I just read a really good article by John Piper in which he discusses why he does not have a television and why he rarely catches a movie. Read the whole article here. For now, I just wanted to quote him on a distinction he makes between violent movies, profanity, and nudity/sex...I found it quite interesting, even if I don't completely agree with him on all of it. Still, he is a voice to be listened to and I respect him immensely, so here goes a part I found fascinating!
"I have a high tolerance for violence, high tolerance for bad language, and zero tolerance for nudity. There is a reason for these differences. The violence is make-believe. They don’t really mean those bad words. But that lady is really naked, and I am really watching. And somewhere she has a brokenhearted father"
Thoughts from anyone?
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
"Just Do Something" by Kevin DeYoung
ISBN #978-0-8024-5838-4Really though, this short book (122 pages) is a quick and excellent read. I don't know that it is necessarily unique since John MacArthur has written similar thoughts in his book "God's Will Is Not Lost," but what makes this book such a great resource is that DeYoung has a talent for bringing this topic down to where even a layperson such as myself can fully understand what he is talking about. His writing is clear and concise and he has a knack for bringing humor into a very serious topic. I am sure, in fact, that even those who hold to the view he is critiquing will find the book useful.
And what view is he challenging here? The view that God's will is some mysterious thing we need to fret about. He credibly maintains that so long as you are not violating God's commands, then you are free to make decisions as you desire...to use your freedom in Christ! Again, what God commands we must do and what He forbids we must not do, but apart from this, do whatever you think is right to do!
But let me share from the introduction by Joshua Harris so that you will get an even better idea of what exactly this book is about:
"It is God's will for you to read this book. Yes, I'm talking to you. What are the odds that you would "just happen" to pick up this book and flip open to this page and start reading? Obviously it's a sign. Of all the millions of books in the world, you found this one. Wow. I have chills. Do not pass up this divinely orchestrated moment. If you miss this moment there's a good chance you will completely miss God's will for the rest of your life and spend your days in misery and regret...
If you're prone to think of God's will in the way I so threateningly described it, this book will help set you straight..."
Classic don't you think? Well I think so, and this little book is definitely a keeper, one I will no doubt consult every so often. Buy it and read it, you will not regret it!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
"The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon" by John Ferling
Okay...I won't usually post book reviews on my history books, but I loved this book so much I am posting it, so please forgive me this once!
ISBN #978-1-59691-465-0
Every now and then a phrase from some movie or other captures the imagination of the general public and before you know it everyone is repeating the line over and over. "I'll be back" from The Terminator comes to mind, or "You had me at hello" from Jerry Maguire. Well I hate to use such phrases myself but this one time I have to do so and say that with this latest title, author John Ferling had me at "There were differences in the politics of eighteenth-century America and those of today, but not as many as might be thought." (1st sentence of Preface)
This captivating beginning sets the tone for the entire book and from start to finish I simply could not put this book down...indeed Mr. Ferling now owes me many hours of sleep, a debt I am happy to forgive if he promises to keep writing non fiction of this caliber. The beauty of this book is that while it is indeed a book of history (political history at that!), it reads like a modern thriller. I dare say that I absolutely would recommend this book to everyone I know, and if it was within my power, I would make it required reading for high school students.
Well with such nearly sycophantic praise one would think that Mr. Ferling was paying me for this review, but I assure my readers that this is not the case (if, however, Mr. Ferling should read this and feel the uncontrollable urge to send some cash my way, I will happily accept). No, this book is well deserving of praise without needing to resort to base bribery!
At any rate, this book brings our illustrious first president down to a human level...portraying him as the ambitious and self interested man that he was, warts and all. In no way, however, does this make him a less heroic figure. Instead it helps us to see him as the fallible human that he truly was, a man who felt like he was meant for great things (and apparently he was) and stopped at nothing to achieve this greatness. Ferling correctly points out that it was quite surpising that Washington became the man he did considering his many military blunders; at the same time this is no big surprise when we understand his political savviness and his ability to deflect criticism. This, indeed, is the theme of this book, and Ferling does a wonderful job of proving his thesis and convincing the reader not only of this truth but assisting us to retain our hero worshipping attitude towards the father of our country!
So my final thoughts are as follows: this book is well written, surpisingly respectful of its subject, and quite humorous in some places (three French generals coming to America; three major general positions available; American officers wanting one of those positions; problem solved satisfactorily for everyone when one of the French generals obligingly drowns...Ferling points out this was satisfactory for everyone except, of course, the drowned general!). I would give it three thumbs up if I could, but since I cannot do so I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up!
ISBN #978-1-59691-465-0
Every now and then a phrase from some movie or other captures the imagination of the general public and before you know it everyone is repeating the line over and over. "I'll be back" from The Terminator comes to mind, or "You had me at hello" from Jerry Maguire. Well I hate to use such phrases myself but this one time I have to do so and say that with this latest title, author John Ferling had me at "There were differences in the politics of eighteenth-century America and those of today, but not as many as might be thought." (1st sentence of Preface)
This captivating beginning sets the tone for the entire book and from start to finish I simply could not put this book down...indeed Mr. Ferling now owes me many hours of sleep, a debt I am happy to forgive if he promises to keep writing non fiction of this caliber. The beauty of this book is that while it is indeed a book of history (political history at that!), it reads like a modern thriller. I dare say that I absolutely would recommend this book to everyone I know, and if it was within my power, I would make it required reading for high school students.
Well with such nearly sycophantic praise one would think that Mr. Ferling was paying me for this review, but I assure my readers that this is not the case (if, however, Mr. Ferling should read this and feel the uncontrollable urge to send some cash my way, I will happily accept). No, this book is well deserving of praise without needing to resort to base bribery!
At any rate, this book brings our illustrious first president down to a human level...portraying him as the ambitious and self interested man that he was, warts and all. In no way, however, does this make him a less heroic figure. Instead it helps us to see him as the fallible human that he truly was, a man who felt like he was meant for great things (and apparently he was) and stopped at nothing to achieve this greatness. Ferling correctly points out that it was quite surpising that Washington became the man he did considering his many military blunders; at the same time this is no big surprise when we understand his political savviness and his ability to deflect criticism. This, indeed, is the theme of this book, and Ferling does a wonderful job of proving his thesis and convincing the reader not only of this truth but assisting us to retain our hero worshipping attitude towards the father of our country!
So my final thoughts are as follows: this book is well written, surpisingly respectful of its subject, and quite humorous in some places (three French generals coming to America; three major general positions available; American officers wanting one of those positions; problem solved satisfactorily for everyone when one of the French generals obligingly drowns...Ferling points out this was satisfactory for everyone except, of course, the drowned general!). I would give it three thumbs up if I could, but since I cannot do so I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
1 Corinthians 1:1-3 (a devotional thought)
I believe it was Spurgeon who was once asked how to know if one had received the call to pastoral ministry. He responded that if you felt like you would die if you could not preach then you had the calling...otherwise no.
Well I know what he meant...I don't feel like I would die if I could not preach but I do feel like I will die if I cannot teach. There are few things I love more than teaching what I have learned, but unfortunately I have had limited opportunities in the last few years and there appear to be none coming up soon. Which is why you dear readers get to put up with the studies I post here! ;-)
I do confess that I am so much like all those who say they believe something but don't live like they actually do. What I mean by this is that I have not been the best of fathers in teaching my children. I am so undisciplined and have not taken advantage of the opportunities to have regular devotions with my sons. This is something that has eaten away at me for some time because I would love to just sit down with them and have spirited discussions about the Word, and yet I don't do it as often as I should (I believe it's been about a month, maybe longer, since we sat down to discuss what we'd been reading and hold a question/answer session).
Well, today while my sons were at youth group I began my long planned study of 1 Corinthians and so here is the first part of it. I hope you all enjoy it and please pray that I might be a more faithful spiritual leader in my home. Maybe this is why the Lord has not opened doors for me to teach...after all if I cannot be faithful in what He has given me, why should He give me more right?
Here you go:
Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
“Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus,”
We have here the typical greeting of Paul throughout his letters...a humble, even amazed, declaration of his apostleship. While some in the modern era sometimes refer to others as apostles, the office of an apostle left us with the death of those who were called to that specific office by Christ, and Paul was one of these. Recall that he’d been called to the office by the Lord Himself, while he was on the road to Damascus…to persecute those within the church. A supernatural visitation by the Lord, however, awakened the spiritual deadness of Saul (as he was then known) and caused the scales to fall away from his eyes.
So truly he was called by the will of God, for remember that in Acts 9:15 and Acts 13:2 God Himself declares Paul to be a chosen instrument. He was called specifically to suffer much for the gospel, and was thereby a powerful tool in the hands of the Almighty!
It could also be said that those of us who have been reborn spiritually, who are awakened to the Truth of God, that we too have been called by the will of God (Ephesians 1:4-5), and we too are now instruments to be wielded by the Lord. We have a work before us, and we should take care to focus our full attention upon that work (Ephesians 2:10). And yet, our calling is different than that of Paul…for as we see in the book of Acts, he had a specific ministry to accomplish…proof of which we have by opening our Bibles and looking at the large portion which he was inspired to write!
“and our brother Sosthenes”
This is possibly the same Sosthenes of whom we read in Acts 18:17, who was beaten in the very city of Corinth. If it is the same man, then it is interesting to note that here we see he is accompanying Paul, for during his beating he was the ruler of the Jewish synagogue! Obviously, if it truly is the same person, then he came to a saving knowledge of Christ at some point after the incident described.
“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours”
I love the simple clarity of this declaration. The church of God that is in Corinth is made up of those sanctified in Christ Jesus! The letter here is addressed to these saints! And notice what else…those saints are such WITH every other one, in every other place, that calls upon the name of our Lord!! I don’t think it is presumptuous to add that this includes not only in every place but in every time! Brothers and sisters, the church of God is made up of all true Believers throughout all of time and throughout the world today. Those in China, in Iraq, in Peru, EVERYWHERE, if they are Believers then they stand together with us today.
Do this: next time you are praying, take a moment to consider that at that same moment there is a Believer in the next block and across the world who is raising his voice/thoughts to Him at the same time. What a mind blowing thought, amen?
Another thought: there are many out there who call themselves Christians but who don’t even believe in the Bible as the Word of God. This verse in no way tells us that we are one with them, for we are not. How could we be? If they call upon a false Christ then they have nothing to do with us. They are lost and in need of the gospel. But to all who confess Christ AND believe in their hearts that He is exactly as He is revealed in the Scriptures…then they are our brothers and sisters. We’ll discuss this a tad more later on in verses 10-17.
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
This is a benediction from the great Apostle to the church at Corinth. We who know what the rest of the letter consists of are well aware that they are in for quite a tongue lashing from Paul, but notice how he first takes care to assure them of his love for them…and of his sincere desire for them that they truly know the peace that comes only from God. This is the grace he desires for them. Such is his love for this church body he established by the grace of God that even as they begin to show disobedience he has a great concern for them.
God bless!
Well I know what he meant...I don't feel like I would die if I could not preach but I do feel like I will die if I cannot teach. There are few things I love more than teaching what I have learned, but unfortunately I have had limited opportunities in the last few years and there appear to be none coming up soon. Which is why you dear readers get to put up with the studies I post here! ;-)
I do confess that I am so much like all those who say they believe something but don't live like they actually do. What I mean by this is that I have not been the best of fathers in teaching my children. I am so undisciplined and have not taken advantage of the opportunities to have regular devotions with my sons. This is something that has eaten away at me for some time because I would love to just sit down with them and have spirited discussions about the Word, and yet I don't do it as often as I should (I believe it's been about a month, maybe longer, since we sat down to discuss what we'd been reading and hold a question/answer session).
Well, today while my sons were at youth group I began my long planned study of 1 Corinthians and so here is the first part of it. I hope you all enjoy it and please pray that I might be a more faithful spiritual leader in my home. Maybe this is why the Lord has not opened doors for me to teach...after all if I cannot be faithful in what He has given me, why should He give me more right?
Here you go:
Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
“Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus,”
We have here the typical greeting of Paul throughout his letters...a humble, even amazed, declaration of his apostleship. While some in the modern era sometimes refer to others as apostles, the office of an apostle left us with the death of those who were called to that specific office by Christ, and Paul was one of these. Recall that he’d been called to the office by the Lord Himself, while he was on the road to Damascus…to persecute those within the church. A supernatural visitation by the Lord, however, awakened the spiritual deadness of Saul (as he was then known) and caused the scales to fall away from his eyes.
So truly he was called by the will of God, for remember that in Acts 9:15 and Acts 13:2 God Himself declares Paul to be a chosen instrument. He was called specifically to suffer much for the gospel, and was thereby a powerful tool in the hands of the Almighty!
It could also be said that those of us who have been reborn spiritually, who are awakened to the Truth of God, that we too have been called by the will of God (Ephesians 1:4-5), and we too are now instruments to be wielded by the Lord. We have a work before us, and we should take care to focus our full attention upon that work (Ephesians 2:10). And yet, our calling is different than that of Paul…for as we see in the book of Acts, he had a specific ministry to accomplish…proof of which we have by opening our Bibles and looking at the large portion which he was inspired to write!
“and our brother Sosthenes”
This is possibly the same Sosthenes of whom we read in Acts 18:17, who was beaten in the very city of Corinth. If it is the same man, then it is interesting to note that here we see he is accompanying Paul, for during his beating he was the ruler of the Jewish synagogue! Obviously, if it truly is the same person, then he came to a saving knowledge of Christ at some point after the incident described.
“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours”
I love the simple clarity of this declaration. The church of God that is in Corinth is made up of those sanctified in Christ Jesus! The letter here is addressed to these saints! And notice what else…those saints are such WITH every other one, in every other place, that calls upon the name of our Lord!! I don’t think it is presumptuous to add that this includes not only in every place but in every time! Brothers and sisters, the church of God is made up of all true Believers throughout all of time and throughout the world today. Those in China, in Iraq, in Peru, EVERYWHERE, if they are Believers then they stand together with us today.
Do this: next time you are praying, take a moment to consider that at that same moment there is a Believer in the next block and across the world who is raising his voice/thoughts to Him at the same time. What a mind blowing thought, amen?
Another thought: there are many out there who call themselves Christians but who don’t even believe in the Bible as the Word of God. This verse in no way tells us that we are one with them, for we are not. How could we be? If they call upon a false Christ then they have nothing to do with us. They are lost and in need of the gospel. But to all who confess Christ AND believe in their hearts that He is exactly as He is revealed in the Scriptures…then they are our brothers and sisters. We’ll discuss this a tad more later on in verses 10-17.
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
This is a benediction from the great Apostle to the church at Corinth. We who know what the rest of the letter consists of are well aware that they are in for quite a tongue lashing from Paul, but notice how he first takes care to assure them of his love for them…and of his sincere desire for them that they truly know the peace that comes only from God. This is the grace he desires for them. Such is his love for this church body he established by the grace of God that even as they begin to show disobedience he has a great concern for them.
God bless!
Monday, June 8, 2009
"Hero: Becoming the Man She Desires" by Fred Stoeker and Jasen Stoeker
ISBN #978-1-4000-7109-8
"Hero" is a book about how a man can maintain purity in his relationships with women. The book is aimed at single men and offers up the argument that a real hero cares about physical purity not only to protect the woman in his life but also to be obedient to God. The authors are correct, of course, and one thing I was happy to see was that the elder Stoeker mostly avoids making the same mistake in this book that he made in "Every Man's Battle," a book I put down early on because it included too much of what Stoeker was calling on men to avoid. There is one section on page 71 where Stoeker warns his reades of graphic content then proceeds to share some pretty explicit things one will find in certain movies. I was saddened to see this but glad that it is the only place in the book where the authors do this. Although quite frankly their message that men and teenage boys need to be open about their struggles with lust should be shared in group settings is a tad much...not that the sharing itself is wrong but that the manner in which they recommend it should be done is buying into the world's standards...the very thing they want us to avoid doing.
Among the things that bothered me about the book, as mentioned above, are the constant contradictions between the message of the book and the style in which it is delivered. For example, after pointing out how his son Jasen remained pure until marriage, never even kissing his wife until that day, he says "[m]y son was a stud." What a poor choice of a word to describe his son! In an earlier part of the book he talks about what he feels was a hereditary sin among the Stoekers with pornography and how he hoped one day his descendants would say "We don't look at pornography because our father Fred didn't look at porn..." My immediate thought regarding this sentence in a book that wants to point to God as the source of our strength when confronting sin was "what about we don't look at pornography because it grieves the Spirit?"
Another thing that disappointed me about the book is the poor use of Scripture. In one chapter the elder Stoeked quotes 2 Chronicles 16:9 and then says we should stand up so God can see us as He searches to and fro. I'm like, "what?!?" This is certainly not what that passage teaches and while it may be nitpicking, I believe that when Christians use Scripture to communicate a point they should not misuse the Word of God. Use it by all means, but do so appropriately!
As negative as this review is so far, I cannot deny that there are some good things the book brings up. The Church certainly needs a call to purity...and we men especially need to take this very seriously, for as Stoeker says, "if you're not her hero, you'll be her nightmare." True. We as men bear a huge reponsibility in how we interact with women...and we should not make excuses for ourselves either (oh she was dressing indecently!). Let us be men!
Ultimately, however, I cannot truly recommend this book. I'm sure the Stoeker name assures it will be hugely popular, but if you want something better written, then go to Joshua Harris' "I Kissed Dating Goodbye." Quite frankly, to all you men out there...how about opening up the Bible and leading a life of obedience?
"Hero" is a book about how a man can maintain purity in his relationships with women. The book is aimed at single men and offers up the argument that a real hero cares about physical purity not only to protect the woman in his life but also to be obedient to God. The authors are correct, of course, and one thing I was happy to see was that the elder Stoeker mostly avoids making the same mistake in this book that he made in "Every Man's Battle," a book I put down early on because it included too much of what Stoeker was calling on men to avoid. There is one section on page 71 where Stoeker warns his reades of graphic content then proceeds to share some pretty explicit things one will find in certain movies. I was saddened to see this but glad that it is the only place in the book where the authors do this. Although quite frankly their message that men and teenage boys need to be open about their struggles with lust should be shared in group settings is a tad much...not that the sharing itself is wrong but that the manner in which they recommend it should be done is buying into the world's standards...the very thing they want us to avoid doing.
Among the things that bothered me about the book, as mentioned above, are the constant contradictions between the message of the book and the style in which it is delivered. For example, after pointing out how his son Jasen remained pure until marriage, never even kissing his wife until that day, he says "[m]y son was a stud." What a poor choice of a word to describe his son! In an earlier part of the book he talks about what he feels was a hereditary sin among the Stoekers with pornography and how he hoped one day his descendants would say "We don't look at pornography because our father Fred didn't look at porn..." My immediate thought regarding this sentence in a book that wants to point to God as the source of our strength when confronting sin was "what about we don't look at pornography because it grieves the Spirit?"
Another thing that disappointed me about the book is the poor use of Scripture. In one chapter the elder Stoeked quotes 2 Chronicles 16:9 and then says we should stand up so God can see us as He searches to and fro. I'm like, "what?!?" This is certainly not what that passage teaches and while it may be nitpicking, I believe that when Christians use Scripture to communicate a point they should not misuse the Word of God. Use it by all means, but do so appropriately!
As negative as this review is so far, I cannot deny that there are some good things the book brings up. The Church certainly needs a call to purity...and we men especially need to take this very seriously, for as Stoeker says, "if you're not her hero, you'll be her nightmare." True. We as men bear a huge reponsibility in how we interact with women...and we should not make excuses for ourselves either (oh she was dressing indecently!). Let us be men!
Ultimately, however, I cannot truly recommend this book. I'm sure the Stoeker name assures it will be hugely popular, but if you want something better written, then go to Joshua Harris' "I Kissed Dating Goodbye." Quite frankly, to all you men out there...how about opening up the Bible and leading a life of obedience?
Saturday, June 6, 2009
"Spurgeon: Heir of the Puritans" by Ernest W. Bacon
ISBN not available.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon is one of those men whom I look forward to meeting when I pass on. If the great teachers of the faith will still be permitted to teach (and why would they not?) in heaven, then it is at his feet that I will sit for a few thousand years. He is a titan of the faith that we would do well to emulate. Mr. Ernest W. Bacon, now present with the Lord for over 15 years, has done his fellow Christians a grand favor in providing his wonderful biography...one that will help us to know Spurgeon better and to appreciate the ministry that the Lord gifted him with. Bacon is a sympathetic Spurgeon biographer, one who obviously loved the man of whom he wrote and who did his best to present the Christian warrior in as favorable a light as possible. This is not to say that the biography is diminished because of it...far from it. Spurgeon had and has enough detractors that this biography is a breath of fresh air, one that gives Spurgeon the benefit of the doubt and this helps us to meet the man on the terms which he himself might have wanted.
This wonderful little biography (only 177 pages) focuses not on the day to day details of Spurgeon's life, but on his theological views and the works which he did. Sprinkled liberally throughout the text are passages from Spurgeon's sermons, which help the reader to get into the mind of this wonderful man. Another thing I enjoyed about this biography is how Mr. Bacon focuses on primary sources to show us what the contemporaries of Spurgeon thought about him...both those in the secular world and those from within the body. Bacon also spends a whole chapter discussing the down-grade controversy and how it came about as well as what prompted Spurgeon to take such a strong stance that led him to resign from his denomination and that put him at odds with so many. This controversy in which he bravely fought for the Truth, we now know needed to be opposed. Indeed, John MacArthur has said in "Ashamed of the Gospel" that modern day England today suffers from the failure of so many evengelicals to align themselves with Spurgeon. The spiritual barrenness that is England is a direct result of the embrace of heresy back in the day of Spurgeon. What a lesson this is for us who now face the same type of challenge to biblical truths!
Ultimately, as Bacon tells us, Spurgeon's life was devoted wholly to his Lord. His entire ministry was dedicated to the championing of the name of Jesus and a desire to point the lost to Him and see them come alive through His grace. When the Metropolitan Tabernacle was opened, Spurgeon said during his first sermon that he hoped within its walls only Christ would be preeminent. This sole focus on Christ was his passion and it was for this cause that he gave his life and risked everything. What a man! What a saint! In one sermon, Spurgeon said, "Remember, sinner, it is not your hold of Christ thast saves you- it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you- it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, thought that is the instrument- it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not to your hope, but to Christ the source of hope; look not to your faith, but to Christ, the author and finisher of yhour faith; and if you do that, ten thousand devils cannot throw you down."
The life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a life dedicated to his Lord and Master. A life that loved Christ so much it was his joy to focus himself entirely upon that object of his love. And those that loved him realized this. A Dr. A.T. Pierson gave the eulogy at Spurgeon's funeral...these were his words:
"Beloved President, Faithful Pastor, Prince of Preachers, Brother Beloved, Dear Spurgeon- we bid thee not "farewell," but only for a little while "Good-night." You shall rise soon at the first dawn of the Resurrection- day of the redeemed. Yet is the good-night not ours to bid but yours; it is we who linger in the darkness; thou art in God's holy light. Our night shall soon be passed and with it all our weeping. Then with yours, our songs shall greet the morning of the day that knows no cloud nor close; for there is not night there.
Hard worker in the field! thy toil is ended. Straight has been the furrow thou has ploughed. No looking back has marred thy course. Harvests have followed thy patient sowing, and heaven is already rich with your ingathered sheaves, and shall still be enriched through the years yet lying in eternity.
Champion of God! your battle, long and nobly fought is over; your sword which clung to your hand, has dropped at last; a palm branch takes its place. No longer does the helmet press your brow, often weary by its surging thoughts of battle; a victor's wreath from the great Commander's hand has already proved your full reward.
Here, for a little while, shall rest thy precious dust. Then shall thy Well-Beloved come; and at His voice thou shalt spring from thy couch of earth, fashioned like unto His body, into glory. Then spirit, sould and body shall magnify the Lord's redemption. Until then, beloved, sleep. We praise God for thee, and by the blood of the everlasting covenant, hope and expect to praise God with thee. Amen."
O that my life would merit even a small portion of such words!
Please, read this book and know the man who is even now lovingly called The Prince of Preachers.
God bless!
Charles Haddon Spurgeon is one of those men whom I look forward to meeting when I pass on. If the great teachers of the faith will still be permitted to teach (and why would they not?) in heaven, then it is at his feet that I will sit for a few thousand years. He is a titan of the faith that we would do well to emulate. Mr. Ernest W. Bacon, now present with the Lord for over 15 years, has done his fellow Christians a grand favor in providing his wonderful biography...one that will help us to know Spurgeon better and to appreciate the ministry that the Lord gifted him with. Bacon is a sympathetic Spurgeon biographer, one who obviously loved the man of whom he wrote and who did his best to present the Christian warrior in as favorable a light as possible. This is not to say that the biography is diminished because of it...far from it. Spurgeon had and has enough detractors that this biography is a breath of fresh air, one that gives Spurgeon the benefit of the doubt and this helps us to meet the man on the terms which he himself might have wanted.
This wonderful little biography (only 177 pages) focuses not on the day to day details of Spurgeon's life, but on his theological views and the works which he did. Sprinkled liberally throughout the text are passages from Spurgeon's sermons, which help the reader to get into the mind of this wonderful man. Another thing I enjoyed about this biography is how Mr. Bacon focuses on primary sources to show us what the contemporaries of Spurgeon thought about him...both those in the secular world and those from within the body. Bacon also spends a whole chapter discussing the down-grade controversy and how it came about as well as what prompted Spurgeon to take such a strong stance that led him to resign from his denomination and that put him at odds with so many. This controversy in which he bravely fought for the Truth, we now know needed to be opposed. Indeed, John MacArthur has said in "Ashamed of the Gospel" that modern day England today suffers from the failure of so many evengelicals to align themselves with Spurgeon. The spiritual barrenness that is England is a direct result of the embrace of heresy back in the day of Spurgeon. What a lesson this is for us who now face the same type of challenge to biblical truths!
Ultimately, as Bacon tells us, Spurgeon's life was devoted wholly to his Lord. His entire ministry was dedicated to the championing of the name of Jesus and a desire to point the lost to Him and see them come alive through His grace. When the Metropolitan Tabernacle was opened, Spurgeon said during his first sermon that he hoped within its walls only Christ would be preeminent. This sole focus on Christ was his passion and it was for this cause that he gave his life and risked everything. What a man! What a saint! In one sermon, Spurgeon said, "Remember, sinner, it is not your hold of Christ thast saves you- it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you- it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, thought that is the instrument- it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not to your hope, but to Christ the source of hope; look not to your faith, but to Christ, the author and finisher of yhour faith; and if you do that, ten thousand devils cannot throw you down."
The life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a life dedicated to his Lord and Master. A life that loved Christ so much it was his joy to focus himself entirely upon that object of his love. And those that loved him realized this. A Dr. A.T. Pierson gave the eulogy at Spurgeon's funeral...these were his words:
"Beloved President, Faithful Pastor, Prince of Preachers, Brother Beloved, Dear Spurgeon- we bid thee not "farewell," but only for a little while "Good-night." You shall rise soon at the first dawn of the Resurrection- day of the redeemed. Yet is the good-night not ours to bid but yours; it is we who linger in the darkness; thou art in God's holy light. Our night shall soon be passed and with it all our weeping. Then with yours, our songs shall greet the morning of the day that knows no cloud nor close; for there is not night there.
Hard worker in the field! thy toil is ended. Straight has been the furrow thou has ploughed. No looking back has marred thy course. Harvests have followed thy patient sowing, and heaven is already rich with your ingathered sheaves, and shall still be enriched through the years yet lying in eternity.
Champion of God! your battle, long and nobly fought is over; your sword which clung to your hand, has dropped at last; a palm branch takes its place. No longer does the helmet press your brow, often weary by its surging thoughts of battle; a victor's wreath from the great Commander's hand has already proved your full reward.
Here, for a little while, shall rest thy precious dust. Then shall thy Well-Beloved come; and at His voice thou shalt spring from thy couch of earth, fashioned like unto His body, into glory. Then spirit, sould and body shall magnify the Lord's redemption. Until then, beloved, sleep. We praise God for thee, and by the blood of the everlasting covenant, hope and expect to praise God with thee. Amen."
O that my life would merit even a small portion of such words!
Please, read this book and know the man who is even now lovingly called The Prince of Preachers.
God bless!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Quotable
I am currently on my break at work and just had to take a moment to put up the following quote. It is from a biography I am reading on CH Spurgeon, and the chapter I am reading is on his theological convictions. These are Spurgeon's words regarding holiness:
"Christian men are not to be used for anything but God. They are a set-apart people; they are vessels of mercy, they are not for the devil's use, not for their own use, not for the world's use, but for their Master's use. He has made them on purpose to be used entirely, solely and wholly for Him. O Christian people, be holy, for Christ is holy. Do not pollute that holy Name wherewith you are named. Let your family life, your personal life, your business life, be as holy as Christ your Lord would have it to be. Shall saints be shams when sinners are so real?"
No wonder he is called the Prince of Preachers!
"Christian men are not to be used for anything but God. They are a set-apart people; they are vessels of mercy, they are not for the devil's use, not for their own use, not for the world's use, but for their Master's use. He has made them on purpose to be used entirely, solely and wholly for Him. O Christian people, be holy, for Christ is holy. Do not pollute that holy Name wherewith you are named. Let your family life, your personal life, your business life, be as holy as Christ your Lord would have it to be. Shall saints be shams when sinners are so real?"
No wonder he is called the Prince of Preachers!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Personal Update
Hello friends and family!
I wanted to take a moment to give everyone an update regarding where I'm at. As you know, I have been trying to lose weight for quite some time...well I should say I have been trying to seriously lose weight now, because I have dieted and exercised regularly most of my life but rarely at the same time!
Not only that, but in the last year I have been pretty much like a yo-yo. And by this I don't mean just my shape, but that my weight has gone down and up pretty regularly. One year ago I weighed 294 lbs. and then I went down to 275 lbs. in a matter of three months. Well, I gained most of that back, so that on May 5th of this year I weighed in at the gym and was up to 287 lbs. Since I am now 36 years old and closer than not to going home to my Lord, I decided I should begin actually disciplining myself to exercise AND diet at the same time (who would have thought, huh?). Well today I asked to weigh myself at the gym and I am down to 278 lbs.! This is since May 5th so I am really excited 'cause I have been using the scales to weigh myself every Monday and Friday but until I had them weigh me on the machine thingy I did not know what the official reading would be. Anyhow, I have set myself a modest goal to lose 5 lbs. every month until I get down to where I need to be for my health, but for the month of June I have decided I'm going to get down to 275 and then pick up on the 5 per month in July. Please pray for me as I continue to discipline myself to exercise every day. Since being married, the lowest weight I have been is 265 (I think)...and that is only 13 lbs.! If I maintain the weight loss I have set for myself then I should be there by September 1st of this year.
Now, I know that I will never be thin...I never have actually been very thin. So my goal is to measure by the pant sizes I go down and by hopefully losing the cute belly I have. I know this will devastate my wife, as she finds me immensely attractive as I am (and who can blame her?), but she will just have to understand that my health comes first!
Well that's the update! Keep me in prayer and hold me accountable!
God bless
I wanted to take a moment to give everyone an update regarding where I'm at. As you know, I have been trying to lose weight for quite some time...well I should say I have been trying to seriously lose weight now, because I have dieted and exercised regularly most of my life but rarely at the same time!
Not only that, but in the last year I have been pretty much like a yo-yo. And by this I don't mean just my shape, but that my weight has gone down and up pretty regularly. One year ago I weighed 294 lbs. and then I went down to 275 lbs. in a matter of three months. Well, I gained most of that back, so that on May 5th of this year I weighed in at the gym and was up to 287 lbs. Since I am now 36 years old and closer than not to going home to my Lord, I decided I should begin actually disciplining myself to exercise AND diet at the same time (who would have thought, huh?). Well today I asked to weigh myself at the gym and I am down to 278 lbs.! This is since May 5th so I am really excited 'cause I have been using the scales to weigh myself every Monday and Friday but until I had them weigh me on the machine thingy I did not know what the official reading would be. Anyhow, I have set myself a modest goal to lose 5 lbs. every month until I get down to where I need to be for my health, but for the month of June I have decided I'm going to get down to 275 and then pick up on the 5 per month in July. Please pray for me as I continue to discipline myself to exercise every day. Since being married, the lowest weight I have been is 265 (I think)...and that is only 13 lbs.! If I maintain the weight loss I have set for myself then I should be there by September 1st of this year.
Now, I know that I will never be thin...I never have actually been very thin. So my goal is to measure by the pant sizes I go down and by hopefully losing the cute belly I have. I know this will devastate my wife, as she finds me immensely attractive as I am (and who can blame her?), but she will just have to understand that my health comes first!
Well that's the update! Keep me in prayer and hold me accountable!
God bless
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