Padkos - January 2016

The Hyper-Examined Life Isn’t Worth Living
God’s Wonderful Plan For Your Life
I Am Going to Write - Trevin Wax

Nine Questions to Help You Steward All of Your Life for God’s Glory

3 Questions To Ask Before Listening To Any Sermon
A Place To Start For Spiritually Stuck People
Puritan (and other) Books to Read Online
J I Packer’s Puritan Library For Online Reading
How To Be Spiritually Miserable
God’s Sovereignty Over My Free Will – John Piper
Chesterton and 4 Arguments – Trevin Wax

8 Ways to Grow in The Fear of God

The Consequences of Neglecting Prayer - David Wilkerson
“In those times, my prayer life consisted only of meditation and quiet times. I had no effectual fervency in prayer. Why? Because the cares of life robbed me of my time with the Lord.
So, what happened to me in those times? Servanthood turned to self-pity. Ministry seemed like a burden, not a blessing. And misery upon misery flooded my soul.
I battled loneliness, weariness, unbelief, a troubling sense of having accomplished little in life, even thoughts of quitting the ministry. And the blessings of God were hindered. My relationships soured, I lost discernment, and fresh revelations of Christ no longer came.”

From Challis.com

Padkos December 2015

Plunge Your Mind Into The Ocean of God’s Sovereignty - Desiring God blog.
Moral Relativism “As Walter Isaacson, Einstein’s most important biographer, explains:
“In both his science and his moral philosophy, Einstein was driven by a quest for certainty and deterministic laws. If his theory of relativity produced ripples that unsettled the realms of morality and culture, this was not caused by what Einstein believed but by how he was popularly interpreted.””
How To Know If You Are Called
Essential Life Skill – Teachability
I Am What I’ve Been Through [this title provides enough food for thought and prayer]
Stop Sending Missionaries ( I would add : make sure they are really converted, born again follower of Jesus)
Dear God, I Don’t Want To Serve You This Way….

Lordship is not Legalism

Padkos – November 2015

40 Thoughts For 40th Birthday –  Jared C Wilson

7 Subtle Symptoms of Pride –  Fabienne Harford   ( 7 points from Jonathan Edwards)

You Can’t Serve God and Entertainment – Philip Holmes

My Spouse Is My Best Friend? – Mark Jones

Miscarriage And The Confusion of Sinful Grief – Jamie Carlson

What is Holding You Back? – Laura Elliot  “So reader, where does that leave you? What is "your thing," and why aren't you doing it?”

6 Assassins of Man’s Contentment -  Darrin Patrick   “Contentment is the fuel for a life well-lived. “

The Songs of Jesus  - Tim Keller

Protect Your Marriage – Jim Newheiser

You Are Meant To Move Mountains – Jon Bloom  “

How would you live differently if you really believed that nothing would be impossible for you?

Don’t let cynicism squelch that question. Our lightning quick and loud unbelief is not commendable. It is perverse, twisted. It robs us of more than we know. When contemplating such a question, it can be tempting for some of us to quickly point to the errors of the word-of-faith movement and reaffirm that we aren’t going to fall in that ditch. Good. We should not. But that does not excuse us to live at peace with little faith and impotence in kingdom ministry.”

Hardwired For Awe – Paul Tripp 

An Identity That Can Handle Either Success of Failure – Timothy Keller (video)

Bad Doctrine Versus Heresy

Timothy Keller on the Psalms

7 Sentimental Lies You Might Believe

The subtle seeds of pride grow an oak of self-worship in the heart.

Padkos–October 2015

The Battle Larger Than A Culture War  –  Trevin Wax  “The character of God’s kingdom people in a secular age must be holy. For this reason, the battle against fleshly desires is always bigger than any cultural battle.”

Speck Removing  –  John Piper  “ So when Danny asks, “How can we ever know with certainty that we see clearly enough to take the specks out of another person’s eyes?” my answer is, “Certainty is not the issue here, Danny. Humility, Scripture, prayer, and love are the issue. God has set up the church so that imperfect, fallible, even uncertain people are called upon to rescue each other. Don’t let uncertainty excuse you from obedience. If someone is drowning and you can swim, but you are not certain you would have enough strength to pull them all the way back to the land, and there is no other way to save them, what does love do? Don’t make a god out of certainty. It may prove to be a cloak for fear of drowning.”

Consistent Spiritual Discipline – Not Legalism  - John Piper  Excerpt from a 1991 sermon…might as well have been last weekend!

Frequently Abused Verses – God’s Goodness Leads to Repentance – Grace To You blog   “It is impossible to preach the goodness of God without talking about sin and judgment because its very meaning is bound up in those terms. When we see our sinfulness and rebellion against God, and when we see our hypocrisy in condemning others for committing the same wrath-deserving sins, then we can also marvel at God’s goodness in patiently and tolerantly withholding the wrath that we deserve.”

Is The Social Gospel The Whole Gospel? – Grace To You Blog  “So where does that leave works of social justice such as feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, and caring for the oppressed? No one would argue that they are bad things to do. Indeed James defines them as integral to pure religion (James 1:27). But do those acts of mercy have any role to play in a person’s salvation?”

The Trinity – RC Sproul  I’ve never heard the Trinity explained like this…

Christian Art – Why? – Mark Altrogge

Early Warning Signs of AOC -  Stephen Altrogge

Maturing Well, Not Aging – Barnabas Piper

GK Chesterton Engaging With Culture  - Trevin Wax  “Chesterton was a big man (in more ways than one) who made a big splash. How did he engage his culture and why does he still matter? I offer four reasons:”

Book Review – Stop Your Complaining – Tim Challis  “If you read a book like this one and come away with two simple things—a deeper disgust of complaining and a heightened desire for gratitude—your time has been well-spent. And I think that is what you will find if you read it.Stop Your Complaining is short but not trite, light but still significant. It’s exactly the book I needed today.” [reminded me of Jerry Benjamin’s book on ‘Murmuring’]

Kevin DeYoung on PG Wodehouse

When Depression Descends – John Piper Audio (full message HERE)

Memorizing an Entire Book – Andy Naselli  (includes Vimeo link to video)

Sermon Audio

Don’t Coddle Your Fears – Jon Bloom

7 Ways to Grow Without Seminary – Nancy Guthrie

19 Turning Points – Justin Taylor

Glorify God in Grey Areas – Grace To You blog

Mysticism – FAQ – Justin Taylor