The Plodding Preacher

There are three things that need to be said about trying to get your identity from your children: It is a very natural thing to do, and a very hard thing to fight. In fact, probably every parent falls into this trap in some way, most times without even knowing it. Parenting is a miserable place to look for identity. Think about it: You are parenting lost, rebellious, foolish, blind, self-ruling sinners. I’m not picking on your children. I have just described every fallen human being born into God’s world. It’s a crushing burden for your children to have to get up every morning and carry the heavy load of your identity and all the expectations and demands that flow from it. No child will carry that load well. Paul David Tripp in the article Our Children are not our Trophies .

In the vast majority of countries that we looked at in Europe, at all education levels, people who are married when they have kids are markedly more stable than people who are cohabiting when they have their kids. Generally speaking, the least educated married families in Europe enjoy more stability than the most educated cohabiting families. That’s not what I would have guessed. I assumed that we’d find some kind of marriage stability premium, but I didn’t realize it would be that pronounced, and that marriage was a more powerful predictor of family stability in Europe than parental education. From "The Three Myths of Cohabitation" by Andrea Palpant Dilley

There is tremendous pressure upon churches today to attempt to be all things to all men.  Dan Reiland argues that such a belief is foolish. "It’s all good and worthy stuff, but the church not only shouldn’t do all of it, but it also can’t. No one church can do everything. That is simply impossible. So what each church does must be carefully, strategically and prayerfully thought through." Read Dan's answer to this issue in his article Why Your Church Won’t Be for Everyone

Nothing destroys a church quicker than unholy men at its helm and nothing grants it more strength than godly men leading even as they follow Christ.  Jason Helopoulos

Teaching Your Children the Art of Giving Jeff Anderson Parents want their children to be generous. Among the first words we teach them are “momma”, “dadda”, “yes” and “no.” Somehow they learn “mine.” Then we teach them “share.” It pleases us when we see them give.  And it pains us when they are selfish with their stuff.  As they grow, they will encounter the same challenges we do as adults – generous living does not come naturally to us. As father to four children ages 8 to 18, below are some ways we strive to pass along biblical generosity in the Anderson home. Read the rest by clicking on the title above.

'There are no great men of God; just faithless, weak men with a great and merciful God' - Paul Washer

There is truth and there is error, and charitable talk cannot alter the fact. Charles Haddon Spurgeon

The debate has raged for the last number of months on Christian social media about whether we ought to go see "The Shack." The answer has been brought to us by the author himself.  He has just published a new book called "Lies We Believe about God."  In it he openly reveals that he has seriously departed from historic Christian doctrine. Who originated the Cross? . . . If God did, then we worship a cosmic abuser, who in Divine Wisdom created a means to torture human beings in the most painful and abhorrent manner. Frankly, it is often this very cruel and monstrous god that the atheist refuses to acknowledge or grant credibility in any sense. And rightly so. Better no god at all, than this one. (Paul Young) Read a good article on Young's heretical doctrine HERE . So - no - don't waste your money on the Shack.

God, even when he does not comply with our wishes, is still attentive and kindly to our prayers, so that hope relying upon his word will never disappoint us. But believers need to be sustained by this patience, since they would not long stand unless they relied upon it. For the Lord proves his people by no light trials…but often drives them to extremity, and allows them, so driven, to lie a long time in the mire before he gives them any taste of his sweetness… What could they do here but be discouraged and rush into despair if they were not, when afflicted, desolate, and already half-dead, revived by the thought that God has regard for them and will bring an end to their present misfortunes? Nevertheless, however they stand upon the assurance of that hope, they do not meanwhile cease to pray, for unless there be in prayer a constancy to persevere, we pray in vain. (Institutes, 3.20.52) John Calvin

Today I met a man in Israel I will never forget.  Fifteen years ago he was voting in a primary for candidates of the Likud party.  At the polling station, two Palestinian terrorists burst in upon the crowd who were choosing their candidate for the next election.  They sprayed the crowd with automatic gunfire.  Seven people fell to the floor, wounded by the barrage.  The terrorists moved among the fallen, stopping to shoot each one between the eyes to make sure that they were dead.  Six people died that day.  Today I met the seventh. He was wounded four times in the initial burst of gunfire - once in each leg, once in the arm and once in the side.  The terrorists then put a gun two feet from his face and put a bullet between his eyebrows.  I saw the deep scar with my own eyes.  The next year he spent in a coma. Today I met him at the little restaurant he owns outside the gates of the ancient ruins of Beth She'an.  He stood in front of our tour bus full of Canadians and told us

Growing up in Canada, most historical sites that one can visit are younger than two hundred years.  In the country of Ireland where I was born, it is not unusual to find a site that dates back 1000 years.  Today in the land of Israel I stood before a gate that goes back 3800 years. This gate stood when the patriarchs were still alive.  This gate stood when Israel went into Egypt for 400 years. We tend to be chronological snobs here at the beginning of the 21st century.  It is humbling to think that we are just the latest speck on the timeline of history.