Padkos - December 2017

God Loves Ministry No One Else Sees

Remembering RC Sproul - Tim Challis
A La Carte - Sproul memoriam links edition
Unashamed Allegiance - John Piper on RC Sproul
RC Sproul - John MacArthur
A Note of Thanks for RC Sproul - Joni Eareckson Tada
A Bright and Burning Light - RC Sproul - Albert Mohler
RC Sproul - 20 Quotes on the Glory of God - Logos
In Memoriam - RC Sproul - Michael Horton - White Horse Inn
Remembering RC

About Angels - Wayne Grudem

Spurgeon - Help For Your Prayer Life

Padkos - November 2017

5 Steps For Getting Unstuck With Difficult Bible Passages


Whatever is Lovely - How to overcome pressing distractions

How Much of Decision-Making is Emotional? Ask Pastor John

More Than Inspirational - about Joni Eareckson Tada

Strong Women Laugh at the Days to Come

The Dangers of Nostalgia -Ask Pastor John

Who Are Gog and Magog?

There is nothing new in theology but that which is false; only the old is true for truth must be old, as old as God himself. —

C.H. Spurgeon

Padkos - October 2017

Francis Chan's Daily Fight For Joy - APJ

Glory Thief

11 Classics Every Christian Should Read

How Do I Pursue Joy in Christ -Michael Reeves (APJ)

Proven Path to Mental Health

Padkos - September 2017

Nothing to Complain About

What is The Purpose of Marriage? - Tim Challis

Break Free From The Small Cycle

Does God Control All Things All The Time? - APJ

How Does God Deliver US From Evil? APJ

The Strength of a Godly Woman - Hope in Her God

Christian Meditation - Sam Storms

Padkos - August 2017

How to Receive The Gift of The Holy Spirit - John Piper

God Has A Wonderful Plan For Your Life (Philippians) - Look At Book

10 Things to Work Through Before You Get Married

A Real Solution To A Complaining Heart

Reading Wars - Philip Yancey

An Oasis For Wives in Desert Marriages

Padkos - July 2017

He Will Hold Me Fast (book review - Challis)

Reflecting of 50 Years - Joni Eareckson Tada

"However, if I were to nail down suffering’s main purpose, I’d say it’s the textbook that teaches me who I really am, because I’m not the paragon of virtue I’d like to think I am. Suffering keeps knocking me off my pedestal of pride."

I Awe of Her God (Joni Eareckson Tada)

"Heart-splitting joy, God-breathed courage, the overwhelming presence and power of God — what a spectacular testimony to God’s grace! "

Padkos - June 2017

Do You Resent The Life God Gave You?

My Undoing Was Your Beginning

Self-Examination Speaks a Thousand Lies

God Works For Those Who Wait For Him - John Piper

Worship in Your Waiting

God Parents Us Through Trials

Diagnosing and Mortifying the Sin of Complaining

Pray Them Home "The truth is, while we must teach and train our children, and put boundaries in place, we have no control over their hearts. Ultimately, God alone can fill their hearts with a love for Christ and open their eyes to see the beauty and glory of who he is"

Padkos - May 2017

Four Signs Food Has Become An Idol - APJ  (- I think these 4 points are a good starting places for measuring to see if any other good gift in my life has become or is becoming an idol. -)

6 Things To Know About The Wrath of God

Embrace The Life You Have

Don't Waste Your Mornings - APJ

God's Work in Your Depression - APJ

70 Prompts For Praising God

The Fierce Fruit of Self Control - John Piper   "But the Christian way of self-control is not “Just say no!” The problem is with the word “just.” You don’t just say no. You say no in a certain way: You say no by faith in the superior power and pleasure of Christ. It is just as ruthless. And may be just as painful. But the difference between worldly self-control and godly self-control is crucial. Who will get the glory for victory? That’s the issue. Will we get the glory? Or will Christ get the glory? If we exercise self-control by faith in Christ’s superior power and pleasure, Christ will get the glory."

You Become What You Eat - Jon Bloom

5 Questions to ask a book before you read it - Tim Challis

10 Questions to ask of your entertainment - Kevin Halloran

Here's a particularly good one - A New Frame of Mind - "A transformed mind is a mind that is saturated by Scripture, able to discern between right and wrong--as well as between right and nearly right. Such a mind is filled with biblical principles which always yields biblical peace and practice."

Arming Yourself with the Purpose to Suffer - John Piper 1 Peter 4 : 1-6
"The word from the Lord for us this morning is: Arm yourselves with the purpose to suffer for righteousness' sake if that should be God's will. The pieces in this armor that support us and encourage us and sustain us are:

Piece #1: Christ, the one we love and follow suffered.
Piece #2: When we suffer, we make a clean break with sin.
Piece #3: Any amount of past sinning is sufficient. It's enough.
Piece #4: The adversaries will be brought to justice.
Piece #5: We who embrace the gospel will triumph over death.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Follow him this week, wherever he leads, whatever it costs."

Padkos - April 2017

Preaching Through Galatians (various)

What's A Mentor To Do?

Easter Against The Gnostics - TruthXchange

Steward The Gifts God Has Given You

Weddings - Don't Break The Bank - (APJ) John Piper (not just concerning weddings, but Christian life)

Step Into The Messiness of Vulnerable Relationships

Beware of Broken Wolves

Ministering to Moms With Prodigal Children

God Made Me, Doesn't He Owe Me Salvation? - APJ

Old Testament/New Testament...what about the laws? - APJ

God Plans For The Unexpected And Inconvenient

Joy & Glory Through The Ages (church history) Michael Reeves (video)

3 Strategies For Overcoming The Superficial Life - APJ

Pastoral Reflections on Kindness

Padkos - March 2017

How Do I Test My Interpretation of The Bible? Ask Pastor John

Generational Sins  Ask Pastor John

What Does 'The Shack' Really Teach? - Tim Challis

Complaining Never Wins The Culture

Ligonier 2017 Conference - The Next 500 Years

When God Sends a True Friend

3 Promises For Those Who Are Hurting

The Day I Ditched My 5-Year Plan

Why We Never Find Our Identity Inside Ourselves

So many good quotes over at Challis.com

Padkos February 2017

5 Thoughts For The Overloaded Mind

Singing is the Language of Joy

Saved Through Childbearing? John Piper Look at the Book

How Not to Help a Sufferer

Extraordinary Skills For Ordinary Christians "But I love what John Piper says: “Here is a vocation that will bring you more satisfaction than if you became a millionaire ten times over: Develop the extraordinary skill for detecting the burdens of others and devote yourself daily to making them lighter.” This is the extraordinary ministry for every ordinary Christian—bearing the burdens of others. What seems so mundane and so unspectacular, is actually bringing great glory and honor to God."

I'd Rather Have Jesus - Joni.  George Mueller said :  “Get up in the morning. Go to the Word of God and get your heart happy in God before you meet other people.”

Test Every Doctrine & Every Teacher "Sound doctrine originates with God, is recorded in the Word of God, is consistent with the whole revelation of God, and leads to both spiritual health and godly living. False doctrine originates with men or demons, is foreign to the Word of God, is inconsistent with the whole revelation of God, and leads to spiritual weakness and ungodly living. "

Padkos - January 2017

Wisdom For Reading Proverbs

Christ Sensitizes us for Reality - Ask Pastor John

Four Reasons to Slow Down  - Jon Bloom

Grumpiness at Work - Tim Keller

10 Things To Know About Sanctification

When You Feel Dead on The Inside

'The Muggle Protest' - Steve Baarendse (TruthXchange) -Excellent article

Lay Aside The Weight of Insecurity - Jon Bloom

Early Signs of Spiritual Danger - Sinclair Ferguson

Don't Resent God's Training Ground  "Don’t resent God’s training ground. It is here in your current circumstances — with the responsibilities he has entrusted to you, in the location he has placed you, alongside the people to whom he has assigned you — that you will find the good works he has prepared in advance for you (Ephesians 2:10). And that is always where the calling begins — for today, and for all that he is preparing in you for the days to come.

He sees you. He has not forgotten you. And you can trust him.

So, serve wholeheartedly today. Make the most of every opportunity. Run the race marked out for you with patient faith and persevering hope, setting your heart on the promise that he is working all things — all suffering, all waiting, all confusion, all reroutes, all journeys in the wilderness — for the good of us who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). And he himself will fulfill that purpose in us, that he might receive all the glory when he does."

Kindness That Comes Too Late "I would rather have a coffin without a flower and a funeral without a eulogy than a life without the love and encouragement of friends." "To display true love to our friends, we need to anoint them beforehand for their burial. Post-mortem kindness does nothing to cheer their burdened spirits while they live. Tears falling at the funeral make no atonement for neglect during the difficult days of their life. Don’t keep the alabaster jars of your love and encouragement sealed up until your friends are dead. Flood their lives with its scent today. Speak encouraging words while they can still hear them. The things you would say when they are gone, say before they go. The flowers you would send for their coffins, send to their homes today. After all, flowers piled on a coffin cast no fragrance backward over the weary days already gone."

Battling Anxiety - Joni Eareckson Tada  "But as Dr. John Piper says, “Let us make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief. It is the root of anxiety, which, in turn, is the root of so many other sins.”" 

The Threat of Joy in Ministry "Jesus is shocking in the way He exposes counterfeit happiness. In fact, His whole ministry turns our understanding of joy, satisfaction, and success upside down. "  "One thing is clear: Jesus' teachings go against the grain of every human tendency. So it's no surprise that His command NOT to rejoice comes at the most unexpected time."