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John Piper, in his book Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, writes one of the most helpful set of paragraphs I have ever read. I go back to it over and over for direction, encouragement, and help. I believe it to be so biblical and so true about the gospel itself…
Francis Schaeffer, in his book True Spirituality, discusses what it really means to be a Christian. It is an excellent, well thought out book. His basic idea is that we need to recognize that we live in a total universe, in which God exists and in which Christ’s finished work on the cross is sufficient. And that we are called in this universe to really die by choice to certain attitudes and desires so that we can truly live resurrected lives here and now by faith in Christ…
In the edited book, Worldliness, C.J. Mahaney explains in the opening chapter why worldliness is so serious. After showing the importance of loving Jesus above all else biblically, and after debunking the idea that fighting worldliness is legalism, he ends the first chapter of the book with a powerful, brief sentence summarizing it all. He writes…
It is so tempting to think that Christianity (and God himself) is all about rules. That God is just the high and mighty authoritative Being who simply wants us to do certain things and doesn’t want us to do other things. But when we read the Bible, it actually becomes clear that this isn’t the God of the Bible. This isn’t Christianity at all. God is supreme, majestic, and ruling over all. But it isn’t God’s heart at all just to give us rules because he just wants to control us…
In his book, The Prodigal God, Tim Keller focuses on both brothers in Jesus’ famous parable about the prodigal son. He argues well that Jesus in the parable is purposefully trying to represent the two main ways people decide to seek for meaning and happiness in life. One main way is by self-discovery and autonomy (represented by the younger brother). The other is by morality and being good and right (represented by the older brother). Keller writes…
Leon Morris, the late Australian New Testament scholar, has a short, helpful book on the Holy Spirit entitled Spirit of the Living God (which sadly is not in print anymore!). In it, he helpfully outlines how we can grieve and quench the Spirit of God…
Grace is probably the thing I need most from God. It is God’s favor pointed in my direction. It is his enablement when I am weak. It is God’s main force behind what saved me (Ephesians 2:5), and after I became a Christian, it is the main reality which keeps me fighting and striving for Christ in this world (2 Corinthians 15:10). I acknowledge all that…
What do we usually think it means for Jesus to love us? How do we usually imagine Jesus acts in order to love his people? I immediately would answer that he shows his love in his sacrificial dying for us in our place on the cross. This is the gospel message. And it is true…
There are numerous ways in which life is physically difficult. There is pain. There is sickness. Things just do not work right. Things break. Things deteriorate. The mind gets weaker. Health issues abound. As we all know, you cannot really express what it is like when you experience these things either. Maybe you have heard someone say that you don’t know what it is like to have your nose clear until your nose is stuffy. Well, as we all know, there is a real truth to it, and the same applies to everything else.
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