The Spirit's Persuasive Work

"God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:5

“The Comforter gives a sweet and plentiful evidence and persuasion of the love of God to us, such as the soul is taken, delighted, satiated withal. This is his work, and he doth it effectually. To give a poor sinful soul a comfortable persuasion, affecting it throughout, in all its faculties and affections, that God in Jesus Christ loves him, delights in him, is well pleased with him, hath thoughts of tenderness and kindness towards him; to give, I say, a soul an overflowing sense hereof, is an inexpressible mercy.”

John Owen, Works (Edinburgh, 1980), II:240.

-- from Ray Ortlund

Christmas Season Devotional

From the faculty of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary...

"The season of Advent has traditionally been a time of preparation for Christians. During the four weeks leading up to Christmas, we have looked forward toward the second coming of Jesus Christ, even as we celebrated His first coming as a child in the manger. The faculty of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary are again pleased to have prepared 27 daily meditations for use from the Sunday after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. Our hope is that you would be fulfilled and edified as you contemplate God's goodness, provision and mercy. If you would like to receive this daily email devotional, please fill out the form on this page. (We will not sell or release your information.)

"Please join us as we Journey to the Manger."

"Let Your Kingdom Come"

The song "Let Your Kingdom Come" by Bob Kauflin and Sovereign Grace Ministries

"The 3 Most Disturbing Words on TV..."

An interesting piece by Mike Cosgrove.

The Pursuit of Holiness

Kevin DeYoung has a comprehensive, extended post on 'why we must pursue holiness' (from 2 Peter).

President Obama's Thanksgiving Proclamation

Here's a brief excerpt:

"...As Americans gather for the time-honored Thanksgiving Day meal, let us rejoice in the abundance that graces our tables, in the simple gifts that mark our days, in the loved ones who enrich our lives, and in the gifts of a gracious God...."

You can read the entire proclamation here.

The Blessing of Gratitude

A good meditation for Thanksgiving Day: "Why Jesus commands us to be thankful" by Stan Guthrie

Christ Saves Completely

"Because Christ lived perfectly, died sufficiently, and rose victoriously, you and I can come out of hiding. We are free to own up to, without fear, the darkest of our thoughts and motives, the ugliest of our words, our most selfish choices, and our most rebellious and unloving actions. We are freed from our bondage to guilt and shame. We are freed from hiding behind accusation, blame, recrimination, and rationalization.

"Confession is powerful and effective. It turns guilt into forgiveness. It turns regret into hope. It turns slavery into freedom. It turns you from mourning over your harvest to planting new seeds of faith, repentance, and hope. You see, you are not trapped! Things are not hopeless! The Lord, the great Creator and Savior, is the God who never changes, but at the same time he is the God who promises and produces deep personal change. The changes he makes in us are so foundational that the Bible’s best words describing them are ‘new creation.’ God’s plan is to change us so fundamentally that it is as if we are no longer us; something brand new has been created!"

— Paul David Tripp
Lost in the Middle: Midlife and the Grace of God
(Wapwallopen, PA: Shepherd Press, 2004), 124

"A Hole in Our Holiness"

A good post from Kevin DeYoung.... Here's the gist:

"I have a growing concern that younger evangelicals do not take seriously the Bible’s call to personal holiness. We are too at peace with worldliness in our homes, too at ease with sin in our lives, too content with spiritual immaturity in our churches."

Preachers who desire nothing but God...

“No, Aleck, no! The danger of ruin to Methodism does not lie here. It springs from quite a different quarter. Our preachers, many of them, are fallen. They are not spiritual. They are not alive to God. They are soft, enervated, fearful of shame, toil, hardship. . . . Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven upon earth.”

John Wesley, writing at age 87 to Alexander Mather, quoted in Luke Tyerman, The Life and Times of the Rev. John Wesley (London, 1871), III:632.

Faith, leading to informed obedience

D.A. Carson shares an insightful meditation on 1 Chronicles 15, leading to this conclusion...

"...Here is a profound lesson. At one level, doubtless God approves childlike praise and enthusiastic zeal. But he expects those with authority among his people to know what his Word says and obey it. No amount of enthusiasm and zeal can ever hope to make up for this lack. Zeal that is heading in the wrong direction never reaches the goal. It must either be redirected in the direction staked out in God’s Word, or however enthusiastic, it is still wrong-headed and misdirected. There is no substitute for faith working itself out in informed obedience."

"We care about all suffering, especially eternal suffering..."

From John Piper’s address to the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization:

One truth is that when the gospel takes root in our souls it impels us out toward the alleviation of all unjust suffering in this age. That’s what love does!

The other truth is that when the gospel takes root in our souls it awakens us to the horrible reality of eternal suffering in hell, under the wrath of a just and omnipotent God. And it impels us to rescue the perishing, and to warn people to flee from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10).

I plead with you. Don’t choose between those two truths. Embrace them both. It doesn’t mean we all spend our time in the same way. God forbid. But it means we let the Bible define reality and define love.

Could Lausanne say—could the evangelical church say—we Christians care about all suffering, especially eternal suffering? I hope we can say that. But if we feel resistant to saying “especially eternal suffering,” or if we feel resistant to saying “we care about all suffering in this age,” then either we have a defective view of hell or a defective heart.

I pray that Lausanne would have neither.

HT: Justin Taylor

Justin Taylor outlines a thoughtful article from Ted Turnau on how to partake in, engage, and respond to pop culture.

Whatever else popular culture is, it is not trivial, because it is an expression of faith and worship.

• Not all popular culture is equally meaningful.
• Not every piece of popular culture is appropriate for engagement.
• Popular culture works by creating imaginative landscapes for us to inhabit.
• When thinking about a piece of popular culture, it pays to know the tricks of the trade.
• Every piece of popular culture is a complicated mixture of grace and idolatry.
• Think carefully about how to undermine the idol, and how the gospel applies to the piece of popular culture you’re sharing with friends.
• Look for occasions where you can experience popular culture together with friends and family (both Christian and non-Christian).

Why Jesus Came

“Jesus Christ came to blind those who saw clearly, and to give sight to the blind; to heal the sick, and leave the healthy to die; to call to repentance and to justify sinners, and to leave the righteous in their sins; to fill the needy, and leave the rich empty.”

-- Pascal, Thoughts (New York, 1910), #771.

New Online Bible Study Resource

The folks at Lifeway Publishing have produced an impressive new online Bible study resource (using the Holman Christian Standard Bible). You can find it at mystudybible.com