May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include a pretty significant list of titles worth a look.
The Hidden Glory of the Unengaged
This article encourages us to look for and celebrate the hidden glory of those who have not yet been engaged with the gospel. “We live in an age when the Church of Christ continues to advance steadily, bringing gospel light to even the hardest-to-reach people groups on the planet – although thousands of these groups still await the coming of their very first ambassador. These groups are the unengaged, the people for whom there is not yet even a single team committed to church planting among them.”
You Don’t Have to Choose between the Head and the Heart
Greg Koukl: “The head or the heart? The mind or the emotions? The will or the affections? Often, we’re tempted to think of these as opposite ends of the spectrum—we can either be filled with information or be ‘filled with the Spirit’ (understood here in an emotional sense)—and apologetics types are stuck on the wrong side.”
Has Jesus Offended You?
Forrest McPhail considers the offensive nature of the message of the Christian faith.
What Makes a Person Valuable?
What is it that makes a person valuable? And how does this differ from the messaging of the society around us?
Partnering Together: A Practical Guide
This article at 9Marks considers how churches can and should relate to one another. “I fear many denominations have lost sight of the forest for the trees—they’ve so emphatically focused on cooperation for mission that they’ve neglected other important and biblical aspects that define how independent churches relate to each other.”
Your Husband Will Be Perfect: How to Love a Flawed Man
“If the gospel can accomplish these feats, it can surely transform ordinary men into husbands who love their wives as Christ loved the church, and it can surely transform ordinary women into wives who respect and submit to their husbands’ leadership. But this transformation is not automatic, and it does not happen overnight.”
Flashback: A Picture of Perfect Rest
The rest God promises and the rest we enjoy comes amid the battle, not outside of it, during the race, not only after we have resigned. It is a rest that comes amid the turmoil, that flows when circumstances are dire, that rises up when hearts sink low.

Walk with God and you cannot mistake the road; you have infallible wisdom to direct you, permanent love to comfort you, and eternal power to defend you. —Charles Spurgeon

Good morning from home sweet home. I enjoyed my trip to Australia, Thailand, and South Korea and am excited to eventually share the results in Worship Round the World. But in the meantime, I’m glad to be back where I belong.

(Yesterday on the blog: Give Me a Faith Like His!)
Ambassadors for Marriage
Rebekah explains why Christians ought to be the foremost ambassadors for marriage. And it often comes down to the way we speak about our own marriages.
When the Darkness of Suffering Seems too Thick to Cross
“The sun may slant golden beams across our floor, but in the midst of suffering, all feels like night to us. We wander around as those caught in a fog, stumbling through an unrelenting darkness. We want the light, we want to trust that the light will return, but it feels as if it will never brighten our faces again. Our hearts feel heavy, our head is muddled, and aches and pain we can’t explain keep pestering us. This is suffering.”
The Requisite of Discipleship
Justin Honaker tells of a successful discipleship program.
What It Feels Like
Wes shares candidly about his battle with clinical depression.
Can I Still Have Joy in Seasons of Doubt?
Is it possible to experience joy even in seasons of doubt? John Piper takes on this question.
River of life
Susan reflects poetically on words of life and the river of life.
Flashback: Cast Your Burden Upon the Lord
When we are heavily burdened we are to take one specific action: cast. We are to throw or hurl or toss our burdens upon the Lord. We are to bring them to his attention and to plead with him for his help.

God’s salvation does not come in response to a changed life. A changed life comes in response to the salvation, offered as a free gift. —Tim Keller

Today’s post is sponsored by BJU Seminary and written by Stuart Scott, professor of biblical counseling and ACBC Fellow. BJU Seminary equips Christian leaders through an educational and ministry experience that is biblically shaped, theologically rich, historically significant, and evangelistically robust.

Ever since Adam ate of the tree in the garden, every man and woman has inherited a nature of sin. Running its course, sin leads to hopeless slavery. However, if we are believers, sin no longer holds us hopelessly captive because God has justified us, has broken that slavery, and is progressively sanctifying us. But we can still become temporarily and routinely entangled in sin—a sign that something is very wrong or missing in our Christian walk.
Scripture is clear that sin habits are incongruous with a redeemed lifestyle: “we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die” (Rom. 8:12–13a). In other words, a person who continues a life of sin without any real desire or efforts to change has no legitimate claim of redemption.
Consequently, God calls us to mortify the sin in our lives: “but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom. 8:13b). As we pursue holiness and rest on Christ’s finished work on the cross, by grace we aggressively strive against sin in our lives.  Pursuing holiness Christ’s way will weaken a sin habit, until its power and predominance is subdued and practically destroyed.
But mortifying our sin is not accomplished by our own efforts to break sinful habits. To mortify sin, we must aggressively strive toward a growing walk of faith with Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, the call to mortify our sin is really a call to vivify our faith in Christ and His gospel, first of all and ongoing. To vivify something, we endue it with life and effectuate it. Vivifying is not just about doing something; it is about possessing or personally embracing something from the inside out—for the glory it brings to God and the eternal life it expresses in us.
To vivify our faith in Christ, we must vivify true worship of Christ alone. Turning from competing pursuits and truly seeing Christ and His radical love for what it is will breed radical love, trust, and obedience (with delight) in us.
This vivifying of our faith in Christ includes vivifying faith in the gospel truths of Christ, daily. Turning to the power of Christ in us, His forgiveness, our hope of heaven, and all God’s promises will greatly impact our thinking and our actions. We must especially vivify or exercise our faith in the moments of trial and battle. Specifically in times of temptation, choosing to put faith in what we need to will empower us to resist sin and then grow our faith even more.
Vivifying faith effectually vivifies a walk in the Spirit. As we turn and submit to the truth of God and depend on the Spirit who dwells in us, through prayer, God and His Word can influence us. God’s Word, active faith, and the indwelling Spirit combined, in tandem with other saints, assures a walk in the Spirit.
With the vivification of our faith, we must then focus not on our habit of sin, but on Christ’s specific, righteous alternatives to our sin. Aggressively pursuing the Christlike characteristic corresponding to sin with real faith and dependence effectively works to mortify sin habits.
Replacing our sin habits with the help of the Holy Spirit is necessarily an intensive practice. It involves addressing personal hindrances such as laziness, apathy, and misplaced priorities. It involves personal, periodic examination with confession, and it involves any needed radical amputation of facilitators—all in response to Christ’s radical love.
This vivifying of our faith in the practical putting off sin and putting on righteousness is an ongoing Christian endeavor with Christ. Everything about our Christian walk and mortifying sin is inextricably linked to exercising our faith in a worthy and sacrificial Savior.
A fuller treatment of the cycle of sin habits, and of hope to mortify them, can be found in the book Killing Sin Habits: Conquering Sin with Radical Faith, written by Stuart Scott with Zondra Scott.

You can only imagine what Joseph’s family thought. You can only imagine what the townsfolk thought. You can only imagine what the religious leaders thought. You can only imagine the laughter and the mocking, the rumors and the gossip, the scolding and the censure. And maybe we should imagine it.

“Does he really expect us to believe that he wasn’t the one who got Mary pregnant?” “I’ve heard lots of excuses in my time, but never ‘I was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit.’” “I heard that it wasn’t her first time, either.” “I heard she got attacked when she was out drawing water.”
The fact is, those people would be no more likely to believe her explanation than we would be if someone fed it to us today. And those people would have been no less eager to propose some more likely explanations. Those people weren’t so different from us, though they may have lived at a very different time and in a very different context.
We can hardly blame Joseph for wanting to walk away—to walk away from the mocking, from the gossip, from the shame. We can hardly blame him for resolving to divorce her. We can hardly blame him for wanting to extricate himself from betrothal to a woman who was clearly no virgin. He, after all, was a just man and an innocent one. So at least he planned to do it quietly.
It took nothing less than divine intervention to get him to stay. “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit’” (Matthew 1:20). When Joseph awoke he remembered the dream, he accepted it as God’s own revelation, and he received it as God’s own instruction. He set aside all thought of divorce, he took Mary as his wife, and he raised her son as his own.
Imagine Mary’s joy, Mary’s relief, Mary’s sense of comfort and well-being when Joseph told her he loved her, he believed her, and he accepted her. Imagine Mary’s gratitude when Joseph stood beside her and said “My wife,” when he took that baby in his arms and said, “My son.” Imagine how his obedience impacted Mary, how his faith blessed his wife, how his love made all the difference.
We can be certain the gossip did not end the day Joseph declared, “I believe her.” We can be certain people were no more convinced by his dream than her visitation. The gossip did not turn to acceptance simply because he added his testimony to hers. Rather, I suspect it increased all the more. “I can’t believe he’s so naive.” “I guess he can’t come up with a better explanation than a dream.” “If this isn’t proof that he’s the one who got her pregnant I don’t know what is!”
But Joseph was a man of faith, a man who chose to believe God’s word and obey God’s direction, a man whose decision to accept Mary was also a decision to share her shame. But he knew that God had spoken, he knew what God had spoken, and nothing would dissuade him, nothing would compel him to reject what God had made abundantly clear.
And as I listened to this familiar passage during my morning devotions, a passage I’ve heard hundreds or even thousands of times, I found myself praying, “God, thank you for Joseph. And please give me the faith of Joseph. Give me the faith to listen attentively to your Word, give me the faith to believe it even when it cuts hard against my presuppositions, give me the faith to apply it even when it’s especially difficult. Let me be like Joseph. Give me a faith like his.”

Good morning from South Korea. In just a few moments I’ll be heading eastbound and back to my home. If all goes well, I’ll be there by bedtime.

Today’s Kindle deals include some good picks from Crossway.
(Yesterday on the blog: Should We Exercise “Pronoun Hospitality?”)
Why’d The Pigs Have to Die?
Yeah, that’s a good question: why did all those pigs have to die?
No One Who Abides In Him Keeps On Sinning
Justin addresses a sobering passage. “John is not condemning the one who is seeking to overcome sin, but the one who habitually gives into sin without repenting. John purposefully describes here the one who is (or is not) continually sinning (as is evident from the ‘linear present’, or continuing action, of the verbs in the original language).”
“A Distant Shore”
You may enjoy this new poem titled “A Distant Shore.”
Criticism Can Be a Blessing
Though criticism usually doesn’t seem so at the beginning, it can often prove a blessing in the long run. Barbara tells how that is true.
Warring with All of Creation
“I have been in a cosmic battle with principalities and squirrels. I’m not kidding—it has begun to feel like creation has a vendetta against me. It’s an ongoing conspiracy.”
Why Does God Care Who I Sleep With?
It is perhaps one of the most contentious of all Christian beliefs (and always has been): that God cares who we sleeps with. This article from TGC Africa explains why God cares so much.
Flashback: Foster Your Friendships
Friendship is a great gift of God. Spiritual friendship, friendship shared in Christ, is an even greater gift. Spiritual friendship with other godly men is one of life’s greatest privileges and highest joys.

If a man could see sin as it is, he would no more embrace it than he would embrace a leper. —De Witt Talmage

It’s a question each of us will have to face if we haven’t already—should I use another person’s preferred pronouns? For some the question will come up in a context that is innocuous, and the decision may involve no negative repercussions. But for some the question will come up in a context in which they stand to lose something as substantial as respect, a job, or even a relationship with a child. The authors of the book The Gender Revolution speak to the subject of so-called “pronoun hospitality” along with the pressure to tell others your own preferred pronouns and provide their guidance.

The use of preferred pronouns and ‘neopronouns’ (such as ‘ze’ and ‘zir’) is highly contentious, even among like-minded Christians who agree about other aspects of this issue. Some see it as a matter of courtesy to accede to the use of a person’s preferred pronouns and to state your own. This is based on a belief that even if you disagree with the ideology driving the use of alternate pronouns, a willingness to use them can be a way of preserving a relationship and avoiding unnecessary offence. Christian psychologist Mark Yarhouse says, “It is an act of respect, even if we disagree, to let the person determine what they want to be called. If we can’t grant them that, it’s going to be next to impossible to establish any sort of relationship with them.
Preston Sprinkle calls this approach “pronoun hospitality”, and believes that “using the pronouns a person identifies with should be a matter of common courtesy, not a legal demand”.
Others would take the opposite view, seeing the use of pronouns as evidence that you agree with, and are a willing participant in, transgender ideology’s underlying assumptions about gender. By signalling this acceptance, you become complicit in the ideology’s regressive belief system, thereby helping to legitimize and promote it. While other concessions could be made to avoid offence and to preserve relationships, speaking something that is untrue by calling a woman ‘he’ or ‘him’, or a man ‘she’ or ‘her’, is a bridge too far for many. As Andrew Doyle, author of the book The New Puritans, points out: “When you ask someone to declare pronouns, you are doing one of two things. You are either saying that you are having trouble identifying this person’s sex, or you are saying that you believe in the notion of gender identity and expect others to do the same.”
We do not recommend the use of preferred pronouns—either in personal discourse, or when speaking to others about someone who has requested new pronouns. In our view, it is not compassionate because it reinforces a falsehood. We recommend that when communicating with someone who has changed their identity, you avoid using pronouns and instead use their name all the time. (We do not object to using a person’s preferred name—[something they cover later on in the book].) So, instead of saying ‘he’ or ‘she’,‘zhi’ or ‘zher’, we recommend constantly saying ‘John’ or ‘Jane’. This may make communication more difficult and awkward—but, in a sense, that’s the point. Adopting a transgender identity doesn’t make anything better; it only makes things worse.
In offering this advice, we are disagreeing with Mark Yarhouse and Preston Sprinkle, who are both faithful Christians and thoughtful contributors to the larger conversation. … [They then recommend reading those authors’ rationales to ensure they have been fairly presented.]
But what about situations in which you are asked to provide your pronouns?
Choosing to share your pronouns is one thing. Being required to state your pronouns is far from an innocuous act. It is an implicit endorsement of transgender ideology and its erasure of the significance of biological sex. Biologist Colin Wright is correct: “Coercing people into publicly stating their pronouns in the name of ‘inclusion’ is a Trojan horse that empowers gender ideology and expands its reach”.
He also suggests that the forced use of the word ‘cisgender’ (a person who is not transgender) fits into this same category and has the same effect.
The Sex Matters website has a range of useful advice on dealing with this issue. In particular, they offer this helpful summary of what to do when asked to share your pronouns:
The simplest thing to do is to politely decline. Refrain from putting pronouns in your biography or your email signature and don’t announce them at meetings. If invited to, say “No thank you” and if asked why, say something bland like “It is not a practice I follow”.

My thanks goes to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for sponsoring the blog this week. They invite you to join Matthew Barrett for free to study the foundational elements of Christian Theology through For The Church Institute at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College.

Today’s Kindle deals include a good little selection of titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Gender Revolution)
The House of Mourning Is Good for the Soul
“It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” How can this possibly be the case?
Why My LDS Friend Isn’t Trying to Convert Me to Mormonism
“I was shocked. It was the second time my Latter-day Saint friend told me he wasn’t interested in converting me.” Why wouldn’t Mormons be interested in converting Christians? This article explains.
Our Microwave Culture
“In a culture where you can have a baked potato in eight minutes, a 15-minute potato feels like an eternity. And once we’ve grown accustomed to eight minute expectations, our tolerance for things that take longer lengths of time is diminished. And boy does it show.”
In Our Chaotic Age, Some Atheists Are Rethinking Secularism
Carl Trueman: “What is emerging among some erstwhile left-wing intellectuals today is the realization that atheism, while an interesting theoretical position, offers nothing to address the deeper questions of life.”
Encouragement for Suffering Saints
“Throughout the Bible and church history, we see that God uses suffering to prepare and equip His servants for usefulness in ministry. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 is the norm, not the exception, for those who would serve the Suffering Servant. Suffering is never a pointless evil, but a necessary tool the Lord uses to refine, mature, and prepare us for fruitful service in His kingdom.”
The Good Pastor: A Man Who Changed My Life
You’ll enjoy this biographical article by Ajith Fernando.
Flashback: How God Speaks To Us Today
God can speak and has spoken however he wishes. But today the one way he absolutely promises you can always hear his voice is in his Word.

I remind myself and my church that a message of grace may attract people, but a culture of grace will keep them. —Jared C. Wilson

For the Church Institute is a resource from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College. It is an online platform that provides free and accessible theological training to equip, encourage, and edify local churches. These courses may be taken as a self-paced individual or as group within your local church. 

Two winners will receive a book bundle from MBTS faculty OR two tickets to the For The Church National Conference on September 11-12 in Kansas City, MO.
Faculty Book Bundle
40 Questions About Biblical Theology
By Jason DeRouchie, Oren Martin, and Andy Naselli
40 Questions About Biblical Theology provides resources to answer key questions about biblical theology in order to guide readers in their own study and practice of biblical theology. Other vital topics the authors address include how to understand typology, key themes in biblical theology, and how Christians should relate to Old Testament promises.
Gospel-Driven Ministry: An Introduction to the Calling and Work of a Pastor
By Jared C. Wilson
In Gospel-Driven Ministry, Jared Wilson looks at the qualifications for the pastorate, addressing the notion of a call to ministry and how to identify the marks of maturity and affirm a call. In addition, he unpacks the eight core practices of pastoral ministry and offers guidance to prepare pastors for long-term, healthy ministry.
Historical Theology for the Church
Edited by Jason G. Duesing and Nathan A. Finn
In Historical Theology for the Church, editors Jason Duesing and Nathan Finn survey key doctrinal developments from four periods of church history: the Patristic (AD 100-500), Medieval (AD 500-1500), Reformation (AD 1500-1700), and Modern (AD 1700-2000) eras.
Spurgeon the Pastor: Recovering a Biblical and Theological Vision for Ministry
By Geoffrey Chang
In Spurgeon the Pastor, Geoff Chang, director of the Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Seminary, shows how Spurgeon models a theological vision of ministry in preaching, baptism and the Lord’s supper, meaningful church membership, biblical church leadership, leadership development, and more.
The Church as a Culture of Care: Finding Hope in Biblical Community
By T. Dale Johnson Jr.
We all know people in our world are struggling—eating disorders, addictions, depression, sexual issues, marital problems—the list goes on and on. Can the church help or is that an outdated concept that no longer fits modern problems? In The Church as a Culture of Care, biblical counselor Dale Johnson explains that the church is still the primary place where those who struggle can receive lasting hope and healing.
The Mission of the Triune God: A Theology of Acts
By Patrick Schreiner
In The Mission of the Triune God, author Patrick Schreiner argues that Luke’s theology stems from the order of his narrative. He shows how the major themes in Acts, including the formation of the church, salvation offered to all flesh, and the prolific spread of the gospel, connect. Through Schreiner’s clear presentation and helpful graphics, readers follow the early church as it grows “all under the plan of God, centered on King Jesus, and empowered by the Spirit.”
The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church
By Matthew Barrett
A holistic, eye-opening history of one of the most significant turning points in Christianity, The Reformation as Renewal demonstrates that the Reformation was at its core a renewal of evangelical catholicity.
Turnaround: The Remarkable Story of an Institutional Transformation and the 10 Essential Principles and Practices that Made It Happen
By Jason K. Allen
In this book, Dr. Allen shares the leadership principles he learned through the turnaround of Midwestern Seminary—principles you’ll be able to apply in whatever area God has called you to lead.

Enter Here
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Complete the 2 self-paced units of What is Theology? with Matthew Barrett before August 21 as a first-time learner with FTC Institute.

There are times when I receive a new book and find myself saying “I don’t think we need a new book on that.” After all, some topics have been covered so skillfully, repeatedly, and exhaustively that yet another book on the subject could only be overkill. Yet sometimes I receive a new book and find myself saying, “I’m so glad someone has written a book on that!” There are some topics that may not have been covered sufficiently or that may reflect such new realities that we are still awaiting good analyses.

The Gender Revolution falls squarely in the second category. This is a book that has been written to provide a biblical, biological, and compassionate response to the modern day gender ideology that has been flooding our world and sweeping away so many victims. It is written by a fascinating combination of authors: Patricia Weerakoon who is a now-retired medical doctor, counsellor, sex therapist, speaker, writer and academic; Kamal Weerakoon (Patricia’s son) who is a missions director at a Presbyterian church; and Robert Smith who is a long-time lecturer in theology, ethics and music ministry at Sydney Missionary & Bible College.
So why have they teamed up to write this book? The introduction makes it clear:
Sometimes a particular cultural moment calls not only for clear statements of the truth, but also for a strong rebuttal of false and dangerous ideologies that oppose the truth. This is not only part of loving our neighbours and promoting social good, but also part of the gospel call to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). There are moments, then, when the only way to love others truly is to speak the truth with clarity.
In our judgement, this is such a moment. This is partly because of the aggression and vehemence with which many transgender ideologues argue their position. It is also because this flawed ideology is taking hold of too many hearts and minds. But mostly it is because hurting and vulnerable people, especially children, are being left damaged and scarred (in more ways than one) by this ideology. This is not the moment to be silent or to put our heads in the sand.
Indeed, it is not. This errant worldview needs to be countered and this book is their attempt to do so. Yet they make it clear that their protest is not against people—especially the mostly-young people who are falling victim—but against ideology. Their goal is to promote the health and well-being of all people, and especially those who are so vulnerable and so susceptible to damage.
The book begins by explaining today’s sexual and gender ideology. They offer the analogy of a tree to describe a model of sexuality that features four distinct elements: biological sex; gendered behaviours or expressions; sexual orientation; and gender identity. Some readers may be concerned that they cede too much ideological territory in using terminology like “gender identity,” but they do defend the decision and broker no compromise with their understanding of sexuality.
In the following chapter they explain that their interest in this book is defending “how science has affirmed, and continues to affirm, the goodness of our given biological sex.” Hence they rely on Scripture to guide and shape them, but are especially eager to show how God’s natural revelation demonstrates the goodness of the biblical view of sexuality. Not only that, but they also want to show how modern gender ideology, and transgender ideology in particular, has absolutely no scientific basis to commend it. It is, in fact, ideological and anti-scientific.
As the book continues, the authors cover a host of important issues: harmony and disharmony between inner feelings and biological reality, the binary nature of human sexuality, gendered behavior and what it has to do with being men and women, and the nature of desire, whether that desire is for someone of the opposite sex or the same sex. It concludes with a pair of lengthy chapters meant to help Christians live well and to live without compromise. How should we respond to young people in our churches if they express gender confusion, and perhaps especially in a context like Canada or Australia where to even have the conversation is to risk falling afoul of the law? Should we grant a person who claims to be transgendered their newly-chosen opposite-gender name? What should we do if asked to provide our pronouns at work or school? They answer these questions and many more and do so in very satisfying ways.
In the book’s opening pages there is a warning that helps explain why a book like this is so urgent. It says, “At the time of publication, in some jurisdictions (such as the Australian state of Victoria) it can be legally problematic to discuss with someone their sexual orientation or gender identity, even if that person is open to the discussion or requests the discussion. We urge readers to know the legal framework that applies to them and to exercise wisdom and discretion.” In other words, to offer this book to certain people or to even discuss its contents in certain contexts is to risk severe consequences. Yet as people who are committed to honoring God’s truth and people who are committed to loving others even at great cost to ourselves, we must know why modern gender ideology is so very wrong, we must know the beauty and order of God’s creation, and we must be prepared with answers and explanations. This book, written by people with particular expertise in the area and people who have a great love for the vulnerable, is a tremendous resource for parents, pastors, and anyone else. I highly recommend it.
(The Gender Revolution is published by Matthias Media, an Australian publisher, which makes it a bit tricky to track down. You can try Amazon (Print), Amazon (Kindle), or direct from the publisher.)
Buy from Amazon

May the Lord be with you and bless you on this fine day.

Westminster Books has the Family Worship Bible Guide on sale this week which offers a five-minute devotional on every chapter in the Bible. Then remember that 10ofThose has my two devotional books packaged up together.
It’s always a good day when CityAlight releases a new EP. And today’s just that kind of a day. You can find it at YouTube or wherever you get your music.
(Yesterday on the blog: New and Notable Christian Books for July 2023)
Gospel Irony: Prevailing in Unlikely Places
“What better symbol of Roman strength and power than the awe-inspiring Praetorian Guard. These were the Navy Seals of their day. These were the renowned Seal Team Six. So powerful were they that the Caesars feared a military coup by them at any time. Ironic, since the Praetorian Guard was established to serve as the personal protection team for the Caesars in the first place.”
Joy requires sacrifice
It is helpful to consider the way that joy requires sacrifice.
What is Theology?
Since God is the object of our knowledge, the source of our wisdom, and the fountain of our everlasting happiness, what greater endeavor could the Christian ever pursue than theology? Join Matthew Barrett for free to study the foundational elements of Christian Theology through For The Church Institute at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College. (Sponsored Link)
Being ready for Jesus’ return anytime
Simon van Bruchem: “Jesus calls his people to be ready for his return which will come at a time that we do not expect (Matt 24:44). Think about that. If we did know the time Jesus would return, we could just work hard in the days leading up to that date. It would be like those who cram for their exams, staying up late and hoping to peak at the right time.”
What Is God Up To?
Don’t we all wonder at times what God is up to in this world? “We are praying for something that God himself defines as good: the salvation of a loved one, the healing of someone in pain, or justice for a horrible situation. Often, prayers continue to spill out of our hearts, and yet there seems to be silence from above. What is God up to?”
Come
“Perhaps it was the diagnosis. The abandonment. The failure. Maybe it was that one great rejection. That loss that saps color from your life, wrapping you in its invisible shroud. You smile and laugh, performing like an Oscar is on the line. But the wound eats at your heart, reminding you of its presence; demanding to be fed.”
A Light to My Path
You’ll enjoy this meditation on Scripture. “When the sun streams into my kitchen window, it cheers my soul. Everything literally seems brighter. Its brilliance however, illuminates more than just the room. Particles of dust flicker through its rays, grandchildren’s sticky handprints on the window pane bother me, and tiny bits of red dirt speckle the floor. When the light shines into my room, I see things otherwise hidden.”
Flashback: Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit
We do well, then, to consider the magnitude of our offences against God that they could move him to such sorrow. Sins that bring disunity to the church also bring grief to the Holy Spirit.

There is no such thing as a small sin. They are all vast and stupendous, because they will all have to come under inspection in the day of judgment. —De Witt Talmage