"Before the Methodist Revival, life in London, as you can see in books written at the time and since, was almost unthinkable with its drink and vice and immorality. Is there not a danger that we are going back to that? Is not our whole generation going down visibly?" Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, pg 158)
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God Above Human Philosophy
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. (1 Corinthians 1:19) This verse is a threatening so far as the worldly wise are concerned, but to the simple believer it is a promise. The professedly learned are forever trying to bring to nothing the faith of the humble believer, but they fail in their attempts. Their arguments break down, their theories fall under their own weight, their deep-laid plots discover themselves before their purpose is accomplished. The old gospel is not extinct yet, nor will it be while the Lord liveth. If it could have been exterminated, it would have perished from off the earth long ago. We cannot destroy the wisdom of the wise, nor need we attempt it, for the work is in far better hands. The Lord Himself says, "I will," and He never resolves in vain. Twice does He in this verse declare His purpose, and we may rest assured that He will not turn aside from it. What clean work the Lord makes of philosophy and "modern thought" when He puts His hand to it! He brings the fine appearance down to nothing; He utterly destroys the wood, hay, and stubble. It is written that so it shall be, and so shall it be. Lord, make short work of it. Amen, and amen. C.H. Spurgeon Faith's Checkbook “I’m so blind without you, O God. Open my eyes to behold wondrous things in your word!”
Do you ever pray like this when you pick up the Bible? In tonight’s lead article, John Piper would like to convince you, and inspire you, to pray your way to wonder when reading God’s word. To help prepare our hearts for corporate worship this weekend, Rachel Coulter writes about the sweetness of childlike worship. And we’d like to invite you to find half an hour this weekend for a classic Piper message from 1983 called “The War Within.” And in case you missed it, below you’ll find some of our top resources so far in the month of August. David Mathis Executive Editor DesiringGod.org Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?
What it is: Research by a psychology professor at San Diego State on iGen (kids born between 1995 and 2012) show they are “on the brink of the worst mental health crisis in decades.” Why it's important: Today’s teens are less likely to be in a car accident, less likely to abuse alcohol, and less likely to have sex. Good, right? Not totally. They are safer, yet more depressed than ever. Why? Screen time. Dr. Twenge’s research found that “teens who spend more time than average on screen activities are more likely to be unhappy.” And there is no exception! Screen time always leads to less happiness while all non-screen activity is linked to more happiness. Please read the article with your teen and create practical activities that can replace their screentime. Courtesy: AXIS Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook Enemies of Christianity declaring new war on religion
Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun July 30, 2017 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/andrew-bolt/enemies-of-christianity-declaring-new-war-on-religion/news-story/043ebd5d04cf40934e983d391d5658bd CHRISTIANS, prepare for persecution. Open your eyes and choose stronger leaders for the dark days. I am not a Christian, but I am amazed that your bishops and ministers are not warning you of what is already breaking over your heads. How mad that Queensland’s Education Department can now warn schools against letting students praise Jesus in the playground. The department has put out reports telling state schools “to take appropriate action if aware that students participating in (religious instruction) are evangelising to students who do not participate”. It gives examples of what students must not say in the playground — such as “knowing about Jesus is a very important thing”, or “God, please help us to use our knowledge to help others”. Nor may students hand out Christmas cards or decorations. What do these bureaucrats fear from children inspired by Christ? Is it that stuff about loving your neighbour? Or that instruction to respect the dignity of every human life that makes Christians the enemy of totalitarians? But this ban on playground talk of Jesus is only the most shocking salvo of the new war on Christians. Last week, two Christian preachers were summoned to Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Tribunal for preaching their faith’s stand on traditional marriage and homosexuality. Hobart pastor Campbell Markham and street preacher David Gee, from Hobart’s Cornerstone Church, were denounced by an atheist offended by, among other things, Markham quoting a verse from the Bible. We’ve seen this before. Hobart’s Catholic Archbishop, Julian Porteous, was two years ago ordered by this tribunal to tell by what right he spoke against same-sex marriage. How cowed the churches have been before this looming persecution, now picking off vocal Christians, one by one. Just this year, Sydney University’s Student Union threatened to deregister the university’s Evangelical Union unless it stopped insisting members declare their faith in Christ. Meanwhile, same-sex marriage extremists bullied Coopers Brewery into taking down a video of a Christian MP Andrew Hastie debating same-sex marriage, and lobbied IBM, PwC and Sydney University to punish staff belonging to a Christian group opposed to gay marriage. Last week, 70 pro-Safe Schools activists picketed a church to abuse people at an Australian Christian Lobby meeting as “bigots”. Last year, an ACL meeting was cancelled after the hotel venue was bombarded with threats. The state-funded SBS joined in by banning an ad by Christians defending traditional marriage, yet ran one for an Ashley Madison dating service for adulterers. The Greens are the political wing of this attack on Christianity, and are demanding churches lose their legal freedom to hire only people who live by their faith. The media, too, often cheer this war, using as their excuse the sexual abuse of children by some priests and ministers decades ago. Rarely do they admit the average gap between the alleged offences by Catholic priests and the lodging of complaints is 33 years. That suggests the churches did crack down on paedophiles decades ago. But this vilification has had its effect. The Census shows the proportion of Australians calling themselves Christian has dropped from 74 per cent in 1991 to 52 per cent now. No wonder, when the weaker churches cower before the persecution. Last week, some even licked the boots of the anti-Christian ABC when it launched yet another attack, smearing churches as the haven of wife-beaters. This ABC series led off with a ludicrously false claim: “The men most likely to abuse their wives are evangelical Christians who attend church sporadically.” A week after I proved this untrue, the ABC edited its reports to replace that false claim with another: “Overall, the international studies indicate that intimate partner violence is just as serious a problem in Christian communities, as it is in the general community.” Wrong again. Professor Bradford Wilcox, author of the American study the ABC cited as proof, complained “the (ABC’s) story … does not square with the evidence that churchgoing couples, in America at least, appear to be less likely to suffer domestic violence”. In fact, Christianity produce better citizens in many ways. Surveys show Christians are more inclined to volunteer, donate and keep families together. So what do the enemies of Christianity wish to achieve by smearing, silencing and destroying this civilising faith? What would they replace it with? With the atheism that preaches every man for himself? With Islam? Or with the green faith that has not inspired a single hospital, hospice, school, or even soup kitchen? Yet the persecution is starting. Are the churches ready? |
Craig MannersWhile much of what is written in this Blog may currently appear to be counter-cultural, given our post-truth culture, it is in no way counter-human beings. I am always for people no matter what they think, do, or may have done in their past. Where I put forward ideas or debate against certain ideology, behaviour, ideas, movements, politics, I remain very much on the side of the human beings even though I may be opposed to their worldview, behaviour and politics. Such opposition is generally out of concern for the ultimate consequences of such behaviour or ideas, especially for children. |