to Do in the Face of Trouble
Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. Psalm 118:5
“Note the great art and wisdom of faith. It does not run to and fro in the face of trouble. It does not cry on everybody’s shoulder, nor does it curse and scold its enemies. It does not murmur against God by asking, ‘Why does God do this to me?’ . . . Faith does not despair of the God who sends trouble. Faith does not consider him angry or an enemy, as the flesh, the world and the devil strongly suggest. Faith rises above all this and sees God’s fatherly heart behind his unfriendly exterior. . . .
"Do not sit by yourself or lie on a couch . . . . Do not destroy yourself with your own thoughts by worrying. Do not strive and struggle to free yourself, and do not brood on your wretchedness, suffering, and misery. Say to yourself: ‘Come on, you lazy bum; down on your knees, and lift your eyes and hands toward heaven!’ Read a psalm or the Our Father, call on God, and tearfully lay your troubles before him. . . . It is his desire and will that you lay your troubles before him. He does not want you to multiply your troubles by burdening and torturing yourself. He wants you to be too weak to bear and overcome such troubles; he wants you to grow strong in him. By his strength he is glorified in you.
"Out of such experiences men become real Christians. Otherwise, men are mere babblers, who prate about faith and spirit but are ignorant of what it is all about.”
-- Martin Luther on Psalm 118:5
HT: Ray Ortlund, Jr. and Eric Ortlund.
“Note the great art and wisdom of faith. It does not run to and fro in the face of trouble. It does not cry on everybody’s shoulder, nor does it curse and scold its enemies. It does not murmur against God by asking, ‘Why does God do this to me?’ . . . Faith does not despair of the God who sends trouble. Faith does not consider him angry or an enemy, as the flesh, the world and the devil strongly suggest. Faith rises above all this and sees God’s fatherly heart behind his unfriendly exterior. . . .
"Do not sit by yourself or lie on a couch . . . . Do not destroy yourself with your own thoughts by worrying. Do not strive and struggle to free yourself, and do not brood on your wretchedness, suffering, and misery. Say to yourself: ‘Come on, you lazy bum; down on your knees, and lift your eyes and hands toward heaven!’ Read a psalm or the Our Father, call on God, and tearfully lay your troubles before him. . . . It is his desire and will that you lay your troubles before him. He does not want you to multiply your troubles by burdening and torturing yourself. He wants you to be too weak to bear and overcome such troubles; he wants you to grow strong in him. By his strength he is glorified in you.
"Out of such experiences men become real Christians. Otherwise, men are mere babblers, who prate about faith and spirit but are ignorant of what it is all about.”
-- Martin Luther on Psalm 118:5
HT: Ray Ortlund, Jr. and Eric Ortlund.
Friday, January 3, 2014
What I Wish I'd Known: Reflections on Nearly 40 Years of Pastoral Ministry
A very wise and relevant article regarding pastoral ministry from Sam Storms.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
The Word as Inspiration for Worship
“What if the word of God was enough to inspire passionate worship among his people?” -- David Platt
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Great Goals for the New Year
"Walk more closely with God. Get nearer to Christ. Seek to exchange hope for assurance. Seek to feel the witness of the Spirit more closely and distinctly every year. Lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily threatens you. Press towards the mark more earnestly. Fight a better fight, and war a better warfare every year you live. Pray more. Read more. Subdue self more. Love the brethren more. Oh that you may endeavor to grow in grace every year, that the end of your Christian course may be better than the beginning!" ~ J.C. Ryle
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)