Padkos–January 2015

God Is at Work in Your Unremarkable Days   “Let the unremarkable years of Genesis speak to you. A few days of your life are remarkable, containing events and experiences where you see God’s providence with startling clarity and when your faith and life course are indelibly and memorably shaped. But the vast majority of your days — likely a day like today — will pass into obscurity unrecorded and irretrievable to your memory. But though today may be unremarkable, it is not unimportant. It is unique, priceless, and irreplaceable.”

 

Don’t Worry, Be Joyful – RC Sproul, Joy is not a choice, but a command. A fruit of the Spirit in our lives and directly linked to our maturity in Christ!

Count It All Joy – RC Sproul, continuing along the theme of ‘joy’ No matter what, my trust must be in the Lord.

How Do You Spell ‘JOY’ ? – RC Sproul  - Jesus Others Yourself

The Greatest Joy – RC Sproul – The joy of our salvation.

The Source of Joy – RC Sproul John 15, ‘I am the Vine, abide in Me that your joy may be full’.

 

How Involved is God in the Details of Your Life?   Jon Bloom -“ The detailed narrative of Joseph’s life, among many other things, is a loving letter from your Good Shepherd (John 10:11) — the same Good Shepherd who guided Joseph through green pastures and the valley of the shadow of death, pursuing him with good all the days of his life (Psalm 23) — to remind you that no matter what you are experiencing, sweet or bitter, good or evil, no matter how long it’s lasting, he has not left you alone (John 14:18). He is with you (Psalm 23:4), he is working all things together for good (Romans 8:28), and he will be with you to the end (Matthew 28:20).”

 

20 Things I Want My Daughter to Understand About Being a Woman –  Melissa Edgington  “ Everyone you know is working hard and doing things that they don’t want to do on a regular basis. It’s part of being a grown up human.”

When Another’s Words Sting – Paula Hendricks. Quoting from Nance Leigh Demoss “ Rather, the Psalmist asked God to post a sentinel at his own mouth knowing that the greatest danger he faced was not what others might do to him, but rather, what he might say that would harm others.”

The Power of Cause and Effect – Mary Kassain speaking on the ‘Revive Our Hearts’ blog

 

Only Two Religions – Interview with Peter Jones  Ligonier .org

Explaining Modern Culture – Peter Jones

Thinking With a Discerning Mind – Peter Jones

Righteousness Revealed – RC Sproul. Audio

 

The Eighth Decade of Life and the Ultimate Purpose of God – John Piper

 

How to Combat the Demonic – JD Greear  “Is Satan filling your mind with discouraging thoughts? “You’re a failure; you’ll never be used by God." "You think with your past God still cares about you?” Don't listen. Instead, hear the gospel that says, “I have ransomed you, I have made you my own, I have given you a future and a hope.””

December Padkos

Bible Reading Plans For 2015 – this list is from the Ligonier site. I like the look of the in depth one on Matthew. But they are all going to be good!

 

10 Questions to ask at New Year/Your Birthday – I like the idea of looking back…and then looking forward. “So let’s evaluate our lives, make plans and goals, and live this new year with biblical diligence, remembering that, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage” (Proverbs 21:5). But in all things let’s also remember our dependence on our King who said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).”

 

10 Reasons For Writing Letters   Oh yes yes and YES!

 

God’s ‘Small Still Voice’ Great article with significant insight.

 

Distractions Impairing Spiritual Growth

“There are plenty of things we can worry about or lust after today, aren't there? To fight this battle, I must constantly remind myself that this world is not my home. But I must also be faithful to pray for those who are so distracted by the world that they have missed the only One who will truly satisfy the longings of their hearts.”

“…dealing decisively with anything that pulls us away from what's supremely important—knowing Christ. I find the battle is ongoing as I strive to keep good things in their proper place, such as smart phones, Internet, entertainment, Facebook, Twitter, exercise, work, children and grandchildren, home repairs, meal preparation, laundry, being occupied with worldly affairs, and so on. Even things that are very good must not keep us from what is best for our souls.”

“We can be distracted by things we're sincerely doing to please Jesus. Good things.But Jesus doesn't want us to be doing for Him at the expense of being with Him.”

“Finally, God wants to teach us how to be at rest in the midst of the chaos and confusion of this world. That's what God is drilling down more deeply in me these days. Regardless of what distractions, pressures, trials, or sufferings are coming at me at any given moment, my heart will only be truly at rest when it's fixed on Christ. The more I put my trust in God's goodness and sovereign control over every circumstance of my life, the less unexpected or hard things can steal the peace or joy I have been given in Christ.”

Evil Spirits and Electricity Problems – Africa, what is the ‘real’ problem?

 

How Salvation Brings Freedom – Jen Wilkin. “Salvation from sin can be broken down into three categories: justification, sanctification and glorification. For the believer, our justification was, our sanctification is, and our glorification is to come. We were saved, we are being saved, we will be saved.”

Which Promises Are For Me? – Jen Wilkin. Good one! “Not many things are more comforting than a promise made and kept. And not many things are more hurtful than a promise broken. Knowing we worship a God who keeps his promises is a source of deep joy. But misapplied, this knowledge can also lead us to treasure-hunt Scripture for promises in problematic ways. How can we know which promises are for us? How can we lay claim to the promises of the Bible without overstepping their application?”

 

4 Seasons When You Will Face Temptation  John Owens/Tim Challis

A Dangerous Passion For Growth

 

How to Change Your Mind  A different Bible ‘Reading Plan’

 

The Lure of Self Promotion 

“This doesn’t mean we can never cultivate the unique talents and personalities that He has given us. It is certainly possible to use our gifts to glorify God (in fact, that is why He gave them to us in the first place!). But first, we must ask some critical questions: Am I doing this for His glory or for my own applause? When people see this part of my life, are they drawn closer to Jesus, or are they merely impressed with me?

If we are more concerned with what others think of us than what they think of Jesus, then we have not learned how to be a faithful “friend of the Bridegroom,” as John the Baptist was. If we are pursuing our dreams in order to get what we want out of life rather than to lead others to the Source of true life, we are missing a crucial part of Christianity.”

 

When Risking it All for God Means Staying Where You Are 

Well written and to the point.  “As I’m reading Scripture, I see countless stories of men and women whose biggest challenge is not stepping out to go and follow God but continuing to follow Him.”

November Padkos

Stop Preaching to Yourself, Do Something  

“Preaching the Gospel to ourselves is something of a novelty.  Perhaps the traditional notion would be remembering the Gospel, reminding ourselves of its truths.Either way, it is a good exercise.  It is a necessary effort.  But it is not and end in itself.Reminding ourselves of the greatness of Christ and his salvation is faith-building.  But it is not enough.The Gospel leads us to love God and love our neighbour, to keep the ten commandments.  That is the point of James.”

 

We Are Not Our Own – Piper talks beautifully of life and death. “What matters is that we have been bought with a price. We are not our own. We live and we die and we suffer for the glory of Christ, our Lord. And we never forget the truth that makes everything worth it: “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).”

How Not to Use Greek in Bible Study

 

Truth Exchange – Peter Jones

 

10 Questions on Prayer –with Timothy Keller   and  20 Quotes from Tim’s book

 

The Wrath of God – 5 Truths

 

God’s Purpose For Our Lives

 

  When was the last time you enjoyed your money? – Tim Challis.  Especially this line : “When all you want to do with your money is seek indulgence, it will deliver ever-diminishing pleasures”

Rules For Self Discovery

1. What we want most;
2. What we think about most;
3. How we use our money;
4. What we do with our leisure time;
5. The company we enjoy;
6. Who and what we admire;
7. What we laugh at.

A.W. Tozer

Prayer

Grant us purity of heart
and strength of purpose,
that no selfish passion
may hinder us from knowing Your will,
and no weakness
hinder us from doing it;
but that in Your light
we may see light,
and in Your service
find our perfect freedom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

- Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (354-430)

October Padkos

Children in Worship Services – difficult one to get right. I like what I read here.

 

A series by Tim Challis :

How To Get Things Done

How To Get Things Done: Define Your Areas of Responsibility 

How To Get Things Done – Time, Energy and Mission

4 Things That Happen When You Study Leviticus For 10 Years

6 Great Reasons To Study Doctrine – Tim Challis

 

What is Discernment? (Sinclair Ferguson)

The Authority, Sufficiency, Finality of Scripture (Sinclair Ferguson)

GK Chesterton  and his ‘What I found in My Pocket’

 Cheerful Confidence After Christendom

When Our Theology Stifles Our Compassion

Video – John Piper, Romans 8- When God Himself Speaks to You

Pure and Simple Devotion – Ben Stuart

Timothy Keller – Prayer & Quiet Times

The Secret of Aslan – I remember well my first voyage into Narnia…

2013 CS Lewis Conference  (video)

Stop Apologizing For God

 

A Professor of New Technology bans technology use in class. – very interesting. I’m always interested to see what influences us and how.

 

100 Best Christian Books  - some surprising titles there. I’m putting this here for easy reference as I read through their reasons for including the titles they did.

September Padkos

Pretty full month this time round! Lots of good stuff to share. Also remember to check out Christian Courses at RBC . They have many free courses available and regularly offer free graduate level/quality courses.

 

Love That Will Complete You   “God is completing us by producing in us more and more love fuelled by truths about him and his world. He is sharpening our minds and hearts around what is good, and that love — built on the iron beams of knowledge and discernment — prepares us for him, for a perfect, holy God. God makes us ready for that day by teaching us more of his truth and making us more loving toward others. God does the work. That’s why it’s a prayer (Philippians 1:9) and not only a command. Paul is asking God to do it in them, in us.”

4 Things Jesus Didn’t Die For 

Jesus didn’t die so we could achieve the American Dream, but so that we could inherit immeasurable riches in the presence of God for eternity.

Jesus didn’t die so we could create our own little social/political kingdoms in this age, but so that we would rejoice in the coming kingdom of the next.

Jesus didn’t die so we could keep on sinning but so that we would have the desire to stop sinning and glorify him in all we do.

Jesus didn’t die so we could amass a spiritual resumé of good works but so that we could rest in his righteousness as we obey out of love and humility.

Let My People Think Part 1 – Ravi Zacharias

Let My People Think Part 2 – Ravi Zacharias

Oprah quotes edited.

God’s Beauty for the Bored, Busy, and Depressed

If Only You Knew What I Know  - “Every church is a community of recovering sin-addicts, fellow sufferers who are longing for freedom. Freedom comes through principle taught and principle displayed. Who needs to hear you say, “Walk with me. Let’s learn to be like Christ…””

12 Step programmes work for addicts, what is lacking in the church?

Why Curious People Don’t Get Bored

Theological Impatience

Biblical Versus Systematic Theology

Monergism – 125 Free E-books

You Need The Power of The Holy Spirit

Making Sense of The Stories We Tell

What Jesus Didn’t Say

Sobering Up : Prerequisite to a Good Prayer Life  “Sobering up means that we see reality as it really is; that we recognize that time is short; that we give up any thoughts of trying to live or serve apart from the enablement that only God can offer.”

 

Look At The Book  Great new ‘Biblestudy Guide’ from John Piper and Desiring God.

Busy Is Blasphemy – Written from the perspective of a pastor, but applies to us all. (Remember that the time on earth is not the only time we have, we do not have to do absolutely everything during our lifetime here. There is all eternity still to live…)

Read those Genealogies!  I used to skip them until audio Bible listening took that option away from me. I’m so glad it did, I won’t skip them anymore. The article gives some clues as to why I now LIKE reading genealogies!

Encourage One Another

Put Feelings Back In Faith

Live More Simply

The Dignity of Our Deterioration