The Plodding Preacher

Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair. –Blaise Pascal

How many of you would buy a package of meat advertised in this way?  How did they even know how much to charge if the meat is unknown?  There is no way that most of us would consider putting that into our bodies. And yet, if we put a generic label of Christian on a product we have all kinds of people who will uncritically make it a part of their life.  We don't know where it comes from, what the people producing it believe, what their goal is and yet it's labelled Christian so we give it the benefit of the doubt.  Ought we not to be taking at least the same care with our spiritual diet that we do with our physical diet?

Erik Raymond  —  August 25, 2014 (click name to go to original post) As people we know that it is often wise to resist various urges that we have. We can keep ourselves out of trouble by resisting the urge to say something when we are offended. We can prevent various health issues by resisting urges to overeat or (routinely) eat unhealthy foods. We can steer clear from financial debt by resisting the urge to buy something on impulse. We can almost develop a reflex resistance in this fallen world replete with potholes along with our own personal proclivity towards unhealthy behavior. This can be good for us (and others). However, there is one urge that you should never resist. This area is prayer. I believe it was Martyn Lloyd-Jones whom I first read who said, “Never resist any urge to pray.” That is great advice without much need for explanation. But let me point out a couple of reasons why. The urge to pray does not come from your flesh or the devil, but from God.

"There’s never a promise that God has made that He won’t fulfill." Alistair Begg

10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. (Isa 40:10-11 ESV)

Jesus Never Ends Aug 19, 2014 | Jared C. Wilson   Jesus is patient and kind; he is not envious or boastful; he’s not arrogant or rude. He did not insist on his own way but following his Father’s will, left the glory of heaven to empty himself and serve us and sacrifice himself for us. Jesus isn’t irritable or resentful. And Jesus keeps no record of wrongs that he might rejoice over us in our sins and failings – for he has forgiven us all our trespasses, throwing our sins into the depths of the sea to remember them no more and has JUSTIFIED us. Jesus rejoices with the truth of his grace that declares us righteous; he delights in us and over us. Therefore, in Jesus we can bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. Jesus never ends.

You must go forward on your knees. Hudson Taylor

God’s Uses Two “Gardens” To Grow Our Children   by J. D Greear (click to see original posting) In Psalm 127, Solomon refers to children as a “heritage” or an “inheritance” from the Lord. It’s easy to miss how revolutionary that statement is. Solomon isn’t saying that children will receive our inheritance. He is saying that they are our inheritance. But what does that mean? It means that the most important task we have as a church is to teach the next generation the gospel . An inheritance is what you leave behind for future generations. So when a church thinks about what they are “leaving behind” for their city, they shouldn’t be thinking of ministry plans or church buildings, but kids . The children in our church are the first ones that God has given us to win for the gospel. They are the inheritance we are leaving for our city. That means our primary responsibility for our children is to teach them the gospel—and to equip them to teach it to others. That is the most import

Dear pastors, missionaries, chaplains and friends,         Steve here… anyone who claims that their local church is an assembly committed to evangelism, but is not committed to kids or youth ministry just doesn’t get it.         Billy Graham’s Evangelistic Ministry has been telling us for decades that most North Americans come to Christ before their 18th birthday. Child Evangelism Fellowship’s (CEF) ministry is currently working in 188 nations. In a recent CEF International Conference it was reported that CEF plans to reach kids for Christ in the remaining 19 countries of the world in the next five years. That’s amazing! Even more amazing is that CEF reported that five million children made professions of faith in their “Back-yard Bible Clubs” in 2013. I found some interesting information and statistics in a back issue of a CEF newsle

Christianity Today, the supposed flagship of all things Evangelical, actually asked that question of three writers in its latest issue.  While I am appalled that an Evangelical magazine would even consider this to be a valid question in the first place, I am absolutely flabbergasted that two of the three writers actually argue that Jesus would go to a strip club.  After all, they argue, Jesus was friend to sinners and ate with them.  Just how low can we go?  Having lunch with a fully clothed stripper at her home with many other people present is a long way from sharing a tract with the leering lechers gathered around the stage as she disrobes.  The Jesus of Scripture would have too much respect for the woman as his creation, made in God's image, to look upon the shame of her nakedness.   The sinless Son of God would not commit a sin by entering into such a place where the only purpose for those present is to satisfy their unbridled lust.  I can much more easily picture the Jesus

“He that serves God for money will serve the Devil for better wages.” —Sir Roger L’Estrange

“What do we do about our kids?” The group of parents sat together in my office, wiping their eyes. I’m a high school pastor, but for once, they weren’t talking about 16-year-olds drinking and partying. Each had a story to tell about a “good Christian” child, raised in their home and in our church, who had walked away from the faith during the college years. These children had come through our church’s youth program, gone on short-term mission trips, and served in several different ministries during their teenage years. Now they didn’t want anything to do with it anymore. And, somehow, these mothers’ ideas for our church to send college students “care packages” during their freshman year to help them feel connected to the church didn’t strike me as a solution with quite enough depth. The  daunting statistics  about church-going youth keep rolling in. Panic ensues. What are we doing wrong in our churches? In our youth ministries? It’s hard to sort through the various reports and fin

By Chap Bettis (Click on name for original posting site) My father-in-law has a profound little saying that sums up a biblical attitude spouses should have for one another.  She’s not perfect, but she’s perfect for me. Let’s examine the two parts. She’s not perfect.  By making this statement, the spouse reminds himself that he married another sinner. Too many partners are biting and devouring each other because they demand perfection. Many a wife has said, “I would have the perfect marriage if I had a more spiritual husband.” And many husbands are saying, “Why can’t my wife be more like this other woman?” In these unspoken thoughts we see unwillingness to accept the other person. We cannot see the log in our own eyes, but we can see clearly the speck in our spouse’s eye. We say to ourselves, “God has put me into his life to change him/her.” So we judge and nag and grumble and complain. But in this process we miss our own faults. Then we miss out on God’s desire to work out in

According to Scripture, virtually everything that truly qualifies a person for leadership is directly related to character. It's not about style, status, personal charisma, clout, or worldly measurements of success. Integrity is the main issue that makes the difference between a good leader and a bad one. John MacArthur Jr.