April 2011

A La Carte (4/21)

  • Tim Challies
  • 04/21/11
  • 9

Jerusalem & Hollywood - Carl Trueman recently wrote an article critiquing giant Christian conferences. Thabiti Anyabwile returned fire and Trueman took the opportunity to respond. There is some interesting (and kind-hearted) discussion there.

The Church in China - Dr. Mohler has an article that offers a little glimpse into the persecuted church in China.

Hope in Death - A friend pointed me to this article which was written a few years ago. It’s beautiful and deeply moving.

Tax Dollars - Plug in a couple of numbers and you can see what happened to all of those tax dollars you just paid.

Kindle Library Lending - This is an interesting development. “Amazon today announced Kindle Library Lending, a new feature launching later this year that will allow Kindle customers to borrow Kindle books from over 11,000 libraries in the United States. Kindle Library Lending will be available for all generations of Kindle devices and free Kindle reading apps.”

The Hobbit - Peter Jackson takes you on a tour of the first sets for The Hobbit.

When you are in the right, you can afford to keep your temper; and when you are in the wrong you cannot afford to lose it. —G.C. Lorimer

CrossReference (Episode 4)

  • Tim Challies
  • 04/20/11
  • 7

A few weeks ago I introduced you to a series of short films that focus on Christ's appearances in the Old Testament as the Angel of the Lord. Every Wednesday for 10 weeks I will be posting a new episode right here at the blog. This will allow you to view the series in its entirety. Do note, though, that each episode will be available for only one week.

After the week is up you will need to purchase the series. Here's how you can do that. The DVD and Study Guide (sample here) are available now. You can also buy the digital download of the whole series here for $5. Or visit Ligonier's online store for the download or physical copies of the DVD and Study Guide.

This episode is titled "Three Men."

David Murray is Professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was a pastor in Scotland for 12 years before coming to Grand Rapids in 2007 with his wife Shona and their four children. He blogs regularly at Head Heart Hand.

A Jealous Love

  • Tim Challies
  • 04/20/11
  • 31

The sentiment that Jesus has unconditional love for all of us has become standard fare in many evangelical churches. The speaker assures the congregation that Jesus loves them to such an extent that he died for them. He assures the audience that Jesus is just waiting for them to turn to him and to reciprocate the love he already has for them. Some people go even further in their claims to unbelievers. I remember once reading an article by Rick Warren printed in Ladies Home Journal. In this article, titled "Learn to Love Yourself!," Warren wrote the following: "God accepts us unconditionally, and in His view we are all precious and priceless." The article closes with these words: "You can believe what others say about you, or you can believe in yourself as God does, who says you are truly acceptable, lovable, valuable and capable." Nowhere does he qualify these statements. Instead they are offered as blanket statements, encompassing all of humanity.

Is this how the Bible portrays God's feelings towards those who do not believe? It’s worth a glance at just a few of the many passages that speak of God's position towards the unregenerate.

Psalm 5:5 says that "The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers." The NIV translates this as "you hate all who do wrong." Psalm 11:5 tells us that "The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence." And turning to the New Testament, John 3:36 reads "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." The Bible clearly portrays God as one whose wrath burns against both sin and sinner. His righteous anger burns against all unrighteousness, and against all who are unrighteous.

In The God Who Justifies, James White writes the following. "Theologians should be those enraptured by the beauty of the unchanging object of their study: the eternal, immutable God. But theologians are people, and they are influenced, to greater or lesser extents, by the society and era in which they live. The cultural decay of modern times has inspired many a theological denial of biblical truth, most often when that biblical truth speaks to something that is unfashionable. One such issue...is the oft-repeated biblical phrase 'the wrath of God.'" White goes on to say that while we most often associate God's wrath with the Old Testament, where he commanded the Israelites to utterly destroy the pagan nations, in reality his wrath is most clearly shown in the New Testament. Were you to ask where in the Bible we see the clearest picture of God’s wrath, I would have to point to Jesus' final hours, from the Garden of Gethsemane to his death on the cross. After all, what but the need for satisfaction of God's wrath, could compel the Father to send his Son to such a horrible, painful, death?

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A La Carte (4/20)

  • Tim Challies
  • 04/20/11
  • 12

Two of my kids get to go on class trips today. My daughter is going to a concert by a French band; my son is going to the dump. And yet they are still both excited. I guess anything is better than another day in school…

At Home with the Pope - In case you’ve ever wondered what a “normal” day looks like for the pope, well, TIME will let you know.

The Hidden Exodus - While we’re on the subject of Catholicism, here’s an article from a Catholic news source on the exodus from Catholicism to Protestantism. “Any other institution that lost one-third of its members would want to know why. But the U.S. bishops have never devoted any time at their national meetings to discussing the exodus. Nor have they spent a dime trying to find out why it is happening.”

Dramatic Non-Fiction - “Writing non-fiction (or speaking, teaching or preaching) doesn't mean you can't build in drama. Including stories as illustrations is always good, but there's more to it than just telling the tale. Here are a few options to keep your audience with you every word of the way.”

Natural Cut Fries - Wendys new natural cut fries aren’t entirely natural. “People are saying they want high integrity ingredients, things their grandmother would have used, that don’t look like they came out of a chemistry lab,” Calwell explained in an interview with BNET. “But they’re also saying I’ve got a family to feed and can only afford to spend about $4 on my lunch, and I’ve only got about a minute or two to eat it.”

One to One Bible Reading - This brand new book from Matthias Media is on sale at Westminster Books for the next few days. “Imagine if there was a way that people could grow in their knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ--a way that returned gospel growth to the everyday fabric of personal relationship, rather than relying on church-run programs. That guided people in a deeper, more meaningful way than an event, program or class could possibly do--guided on an individual basis by someone who cared for them personally.”

The Price of Everything - Carl Trueman does it again. This time he explains why the church needs pessimistic church historians.

Don’t Dress Your Girls Like Tramps - This is an interesting article from CNN. “Yeah, that 8-year-old girl was something to see alright. … I hope her parents are proud. Their daughter was the sexiest girl in the terminal, and she’s not even in middle school yet.” The author nails it at the end.

Roasted Peanuts - I can’t remember who put me on to this blog, but it’s quite a good one. The author is going through old Peanuts comic strips.

The wrath of God is not ignoble. Rather, it is too noble, too just, too perfect—it is this that bothers us. —James Montgomery Boice

Friends of the Blog 2

  • Tim Challies
  • 04/19/11
  • 4

In April of 2010 I announced a program called Friends of the Blog. With the costs of maintaining this blog on the rise, Friends of the Blog allowed readers to support the site while receiving tangible benefits. The program worked out very well and for that reason I have renewed it for 2011. And that leads me to announce Friends of the Blog 2.

This year is the same but different. It is the same in that Friends of the Blog will receive all kinds of great things—books, gift certificates, music, magazines and so on. It is different in that more of those things will be spread out across the calendar year. And I think, in the end, there will be even more of it.

So here is some of what Friends of the Blog will receive:

  • A gift certificate for Westminster Books (increased from $10 to $15 this year!)
  • A gift certificate for The Good Book Company
  • Free books
  • Free ebooks
  • Free music
  • Free video teaching series from R.C. Sproul and David Murray
  • A gift certificate for Reformation Art
  • Deals, specials, coupons, etc
  • Other things to be announced over the course of the year

I think you'll see right away that there is a lot of value there--$160 at least. And we're just getting started. This is a year-long effort and more will be added over the course of the year. When you sign up, you get everything there plus whatever else comes in over the year. And all the while, you’ll be supporting the costs associated with hosting, maintaining and overseeing the site.

The cost remains the same as last year—just $39.

If you joined Friends of the Blog in the past year, your account should be automatically renewed on the anniversary of the date you signed up. And if you didn’t join last year, well, why don’t you consider it this year? It will prove well worth it, I’m sure.

You can get all the details at Friends of the Blog. Check it out and join the club!

Should I Desire a Reward?

  • Tim Challies
  • 04/19/11
  • 22

Sometimes I struggle with motives. I struggle with the idea that we are to be motivated to obedience in this world by the promise of reward in the next. This is particularly true when it comes to money. We are to store up treasures in heaven instead of on earth; we are to obey God not just out of a desire to obey him, but out of a desire to increase our reward in heaven. That has always struck me as wrong, as something that is just a little bit less than noble. A truly God-honoring Christian would take obedience as his only motive, wouldn’t he?

Is it wrong to be motivated by rewards? This has often confused me. Somehow in my mind it seems like the reward must negate the joy or the purity of obedience. The fact that I would seek an eternal reward for a temporal good deed concerns me. Shouldn’t I want to give out of the joy of obedience? Shouldn’t I want to give simply because I love the God who commands me to give generously?

Randy Alcorn has helped correct my thinking. In his book Managing God’s Money, he calls the doctrine of God granting eternal rewards for faithful obedience “the negelcted key to unlocking our motivation.” He offers Hebrews 11:26 as a simple example: “He [Moses] considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.” And, of course, we know that the Apostle Paul was also running with his eye on the prize—the crown that would last forever (1 Corinthians 9:25). Even Christ endured the cross “for the joy that was set before him” (Hebrews 12:2). He humbled himself knowing that he would soon be exalted. He, too, found his motivation in the eternal reward that would await him—in this case the glory of his Father as he is worshiped by a church washed and redeemed.

If we maintain that it is wrong to be motivated by rewards, we bring an accusation against Christ, suggesting that he was wrongly motivated. We also essentially say that Christ is wrongly tempting us when he holds out a reward for our obedience.

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A La Carte (4/19)

  • Tim Challies
  • 04/19/11
  • 5

Social Media & Politics - According to this article “Obama set the ‘gold standard’ for use of social media, and now it’s an absolute must for candidates.” Indeed. It is tough to imagine how any political campaign could be successful today without a strong social media component.

Pastors & Social Media - Speaking of social media, Darryl Dash looks at advice being given to teachers and their use of social media. He then applies it to pastors.

The Hour of the Mad - A great site for any World War 2 buff.

TNS Blog Tour - Zondervan is putting together a blog tour for The Next Story. So if you a) have a blog and b) would like a copy of the book and c) would like to read and review the book, well, click the link at have at ‘er.

Matthew Smith - Matthew Smith has put his solo albums on sale for this week only. They are great albums! If you’ve got no money to spend, check out some free music from the Gospel Coalition hymn sing from last week.

Pillars of Grace - David Steele has a glowing review of Steve Lawson’s new book in the Long Line of Godly Men series. “Pillars of Grace is a theological tour de force.  It is essential reading for pastors who seek to integrate historical theology into the regular preaching menu.  It is essential reading for students who are investigating the roots, depth, and breadth of the doctrines of grace.”

Tempted and Tried - A good book trailer makes me want to read a good book. This one’s got snakes and mopeds. It’s hard to go wrong.

The Mountain - This is a stunningly beautiful video. Watch and enjoy!

God gets more out of your salvation than you ever will. —David Shepherd

What Sin Desires

  • Tim Challies
  • 04/18/11
  • 16

There was a time when God walked and talked with the people he created. This must have been an amazing experience for Adam and Eve. But alas, it was a short-lived experience. One evening God came to the garden for his evening stroll and Adam and the woman were nowhere to be found. They had heard the sound of him and they had been terrified. They heard that sound and instead of rushing to him they ran away from him. Clutching fig leaves to themselves, they got among the thickest trees and hid away, trying to get away from God. Their joy had turned to terror, their anticipation to dread.

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.  And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

As a child there were days when I looked forward to my father coming home. He would have been away on a business trip and I knew he would have something for me--a new toy or something good to eat. "Dad's home!" And I'd rush out and hug him and get whisker burn as he rubbed my cheeks with his stubbly face. Then he'd pull something out of his pocket and give it to me. That is a great memory of days long past.

And then there were days when I was terrified when dad came home. Those were the days I had sinned against my mother and she had sent me to my room; she had banished me. "You go to your room and wait until your father gets home!" I remember lying in bed and trying desperately to fall asleep, hoping dad would have pity on his poor, sweet sleeping child. I remember hiding in the closet one time, shrinking to the back of the closet and hiding, knowing that I deserved to be punished for lying to my mother yet again. This is what we do when we sin, when we are afraid of the consequence of our sin. This is what Adam did.

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A La Carte (4/18)

  • Tim Challies
  • 04/18/11
  • 27

eBook Sales - Evidence of a massive shift in publishing: “The publishing tide is shifting fast: E-book sales in February topped all other formats, including paperbacks and hardcovers, according to an industry report released this week.” Speaking of which, the Kindle now has a version that just barely tops $100.

Future Leaders - Brian Croft has a useful article on how pastors can identity future leaders within the church.

Where We Can’t Follow Jesus - This blogger went looking for “human character issues that Jesus did not and cannot model for us.” He came up with an interesting list.

3 Cups of Tea - “Greg Mortenson’s books have made him a publishing phenomenon and sought-after speaker on the lecture circuit, where he has attained a cult-like status. He regularly draws crowds of several thousand people and $30,000 per engagement.” But increasing evidence says he may be a bit of a fraud.

Did Lincoln Believe in God? - The latest in a debate that won’t end until the Lord returns. “A newly resurfaced letter from the 19th century is raising questions once again about the 16th president’s relationship with God. The three-page letter, which was written by Lincoln’s old law partner, William Herndon, and just went up for sale for a price of $35,000, claims that Honest Abe was driven not by faith, but by politics.”

Lame Christian Movies - A writer for Salon asks why Christian movies are so lame. Here are some comments on Soul Surfer: “It’s a trite, sentimental puddle of sub-Hollywood mush, with mediocre photography, weak special effects and an utterly formulaic script that somehow required seven (!) credited writers. Believe me, I have learned, over and over again, that ordinary moviegoers, a lot of the time, want to see a story that’s positive, predictable and not all that challenging, but even measured on that yardstick this one is pretty awful.” I don’t agree with all the author says, but he raises some valid points.

Speak, O Lord

  • Tim Challies
  • 04/17/11
  • 9

I woke up this morning with a song in my head—a song that seemed quite appropriate for a Sunday morning. “Speak, O Lord” is written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend and simply asks God to speak through his Word. Here are the lyrics to it:

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow’r that can never fail--
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us--
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.

If you would like to hear the song, you can do so in this video (in which you will also hear the songwriters speak a little bit about it).