A couple of days ago a couple of friends sent me pretty much the same email at pretty much the same time. Both thought I would benefit from a reflection written by Charles Spurgeon. It was, indeed, the right word at the right time. Here it is, modernized through the pen of Alistair Begg. O…
Today the great majority of the people who read this site will be heading to church (or perhaps still taking in a service through a live-stream). As we assemble to worship, we will have the privilege of hearing the Bible read and preached. And in this brief quote from Harold Senkbeil we are reminded of…
While most people know that few have ever preached like Spurgeon, not nearly so many know that few have ever prayed like Spurgeon. Believe it or not, many who attended his church spoke less of his preaching and more of his praying! The little book The Pastor in Prayer captures some of his pastoral prayers,…
As we prepare to join in corporate worship today, we would do well to consider what God accomplishes through such precious means of grace. Here is Spurgeon, in his early days, calling us to let sermons and prayers be our delight. Let sermons and prayers be thy delight, because they are roads wherein the Saviour…
Sometimes we all need a little bit of help praying. And when that’s true of me, one place I know to turn is Scotty Smith’s blog where he posts new prayers on a daily basis. One that caught my attention this week was titled Who Gets to Rule Our Hearts This Week?. I thought I’d…
Do you weep over your sin? There must be some things in life that bring you to tears, but is your sin one of them? We would all do well to consider these powerful words from Thomas Watson’s The Godly Man’s Picture for he warns “how far are they from being godly who scarce ever…
We are mirrors. We are mirrors that reflect something of Christ. We gaze upon him, and as we do so some of his character, some of his attributes, some of his loveliness is reflected in us. The old author J.R. Miller once pondered this reality in a sweet little devotional. Take a few moments and…
As a father, I try to make it a habit to pray for my children each day before they even crawl out of bed. Before they’ve begun their day, I want to have already asked the Lord to bless, keep, and prosper them. Praying for my children was on my mind as I read this…
Yesterday I returned from a journey. It was not a particularly long one—just a week at a little vacation home five hours away. But even at the end of a relatively short journey, it was a joy to return to my home, to my place, to my bed. And it got me thinking about this…
One thing that always fascinates me when I read biographies is learning of other people’s habits. That’s especially true when the subject is extremely disciplined. Tim Chester’s Stott on the Christian Life is not quite a biography of John Stott, but it’s not far off. He gives an interesting glimpse of Stott’s normal, well-disciplined routines.…
Returning to public worship after 14 weeks apart has forced me to reflect anew on the joys of the local church. Perhaps for that reason I especially enjoyed this quote from Gunner Gundersen’s booklet What If I Don’t Feel Like Going to Church? in which he says “the gathering of the saints is like fresh…
On a number of occasions I’ve come across the story of Mendelssohn and the Freiburg organ. The story may be apocryphal, but it still serves its purpose as a vivid illustration. I love this telling of the tale by J.R. Miller and the important lesson that accompanies it. A perfectly holy life would be a…
A recent book titled Piercing Heaven shares favorite prayers from the Puritans. Many of them are amazing. As an example, here is Philip Doddridge with the prayer of a convicted sinner. Injured King and almighty Judge, what can I say to the charges against me? Should I pretend to be offended, and defend myself? I…
It has been 12 weeks since I last worshipped with my church and in that time many of them have experienced trials and have suffered loss. Many have wept over fears and concerns that have threatened to steal their joy. In this time of being apart I have been pondering Romans 12:15 which commands “rejoice…
Human beings have the ability to speak because we have been made in the image of the speaking God. The great majority of us live in societies in which we enjoy the immense privilege of free speech, but this privilege is not universal. Neither does God guarantee we will all enjoy the right. This quote…
No one has more consistently described, considered, and countered the attractional model of church than Jared Wilson. In his book The Gospel-Driven Church, one I’d recommend to every pastor, he answers this question: What is the attractional church, anyway? I (and many others) use the term attractional to refer to a way of doing church…
Earlier this week a friend asked where he should start in reading Calvin’s Institutes. I suggested, as I often do, beginning with Calvin’s A Little Book on the Christian Life which is an excerpt of the larger work, and one focused largely on Christian living. Here’s a wonderful and timely extract from the new edition…
Assurance of salvation is one of the most precious Christian doctrines, but in some ways also one of the most difficult. Why? As Sinclair Ferguson so aptly explains, because some outstanding Christians experience it only through the greatest struggles while others never fail to experience it. In this brief excerpt from his book Maturity, Ferguson…
This morning dawned bright and clear and beautiful. But no matter how wonderful the day, we know that the greatest glories of this world pale in comparison to the least glories in the next. In that vein, please read and enjoy this wonderful prayer by Robert Hawker (as found in Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the…
I was recently reading through the new, updated version of Kent Hughes’ Disciplines of a Godly Man and was struck anew by the Bible’s call that we strive and labor for godliness. While his intended audience is primarily men, the message is equally applicable to women. The statement from Paul to Timothy regarding spiritual discipline…