"Humility derives not from the presumption that no one knows the truth, but rather is a virtue dependent on our confidence that God’s word is truthful and good."
—Stanley Hauerwas, “Preaching As Though We Had Enemies,” First Things (May 1995), 45-49.
Showing posts with label Justin Taylor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Justin Taylor. Show all posts
Monday, March 1, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Luther’s Tough Love
All of us need a Martin Luther in our lives now and then—a friend who is not afraid to stand on gospel promises and get in our face with gospel truth when we would rather wallow in self-pity.
Here is a portion of a letter from Luther to his friend Philip Melachnton (June 27, 1530):
Here is a portion of a letter from Luther to his friend Philip Melachnton (June 27, 1530):
Those great cares by which you say you are consumed I vehemently hate; they rule your heart not on account of the greatness of the cause but by reason of the greatness of your unbelief. . . .
If our cause is great, its author and champion is great also, for it is not ours. Why are you therefore always tormenting yourself?
If our cause is false, let us recant; if it is true, why should we make him a liar who commands us to be of untroubled heart?
Cast your burden on the Lord, he says. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him with a broken heart. Does he speak in vain or to beasts? . . .
What good can you do by your vain anxiety?
What can the devil do more than slay us? What after that?
I beg you, so pugnacious in all else, fight against yourself, your own worst enemy, who furnish Satan with arms against yourself. . . .
I pray for you earnestly and am deeply pained that you keep sucking up cares like a leech and thus rendering my prayers vain.
Christ knows whether it is stupidity or bravery, but I am not much disturbed, rather of better courage than I had hoped.
God who is able to raise the dead is also able to uphold a falling cause, or to raise a fallen one and make it strong.
If we are not worthy instruments to accomplish his purpose, he will find others.
If we are not strengthened by his promises, to whom else in all the world can they pertain?
But saying more would be pouring water into the sea.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
What It Means to Think Like a Christian
“The effort to think like a Christian is . . . an effort to take seriously
the sovereignty of God over the world he created,
the lordship of Christ over the world he died to redeem,
and the power of the Holy Spirit over the world he sustains each and every moment.
From this perspective the search for a mind that truly thinks like a Christian takes on ultimate significance,
because the search for a Christian mind is not, in the end, a search for the mind but a search for God.”
the sovereignty of God over the world he created,
the lordship of Christ over the world he died to redeem,
and the power of the Holy Spirit over the world he sustains each and every moment.
From this perspective the search for a mind that truly thinks like a Christian takes on ultimate significance,
because the search for a Christian mind is not, in the end, a search for the mind but a search for God.”
—Mark Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, p. 253 (my emphasis)
HT: Clapham School
Friday, December 11, 2009
Porndemic
A sobering stat from a university study:
Here are some free resources to consider using as we battle together for purity:
Reading this really breaks my heart, they couldn't even find one male over 20 who has not consumed pornography. It's true that internet must have made things 1000x easier but still, pretty discouraging.
Although honestly, this is an issue not only with guys but also with girls. During one of the retreats, someone shared that actually 60%+ of girls also indulge in pornography.
It's interesting b/c when I told my housemate last year that 99% of guys look at porn she raised her eyebrows then said, "I'm not surprised."
But when I told her how many girls also do the same her respond was, "Ew!!!"
The lies of the world are everywhere. For guys there's a tendency to think that it's ok because all guys do it. Then for girls there's a tendency, especially for males, to think that girls do not struggle with lust or they do not struggle just as much. Can you imagine how much harder this type of thinking makes for girls who do struggle with this sin to share and be open with their sins with another sister who can help them? They feel ashamed, guilty, and less human because apparently "girls do not struggle with lust or pornography".
I'm getting more angry as I type this because both guys and girls need the love of Jesus to heal them and break away this bondage of sin!! I sincerely pray and hope that they would find the courage to come to a more mature person of the same gender and ask them to pray for them and to keep them accountable! It is ridiculous to think that just because they're girls they are not influenced by the heavily sex appeal laced culture today!
This is one of the most common and most addictive habitual sin that can really callous people's hearts. It's just too easy to turn your mind off and ignore God when you're sinning. Is God on your mind while you're sinning? Probably not. If you're struggling with this you really need to fervently ask God to cut this off from your life! Even if you're numb and don't want to, be honest! Tell Him, He already knows and ask Him for a heart that desires to be free and be pure! Persevere! Keep asking!! He is faithful and He WILL sanctify you!!!
No matter how heart broken you or I are that so many people today struggle with pornography, Jesus loves them more and Jesus is more heart broken and He wants more than anyone else for them to be free. It hurts Him so much more because He loves us so immeasurably more. What a great Father we have!
Trust in Him! He has made you into a new creation in Christ, the old has gone and new has come! These things do not belong to us anymore, we are of God and of heaven:) God is good!
A sobering stat from a university study:
Researchers were conducting a study comparing the views of men in their 20s who had never been exposed to pornography with regular users.HT: Mike Anderson
But their project stumbled at the first hurdle when they failed to find a single man who had not been seen it.
“We started our research seeking men in their 20s who had never consumed pornography,” said Professor Simon Louis Lajeunesse. “We couldn’t find any.”
Here are some free resources to consider using as we battle together for purity:
- R. Albert Mohler Jr., “The Seduction of Pornography and the Integrity of Christian Marriage” (talk to college students: PDF, MP3)
- David Powlison, “Breaking Pornography Addiction” (article: part 1, part 2)
- David Powlison, Making All Things New: Restoring Pure Joy to the Sexually Broken (conference talk: audio, video, and chapter)
- John Piper, Battling the Unbelief of Lust (sermon in manuscript, audio)
- John Piper, A.N.T.H.E.M: Strategies for Fighting Sexual Lust (article)
- Mark Driscoll, Porn-Again Christian (free eBook)
- Tim Challies, Sexual Detox: A Guide for the Single Guy (free eBook)
- Tim Challies, Sexual Detox: A Guide for the Married Guy (free eBook)
- Joshua Harris, Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is): Sexual Purity in a Lust-Saturated World (book)
- Ed Welch, Crossroads: A Step-By-Step Guide Away from Addiction (study guide)
- Kris Lundgaard, The Enemy Within: Straight Talk About the Power and Defeat of Sin (book on sin and temptation in general, built on John Owen’s work)
Reading this really breaks my heart, they couldn't even find one male over 20 who has not consumed pornography. It's true that internet must have made things 1000x easier but still, pretty discouraging.
Although honestly, this is an issue not only with guys but also with girls. During one of the retreats, someone shared that actually 60%+ of girls also indulge in pornography.
It's interesting b/c when I told my housemate last year that 99% of guys look at porn she raised her eyebrows then said, "I'm not surprised."
But when I told her how many girls also do the same her respond was, "Ew!!!"
The lies of the world are everywhere. For guys there's a tendency to think that it's ok because all guys do it. Then for girls there's a tendency, especially for males, to think that girls do not struggle with lust or they do not struggle just as much. Can you imagine how much harder this type of thinking makes for girls who do struggle with this sin to share and be open with their sins with another sister who can help them? They feel ashamed, guilty, and less human because apparently "girls do not struggle with lust or pornography".
I'm getting more angry as I type this because both guys and girls need the love of Jesus to heal them and break away this bondage of sin!! I sincerely pray and hope that they would find the courage to come to a more mature person of the same gender and ask them to pray for them and to keep them accountable! It is ridiculous to think that just because they're girls they are not influenced by the heavily sex appeal laced culture today!
This is one of the most common and most addictive habitual sin that can really callous people's hearts. It's just too easy to turn your mind off and ignore God when you're sinning. Is God on your mind while you're sinning? Probably not. If you're struggling with this you really need to fervently ask God to cut this off from your life! Even if you're numb and don't want to, be honest! Tell Him, He already knows and ask Him for a heart that desires to be free and be pure! Persevere! Keep asking!! He is faithful and He WILL sanctify you!!!
No matter how heart broken you or I are that so many people today struggle with pornography, Jesus loves them more and Jesus is more heart broken and He wants more than anyone else for them to be free. It hurts Him so much more because He loves us so immeasurably more. What a great Father we have!
Trust in Him! He has made you into a new creation in Christ, the old has gone and new has come! These things do not belong to us anymore, we are of God and of heaven:) God is good!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)