"I defy you to read the life of any saint that has ever adorned the life of the Church without seeing at once that the greatest characteristic in the life of that saint was discipline and order. Invariably it is the universal characteristic of all the outstanding men and women of God…Obviously it is something that is thoroughly scriptural and absolutely essential." – Martyn Lloyd-Jones
August 11 2010 | Blog | No Comments »
Phil Ryken, The Message of Salvation:
The famous American Bible teacher Donald Grey Barnhouse (1895–1960) often used an illustration to help people make sense of election. He asked them to imagine a cross like the one on which Jesus died, only so large that it had a door in it. Over the door were these words from Revelation: “Whosoever will may come.” These words represent the free and universal offer of the gospel. By God’s grace, the message of salvation is for everyone. Every man, woman, and child who will come to the cross is invited to believe in Jesus Christ and enter eternal life.
On the other side of the door a happy surprise awaits the one who believes and enters. From the inside, anyone glancing back can see these words from Ephesians written above the door: “Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.” Election is best understood in hindsight, for it is only after coming to Christ that one can know whether one has been chosen in Christ. Those who make a decision for Christ find that God made a decision for them in eternity past.
HT: Justin Taylor
August 04 2010 | Blog | No Comments »
Some excellent thoughts from J.A. Motyer on leadership in the local church.
Philippians 1:1 – “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.”
How is leadership to be exercised? What is the relationship between leaders and led? The one word with provides the answer: ‘…the saints’, writes Paul, ‘…with the bishops and deacons.’ The strong natural leader chooses the easy path of being out front, taking for granted that all will follow; the low-profile leader ‘plays it cool’, submerges his own identity and takes the risk that the tail will soon wag the dog. The more demanding exercise, the sterner discipline and the more rewarding way are found in companionate leadership, the saints with the overseers and deacons.
This kind of leadership has many facets. It involves realizing that leader and led share the same Christian experience: both are sinners saved by the same precious blood, always and without distinction wholly dependent on the same patient mercy of God. It involves putting first whatever creates and maintains the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. It means that leaders see themselves first as members of the body, and only then as ministers…It involves open relationships in which the leaders do not scheme to get their own way or play off one against another, but act with transparent integrity…It is the leadership of those who are content to stand among the saints as those who serve.
The Message of Philippians- J.A. Motyer
August 02 2010 | Blog | No Comments »
This a great paragraph from Piper’s article The Marks of a Spiritual Leader:
A leader does not like clutter. He likes to know where and when things are for quick access and use. His favorite shape is the straight line, not the circle. He groans in meetings that do not move from premises to conclusions but rather go in irrelevant circles. When something must be done he sees a three-step plan for getting it done and lays it out. A leader sees the links between a board decision and its implementation. He sees ways to use time to the full and shapes his schedule to maximize his usefulness. He saves himself large blocks of time for his major productive activities. He uses little pieces of time lest they go to waste. (For example, what do you do while you are brushing your teeth? Could you set a magazine on the towel rack and read an article?) A leader takes time to plan his days and weeks and months and years. Even though it is God who ultimately directs the steps of the leader, he should plan his path. A leader is not a jellyfish that gets tossed around by the waves, nor is he an oyster that is immovable. The leader is the dolphin of the sea and can swim against the stream or with the stream as he plans.
HT: What’s Best Next
July 28 2010 | Blog | No Comments »
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once spoke with a group of medical students who complained that in the midst of their training and the ferocious work hours they really didn’t even have time to read the Bible and have their devotions and so on. He bristled and said, “I am a doctor. I have been where you are. You have time for what you want to do.” After a long pause he said, “I make only one exception: the mother of preschool-aged children does not have time and emotional resources.”
It is important to recognize, too, that there are stages of life where you really don’t have time to do much, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about it. Children will sap you. If you have three children under the age of six, forget serious reading unless you have the money for a nanny. When our youngest finally went off to kindergarten, we celebrated that day—I took my wife out for lunch. Only then could she get back into reading again. It’s the way life is. You have to be realistic.
HT: Vitamin Z
July 21 2010 | Blog | No Comments »
Let me suggest in very functional, practical terms what it means to be committed to being an instrument of cross-shaped love:
It means not keeping yourself so busy with you and yours that you haven no practical time to love others.
It means being committed to knowing people, because you can minister only in very limited ways to those whom you do not know.
It means being willing to have your life complicated by the needs and struggles of others.
It means being willing to live with an open home.
It means overlooking minor offenses and fighting the temptation to become bitter or cynical.
It means being lovingly and humbly honest in moments of misunderstanding; more committed to reconciliation than to being right.
It means not judging the success of your life by the size of your house or bank account, or by the quality of your car, but by the quality of your love for God and others.
It means moving beyond simply surrounding yourself with people whom you find comfortable and likeable.
It means being willing to have your schedule and plans interrupted or altered.
It means not allowing yourself plausible excuses that seemingly free you from love’s call.
It means loving people in such a way that they never feel like they are in debt to you.
Paul Tripp, Broken Down House
June 28 2010 | Blog | No Comments »
June 21 2010 | Blog | No Comments »
The common fault with the most of us is our readiness to yield to distractions. Our thoughts go roving hither and thither, and we make little progress towards our desired end. Like quicksilver our mind will not hold together, but rolls off this way and that. How great an evil this is! It injures us, and what is worse, it insults our God. What would we think of a petitioner, if, while having an audience with a prince, he should be playing with a feather or catching a fly?
Prayer must not be our chance work, but our daily business, our habit and vocation. As artists give themselves to their models, and poets to their classical pursuits, so must we addict ourselves to prayer. – Spurgeon
May 05 2010 | Blog | No Comments »
“You don’t show wisdom by demonstrating what you know. You reveal wisdom by the way you think, desire, choose, act, react, speak, and respond to the situations and relationships around you." – Paul Tripp
April 30 2010 | Blog | No Comments »
“When I am consumed by my problems – stressed out about my life, my family, and my job – I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God’s command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a ‘right’ to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities." – Francis Chan
April 28 2010 | Blog | 1 Comment »