This week, I came across this gem of a meditation by John Newton. He reminds us that in God’s economy, disappointment is not merely a loss, but a lesson—and how regularly we need this lesson!
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On Sunday I shared the poem, "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" by William Cowper (1731-1800), with Downtown Cornerstone. It's an oldie, but a goodie. Over the years it has become deeply meaningful to me.
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John Stott on the secret to understanding what Jesus’ cross was for.
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Right thoughts, carried by the Spirit, throw gasoline on the fire of our affections, while wrong thoughts douse them. Here's how America’s greatest theologian put it.
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It's difficult to not like John Bunyan (1628-1688). He had an incredible gift for preaching to the heart. If anything, Bunyan teaches us that we will never plumb the unfathomable riches of the gospel (and its implications), but we should give it a try any way.
Read MoreA common mistake is to value Jesus primarily for the good he can do for us - and he does offer us more good than anything in the universe - rather than valuing him as the ultimate good himself. So we ask him to make us happy, rather than finding our happiness in him. We ask him to give us a fulfilled life, rather than finding our fullness in him. We ask him to give us strength, rather than finding our strength in him. If we're looking to Jesus to give us happiness, fulfillment and strength on our terms, we'll always come up short - and feel as though Jesus has let us down. If we go to Jesus for Jesus, we'll be more happy, fulfilled and strong than we could ever imagine. The difference is subtle, but couldn't be more important. Bask in his beams and you will not lack on any account. Seek him for other things and you'll always find yourself lacking. All that you long for can be traced back to him. I love how Charles Spurgeon put this in his Lectures to my Students...
Read MoreThis morning we kicked-off a new two-year residency for developing eight potential pastors and church planters within our church. Our hope is to raise-up local elders, church planters and leaders for planting teams - domestically and internationally. We're beginning with a study of Charles Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students as a launch pad for discussing personal spiritual vitality. This week we covered "The Minister's Self-Watch", "The Call to Ministry", "The Preacher's Private Prayer" and "The Minister's Ordinary Conversation." Whether you are currently serving as a pastor, or working through a call to it, you should read this book - and then revisit it regularly. If you want to learn more about rolling out something similar at your church, I encourage you to connect with these guys. Here's a sample of Spurgeon's urgent call to a diligent self-watch.
Read MoreThis week I have been thinking a lot about the relationship between praise and joy. Have you noticed that we, as humans, love to praise? We were built for it. Praise is the outcome of what, or who, we enjoy. It is the eruption, and completion, that inevitably results in response to the joy we experience in someone or something. In other words, our joy and our praise are directly related; we praise what we enjoy and enjoy what we praise. God calls for our praise, not as a detached, isolated act, but because he is the most-to-be-enjoyed of all things we enjoy. Do you enjoy him? The best measure is your praise of him. I love how CS Lewis brings this point to life...
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