Blog
Men I Thank God For
A few men who mean a lot to me and who have been on my mind this past week or so, with one reason I love them. Many more can, and in future blog posts will, be mentioned.
Drew Hunter, for his grasp of the gospel of grace that gives him an ability to be both serious and non-serious, rather than always having to be only one or the other.
Bob Smart, for his gentleness.
The Thursday night crew, for their quietly violent refusal to be mastered by anything but Christ, the friend of sinners.
Lane Dennis, for his steely conviction transmitted through speech seasoned with grace.
Justin Taylor, for his measured, courageous wisdom.
Chris Hodge, for his preaching of the gospel to my soul week in and week out, in season and out of season.
Nate Conrad, for his state of perpetual, joyful, repentance.
Greg Beale, for his battle-tested fidelity to, and lifelong wonder over, the Bible.
David Stancil, Andrew Voelkel, Keith Ledford, and Matt Roberts, amazing seminary classmates, for their steady faithfulness in shepherding God's people while battling the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Hans Bayer, for showing me at Covenant Seminary what Psalm 34:5 looks like in a real live human being.
Interpreting the Parables of Mark
A lecture by a man I love, Covenant Seminary professor Hans Bayer.
Dr. Bayer, who wrote the notes on Mark for the ESV Study Bible, recently authored a commentary on Mark as well as a forthcoming volume on christology and discipleship in Mark.
Dr. Bayer, who wrote the notes on Mark for the ESV Study Bible, recently authored a commentary on Mark as well as a forthcoming volume on christology and discipleship in Mark.
The Middle of the Marathon
A great word by my brother Gavin on persevering through the long stretches of ordinariness in the life of a disciple of Jesus.
Valuable for His Own Sake
Machen:
We are subject to many pressing needs, and we are too much inclined to value God, not for His own sake, but only because He can satisfy those needs. . . .--J. Gresham Machen, What Is Faith?, 73-74
[Food, clothing, companionship, and inspiring work] are lofty desires. But there is one desire that is loftier still. It is the desire for God Himself. That desire, too often, we forget.
We value God solely for the things He can do; we make of Him a mere means to an ulterior end. And God refuses to be treated so; such a religion always fails in the hour of need. If we have regarded religion merely as a means of getting things--even lofty and unselfish things--then when the things that have been gotten are destroyed, our faith will fail. When loved ones are taken away, when disappointment comes and failure, when noble ambitions are set at naught, then we turn away from God. We have tried religion, we say, we have tried prayer, and it has failed. Of course it has failed! God is not content to be an instrument in our hand or a servant at our beck and call. . . .
If we possess God, then we can meet with equanimity the loss of all besides. Has it never dawned upon us that God is valuable for His own sake, that just as personal communion is the highest thing that we know on earth, so personal communion with God is the sublimest height of all? If we value God for His own sake, then the loss of other things will draw us all the closer to Him; we shall have recourse to Him in time of trouble as to the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
Satan's Designs: Unforgiveness
What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs. (2 Cor 2:10-11)If you and I are not forgiving someone, no matter how right it feels, we are being outwitted by Satan.