I enjoyed this post by Jud Wilhite over at Catalyst on the difference between Jesus and religion. Way back in college I first heard someone say “Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship with God,” and I loved it. I’m not interested in getting people involved in ritual and ceremony, and frankly, I stink […]
One-Way Love, and Are Christians Still Totally Depraved?
I’ve dipped into Tullian Tchividjian’s new book One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World a bit, and have really enjoyed it. It is so clear and understandable. For example, in the last chapter he has a great discussion of the question “Are Christians totally depraved?” The answer is that we need to make some […]
A Simple Way to Pray
Just came across this book at Ligonier Ministries called A Simple Way to Pray. It contains a short booklet Martin Luther wrote for his barber on how to pray. RC Sproul had this to say about Luther’s pamphlet: “No book has done more to revolutionize my personal prayer life than this little book by Martin Luther.” That’s quite […]
Why There is No Comparing Ourselves to One Another in the Kingdom
The reason is that the work God enables you to do for him is a gift. A gift to you, first of all. This is why it makes no sense to compare. Why would we begrudge that God did not give us a gift intended for another? It wouldn’t fit. It would be like giving […]
Truth is Obtainable and Valuable
Proverbs 23:23: Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. “Buy truth” = you can know truth. It’s obtainable. “Buy truth” = it’s worth getting. That is, it is valuable. “Do not sell it” = states the same thing from another angle: it’s valuable. Hold on to it. It’s worth keeping. […]
"If It's Dangerous, God Must Not Be in It": True or False?
David Platt answers this well in his book Radical: We so often think “If it’s dangerous, God must not be in it. If it’s risky, if it’s unsafe, if it’s costly, it must not be God’s will.” But what if these factors are actually the criteria by which we determine if something is God’s will? […]
Persevere in Prayer
Here’s another cut from my book: 1. Persevere in Prayer Perseverance in prayer as a key means of overcoming obstacles. Don’t stop praying about something just because it hasn’t been answered within a few days or weeks. Keep pressing on. This is exactly what Jesus commands us to do: “And he told them a parable […]
Get a Bible You Like to Use
This is a cut from my book that I’m not including so I can stay within my word count. This is from the chapter “The Role of Prayer and Scripture in Your Productivity”: Have a Bible you like to use. It’s true that what really matters is the Bible itself, not the particular format it’s […]
The Best Way to Imitate Jesus is Sometimes…
… to imitate Paul. Or David, or Peter, or James, or the apostle John. The reason for this is that, first, Paul points us to his own example. “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). So, this is the right thing to do. But, second, the reason for this is that we […]
Cuts from the Book, 1: Sorrow _And Sighing_ Will Flee Away
In writing my book, I actually ended up laying the groundwork for about 4 other books as well. I didn’t set out to do that, but I found that seeing the things I wanted to say over the next few years from the perspective of the whole enabled me to make this book better. Thus, […]