#vocation

The Duty of Diligence

Of the many legacies of the Protestant Reformation, few have had greater and wider-reaching impact than the rediscovery of the biblical understanding of vocation. Before the Reformation, the only people considered to have a vocation or calling were those who were engaged in full-time church work—monks, nuns, or priests. As Gene Veith writes, “The ordinary occupations of life—being a peasant farmer or kitchen maid, making tools or clothing, being a soldier or even king—were acknowledged as necessary but worldly. Such …

Pursue Your Vocation

Why do we work? For five or six days of every week, most of us spend at least half of our waking hours doing a job. We take time away from our families and away from worldly pleasures to pursue an occupation. It’s simply what humans do. But why? Some say we work so that we don’t have to work. Bestselling books teach us how to “escape the 9 to 5,” to get rich fast and set ourselves up for …

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Married to a Jealous Husband

Christ has died and Christ has risen. He has called a people to himself and he is jealous of those who are his. Read and reflect upon what Charles Spurgeon says about Christ’s holy, jealous love: The Lord Jesus Christ, of whom I now speak, is very jealous of your love, O believer. Did he not choose you? He cannot bear that you should choose another. Did he not buy you with his own blood? He cannot endure that you …

A La Carte (3/8)

Your Church and Life Planning – Jonathan Leeman has an interesting and important article on how your church fits into your life. “If you are a Christian, it’s worth asking whether you include your church in your life planning. I mean ‘include the church’ in two ways: do you consider it as a factor in your thinking, and do you actually involve the people in your decision making?” It Is Finished – Matt Papa is giving away a song from …

Church History Surveys

I have always enjoyed studying history and, over the years, have read several church history texts. One thing I’ve noticed just about every time is that many of these church histories fail to make real distinctions between true gospel-centered Christianity and a kind of inculturated or tradition-based Christianity. That has always been disappointing to me. I suppose I am looking for a history of the true church, of true Christianity, not just a history of what calls itself the church …

Protect The Dignity of Labor!

A few years ago there was a strike at a juvenile detention center that is near my house. The institution lies directly between my house and pretty much every place I ever drive to, so I had to go by it just about every time I set out. Every day the strikers would update a little sign to tell the world how many days they had been sitting outside, waiting for someone to meet their demands. That number ticked higher …

Apostasy and Heresy

The Banner of Truth web site features a host of useful articles (1302 at last count). One that I’ve found worth reading and bookmarking is entitled simply “Apostasy.” In the article the author, David Samuel, makes a distinction between two terms that many people mistakenly use synonymously – apostasy and heresy. Apostasy he defines as a rejection of truth that a person once believed. Hence I would be apostate if I were to suddenly reject the doctrine of the Trinity, …

All About RSS

This brief article is in response to a friend and reader of this site who wanted to know what this RSS thing is all about. If you’ve been reading blogs for any time at all you’ve probably heard about RSS and syndication and Atom and have wondered what they are all about. I aim to let you know! RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication (though some people disagree and say it stands for Rich Site Summary). Regardless of what it …

Seminar 1 – Phil Johnson – Is The Reformation Over?

It has become quickly apparent that this conference exists not merely to equip pastors, but also to serve and honor them (and perhaps even spoil them a little). At the close of the earlier session one of the organizers announced that there was an area for “shoe-shining and everything else a pastor needs.” I don’t know too many pastors that need to have their shoes shined (or who need to travel to Los Angeles to have them shined, at any …

Biblical Perspectives on Sex and Autoeroticism II

In yesterday’s article we built a framework in which to understand sex from a biblical perspective. We saw that sex is: a Gift From God; intended only for marriage; for giving and receiving pleasure; a means of building intimacy; intended for procreation. Today we will continue this discussion to encompass autoeroticism, the act of providing sexual pleasure to oneself. Blindness, Baldness and Hairy Palms I suspect my childhood is typical in that I heard many rumors about the physical effects …