Founder’s Baptist Church led by Dr. Richard Caldwell, held a conference over the weekend. It is called the Truth in Love conference. The theme this year was “Discernment, Faith, and Fidelity to the Truth.” Some of the speakers were Steve Lawson, Phil Johnson, Ken Ramey, Owen Strachan, and several others, including Paul Washer and John MacArthur. Discernment! I’m all in! Phil, Paul, and John! I’m triply in!
Sadly, Paul Washer and John MacArthur ended up not being able to attend, more on that in tomorrow’s blog. But for now, I’d like to report on the wonderful preaching available on Youtube from this conference.
I love the topic of discernment. The Spirit had gifted me with the gift of discernment, and I strive to hone it and employ it to the benefit of my local church and online ministry to whatever extent the Spirit will bestow. Even if you do not have the gift, developing the skill is important in order to maintain your own spiritual health.
I am sure the rest are just as terrific. David Doran’s was my favorite. I learned a lot.
If you would like to learn more about discernment, what it is or why it’s important, please do avail yourself of some of these video sermons and lectures.
The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.(Proverbs 16:21).
And this I pray, that your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, (Philippians 1:9).
Sound like a harsh headline? It isn’t, it’s just biblical truth. There are two agendas in the world; God’s, and satan’s. We either belong to God, or we belong to satan. We do what God wants (enabled by the Holy Spirit), or we do what satan wants (according to our sin-nature).
Kids are impressionable and they follow personalities and celebrities, and believe what these people say, usually unquestioningly. That is why there was an outcry when it was revealed that a children’s Sunday School curriculum coloring book at ‘Pastor’ Steven Furtick of Elevation Church’s Sunday School referred to himself as the person to unify around, rather than Jesus.
Recently I went through the Ligonier series on the biography of Jonathan Edwards on Amazon Prime. (The series is included in Prime. Taught be Stephen Nichols, it’s an easy going and absorbing series on the life of the theologian acknowledged to be the most intelligent America has ever produced. President of Princeton (then called the College of New Jersey), sparker of the Great Awakening, missionary to the the Native Americans, Edwards is well known. But…His wife Sarah was his partner and supported this remarkable and sometimes difficult man in ways that are God-glorifying. Now, Media Gratiae has announced a documentary in the incomparable Sarah Edwards!
“Sarah Edwards (working title) is an upcoming feature-length documentary on the life and legacy of one of the most influential women in American history. Sarah, maybe most notably known as the wife of Jonathan Edwards, is a remarkable woman in her own right. In this 90-minute documentary we will tell her story and consider modern day applications that arise from her example of Biblical womanhood, such as:”
What is a biblical woman/wife/mom? What does it mean to be a helpmate?
How do you know whether an experience is “of God” or not?
How can you cope with the psychological pressure that comes with being the wife of a pastor, especially one considered to be “a great man”?
How does a pastor’s wife manage a large household, the trials of being married to a sometimes-controversial pastor, financial concerns, and widowhood?
Sarah’s story helps us understand the struggles, sorrows, and triumphs of Biblical womanhood, challenging modern women to consider the legacy that they themselves will leave.
“The documentary will include a free study guide that can be used in small group settings. It will be similar to this one we did for LUTHER.”
Here is a good, 3-minute read from John MacArthur at The Master’s Seminary published a few days ago, on “The Struggling Disciple” –
Anyone who has ever been to a church camp has heard someone say, “You need to recommit your life to the Lord.” We’ve all heard messages about commitment, dedication, consecration, and so on. But do we understand what that means?
At Women Encouraged, we have a short exploration of “Friendship With The World: Some Diagnostic Questions“, and it begins well- “James 4:4 packs a punch. It’s not adorable or cutesy. It’s the kind of hard word designed to shock our senses and remind us where the line is. “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” It goes on with noting how to ask one’s self questions so as not to be an adulteress with the world.
Reagan Rose at Redeeming Productivity offered a 12-minute lesson on how better to engage with your pastor’s sermon. It is full of interesting and highly applicable tips, and I mean it’s really good. REEEEEELLLLYYY good! How to Take Sermon Notes to Focus Better, learn More, and Grow Spiritually. Run don’t walk to the link.
Carrie at Carrie’s Busy Nothings has a piece on the word hygge. If you’re a watcher of design shows, you know this is a popular Danish word for an untranslatable concept most frequently identified with lifestyle comfort. Sort of. Anyway, Carrie said she enjoys the word and the concept…until…it becomes an idol. Worth reading.
What’s better than a blog essay from Reformation Heritage Books, than an essay from Reformation Heritage Books on Joy, Even When Society Disintegrates ? Biblical and helpful, I think you will find their essay edifying. –> “It is quite easy to get depressed or go around feeling dread. What does the future hold? Will I be able to support my family? What will the world be like for my kids? How much more pressure can this nation bear before splitting apart at the seams? These and other questions raise the specter of uncertainty about our safety and prosperity. We begin to fear that Misery may be approaching us like an assailant we cannot fight.“
But no, keep reading the essay!
I hope you find some hope or enjoyment from these links. As always, have a wonderful day and weekend!
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal …” (Matthew 6:19-20).
That is a familiar passage to us. We know what it says. We understand that we cannot serve two gods, mammon and Jesus. We comprehend that the love of money is the root of all evil. We all feel sad when the Rich Young Ruler turned away from Jesus, rejecting eternal salvation because he clung to his earthly wealth.
But what does treasure in heaven truly mean? What are the treasures in heaven, specifically?
Is Christianity in decline? I think this last COVID year has revealed professing Christians versus true Christians. More and more people are falling away. The Bible shows that that trajectory will only increase as time goes on.
There are not enough genuine Christians. “Genuine Christian” means a person’s faith and belief is founded on the life, death, resurrection, and Gospel of Jesus Christ. He bases his doctrine and teachings on the Bible and only the Bible. Too many people are lukewarm.
It is also true that ‘spirituality’ is on the rise. This is not always good thing however. Only those who base their doctrine on the life, death,and resurrection of Jesus Christ and demonstrate that faith through persevering and evident fruit can be said to be true Christians.
Any doctrine that tickles the ears will be sought by the faithless and weak. It is hard to accept that one is a total sinner, no better than filthy rags. There is none righteous, no not one. It is hard to offer one’s self wholly to God and do only His will. It is hard to set aside fleshly lusts and devote one’s self to Him. It is hard to walk His path and stay within His commands. Hard. Christianity is not for wimps.
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,” (2 Timothy 4:3)
See, doesn’t this sound just great to a confused person: “God loves you and has a plan for your life.”
Are your ears being tickled? Are you in a false religion? Are you in a Christian church but enduring unsound doctrine from a false pastor? There is Hope! All you need to do is repent of your sin, and ask Jesus to forgive it. Ask for discernment and wisdom. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:9).
Don’t we serve a great and mighty God! Let Him restore you to the faith. Otherwise, remembering His promises are true … “This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.” (Jeremiah 17:5).
We have a Father who gives good gifts. We have a Father who answers prayer. We have a Father who loves His children, and perfectly, too.
If you want peace, joy, patience, etc., then ask. Ask the Father for anything aligned in His will, and He will give it. Not a Ferrari or a million dollars, but any request that honors him and glorifies His name, He will give. It is in His will to give the things that His children need. If you need peace today, ask.
“What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is the source not your pleasures that wage war in your body’s parts? You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request on your pleasures.” (James 4:1-3).
And you see the danger in NOT asking. Staying content in our flesh results in quarrels, conflicts,and indulging our senses. Ask, ASK. Pray today for peace. He will give it.
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” (2 Corinthians 2:14-17)
This is a beautiful passage, with many layered and deep elements. First, Christ uses His believers to spread the fragrance of knowledge of Him. Christ as the ultimate fragrance. The word “smell” can have many nuances, each with their own evocation of meaning. ‘Odor’ evokes something unpleasant, and the word ‘smell’ is simply utilitarian. But “fragrance” is a perfume…that is a sweet and wonderful aroma, evoking lightness and sweetness, as Christ is, of course.
Peter and the disciples had left their fishing professions when Jesus said ‘Follow me’. For three years the disciples saw amazing things like miracles and signs. They heard holy, perfect preaching. They saw crowds swell and they saw crowds dwindle away. They even saw a crucifixion! They heard of a resurrection, too, Mary came breathlessly to the disciples and said ‘I have seen Him!’ Remember, this is the famous race between Peter and John, and John wrote (‘I got there first’), lol. They saw the empty tomb and the folded head covering, and believed. Resurrection!?
Mary was instructed to tell the men to go to Galilee to a mountain He had designated there. (Matthew 28:10). Jesus appeared to Simon a few other times before the lakeside appearance at the Sea of Galilee/Lake Tiberias. (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5).
So sometime between day 8 post resurrection and day 40 when He ascended, Jesus made various appearances to Peter and the others. They were told to go to a mountain in Galilee and wait. So they trudged the far distance from Jerusalem to Galilee, it must have taken some time to get there.
Once there, they went to the mountain. They waited. And waited. But Peter being Peter, impetuous action filled, did not wait.
This has been an interesting week, hasn’t it? I’ve watched political events unfold at lightning speed, my mouth metaphorically hanging open. In my 60 years I’ve been witness to some of the most amazing events in history, but this past week, rather since November 3, 2020, has left me speechless.
If the Big Tech Oligarchs have their way we conservatives & Christians will be left literally speechless soon, right? I’ve tried to write essays this week that encouraged, that referenced some events obliquely without delving. I read a tweet from a missionary friend who wrote, “Husbands, guard your wife against information overload. She may not want to hear you constantly talk about how the US is falling.” So true.
I have to guard myself against that, and I LOVE information. The relentlessly bad news, coupled with near-impossible ability to assess its credibility, means I have to push away and do some calming techniques. I’ll lay those out below, but first ICYMI, a recap of the week’s essays:
the-end-time.org 