"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. "

So ends the last verse of the last chapter of the last book of the Bible.

I began this blog the first week of November 2012.  Recent circumstances have dictated that I suffer the ending of a process in which I intended to encourage the church and edify it's members. I have enjoyed the process and feel it has been worthwhile and hope it has encouraged some.  The end is bittersweet.  Only my close friends have been privy to how it came to this and I cannot express enough thanks for their support.  I hold no ill will toward any and continue to pray for them.

I think it appropriate to end it with the previous verse to the last verse of the last chapter of the last book of the Bible.

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. "

Infinite Debt

From our devotional read earlier this week – 

“All sin occurs in the divine human-context, so all transgression is sin against our infinitely holy Creator.  This means that all sins incur an infinite and, therefore, unpayable debt.  Finite people lack all capacity to repay an infinite debt.  No amount of good deeds, worship (etc.)…will ever be enough to pay the debt we have incurred.  One reason hell is eternal is that sin against infinity deserves infinite punishment…. We cannot hope to repay the infinite debt we owe to God, so we must rely on an infinitely worthy person to do it for us.  That person is the Son of God, who, having taken on a human nature, satisfies the infinite debt we owe to the Lord. “  (Tabletalk - May 27, 2014)

Why is So Much Preaching So Poor? (Part 3 of 3)

(Conclusion)

Technical

There are many technical aspects to preaching but here are three of the most common technical failures that make preaching poor:

A failure to have a clear structure. My impression is that student preachers often assume that the structure of the sermon they preach is as clear to the congregation as it is to them. It rarely is. Experience preachers can make the structure clear simply through clarity of thought, logical progression and well-turned sentences. Until one reaches that level, I advise students to make their structure clear at the start. 'The three points I want you to see in this passage are...' may be a rather mechanical way to start the main section of the sermon, but it does at least make it clear where the preacher intends to go.

A failure to know or understand the congregation. This manifest itself in many ways. Usually for students and newly minted preachers, it manifests itself in cramming into the sermon as much arcane theological language (known as 'technical terminology' in the classroom and 'total gibberish' in the pulpit) as possible. The game is not to impress the congregation with your knowledge. It is to point people to Christ as clearly and concisely as possible.

A failure to know what to leave out. Perhaps, after lack of clear structure, this is the most common fault among student preachers. You have read all that you could on a passage; now you want to tell the congregation everything you have learned. You cannot do this. Do not make the congregation drink from a fire hose. Think carefully about what the most important things for this congregation at this moment in time are (which requires, of course, knowing the congregation to some extent) and focus on those. All that other fascinating material? Well, use it in another sermon on the same passage.

From an article published November 2013 at: http://www.reformation21.org/articles/why-is-so-much-preaching-so-poor.php by Carl R. Trueman - Paul Woolley Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary. His latest book is The Creedal Imperative (Crossway, 2012).

Why is So Much Preaching So Poor? (Part 2 of 3)

(Part 2 of 3)

Third, there is the relativizing of the preached word and the growth of emphasis on one-to-one counseling. I am not here denying the usefulness of one-to-one counseling but I am saying that most problems which most of us have should be dealt with quite adequately by the public proclamation of God's word. The world around tells us we are all unique and have unique problems. Talk of our uniqueness is greatly exaggerated. We need to create a church culture where uniqueness is relativized and where people come to church expecting that the preached word will meet their particular problem. I am struck by the fact that, while Paul does make some very pointed individual applications, he typically operates at the level of generality. Seminaries should make preaching a priority at every level; and preachers should be taught to preach with the confidence that they will impact individuals for the good as they speak to all from the pulpit.

Fourth, there is often a failure to find one's own voice. Coming to faith in the 1980s, I remember there was nothing more embarrassing than listening to yet another British preacher who felt he had to sound like Dr. Lloyd-Jones and preach for as long as the great Welshman did. Many a brilliant thirty minute sermon was undone by the preacher carrying on to the fifty minute mark.

Today, if anything the problem is worse. A few years ago, I asked a group of students who their favourite model preacher was. Not one of them mentioned any of the pastors under whose care they had grown up. The names were all drawn from that small and incestuous gene pool that is the megaconference speaking circuit.

This is disastrous in many ways but not least for the fact that these conferences consistently present as normative a very narrow range of voices and styles. Every preacher needs to find his own voice; the tragedy is that the economics of filling a five or ten thousand seat stadium mean that the only voice heard are those that can pull in the punters. But many of those voices pastor to churches where there is little contact between pastor and people. They can fill stadiums but they are not the only voices to which aspiring preachers need to listen. Time and chance makes men megachurch pastors and big names. Many much better preachers operate in smaller churches and it is they who can really bear witness to the importance of finding one's own unique voice.

Fifth, in Presbyterian circles at least, there can be too high a view of the ministry. This is counterintuitive, particularly coming from the pen of a high Presbyterian who believes that a high view of ordained ministry is an important aspect of a healthy church. What I mean here is this: if your church culture projects such a high view of ministry that congregations are left thinking that ordained ministry is the only worthwhile calling for a Christian man, the unfortunate consequence is that men who lack the basic skills to be ministers will nonetheless feel the need to be ministers in order to serve in a useful capacity. And men in the ministry who really lack the personal skills necessary to preach will not preach well. We need churches where a healthy understanding of general Christian vocation is taught and cultivated so that men do not feel such pressure.

(To be continued)

From an article published November 2013 at: http://www.reformation21.org/articles/why-is-so-much-preaching-so-poor.php by Carl R. Trueman - Paul Woolley Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary. His latest book is The Creedal Imperative (Crossway, 2012).

Why is So Much Preaching So Poor? (Part 1 of 3)

Preaching is fundamental to Protestantism. The proclamation of God's word is the primary means by which the Christian encounters God. So the obvious question is: why is so much preaching so poor?

This is not a problem found only in small churches of which nobody has ever heard. A few years ago I was at a conference where a group of preachers were being showcased as models to follow. One of the featured preachers who was from one of the largest and most well-known evangelical churches in the YRR universe delivered a sermon which was full of endearing personal anecdotes. By the end, I really warmed to him as a person. But as preaching, it was simply awful, functionally unconnected to the biblical text he had read beforehand. Frankly, he could have replaced the Bible reading with a soliloquy from King Lear and would not have had to change one sentence of the sermon. Well-delivered and moving it may have been; but as preaching it was complete bosh. But sadly it was bosh presented to a crowd of thousands as a model of what to do in the pulpit.

So why is it that so much preaching, even celebrity conference preaching, is so poor? One cannot answer this in a single sentence. Sermons can be poor for a variety of reasons. Here are the eight which seem to me most significant. I divide them into the theological, the cultural and the technical.

Theological

First, the theological: to preach well, the preacher has to understand what he is doing. Understanding what a task is is basic to performing the task well. If you think that preaching is about communicating information or providing entertainment or fostering a conversation, that will shape how you preach. The greatest danger for seminary students is that they assume the lectures they hear in class are the model for the sermons they are to deliver from the pulpit.  They are not. Preaching is a theological act. The preacher finds his counterpart not in the lecture theatre or the classroom or, most ghastly of all, on the stand-up comedy circuit. He finds him in the Old Testament prophets, bringing a confrontational word from the Lord which explains reality and demands a response. 

Cultural

Second, there is a failure to provide proper context for the training of preachers. Seminaries can only do so much; and preaching three or four times to classmates while being videoed is not adequate preparation for the pulpit. This situation is not helped by the strange Presbyterian practice of discouraging those who are not licensed to preach from preaching. How can one license a man to preach unless one knows he can preach? And how can one know that unless he has had some real experience in a real church situation? The loss of the evening service in many churches is not simply a sad testimony to the loss of the Lord's Day; it also limits preaching opportunities for those in training. Churches need to do a better job of encouraging those who think they might be called as preachers to test their gifts, perhaps at Sunday afternoon services at care homes or elsewhere. Creative thinking is required.

(To be continued)

 

From an article published November 2013 at: http://www.reformation21.org/articles/why-is-so-much-preaching-so-poor.php by Carl R. Trueman - Paul Woolley Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary. His latest book is The Creedal Imperative (Crossway, 2012).

I Am Not An Atheist

“I’m not at all an atheist. I mean, of all the possible theologies, atheism is the least plausible.....I mean, you’ve got to explain the existence of the universe, and to assume it invented itself or created itself is rather odd.” 

Krauthammer added, “I mean, the only important question, the most important question is why is there or can there be anything, and how can there be consciousness? Atheism is not an answer that is plausible in any way to me.”  

  

Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer

Training for Ministry

There is a shortage of biblically qualified men and women entering into full time vocational ministry in the UK. There are so may churches without pastors and so few Evangelical churches actively training women. Bible Colleges are not the answer to these shortfalls. The local church is the solution. Those of us who are in leadership bear the weight of responsibility for recruiting and training the next generation of Christian leaders. Here are some ways we can act now.

Read the rest of the story at: http://20schemes.com/whats-the-best-way-find-men-women-to-train-for-ministry

Posted at 20Schemes, Leadership Development, Mark Dever, Mez McConnell, Niddrie on January 14, 2014 by Pastor Mez McConnell

Leadership

If you never invite criticism, you're teaching everyone around you that they must conform to your preferences or be punished. Leaders don't grow in this kind of environment. They whither or leave.

If you only see faults, you won't trust or entrust. But if you're quick to forgive, you'll find it easier to entrust and empower others.

General Robert E. Lee’s Life Lessons on Leadership.

General Lee was an icon in the American south during the Civil War.  A committed Christian and soldier who’s leadership and principles represented the classical statesman of any era but especially that of the antebellum south.

In the prologue to the book “Robert E. Lee on Leadership” the author quotes General Lee’s biographer, Emory Thomas, who noted, “..Lee was a great person, not so much because of what he did (although his accomplishments were extraordinary); he was great because of the way he lived, because of what he was.”  And he was foremost a Christian in principle and conduct.

Lee’s lessons offer a way to live out Christian principles.

The following is an example of General Lee’s principles as represented in his correspondence.

·        To lead others, one must first master oneself.  “I cannot consent to place in the control of others one who cannot control himself.”

·        A leader’s primary responsibility is to think of others first.  The “great duty of life” is “ the promotion of the happiness and welfare of our fellow men.”

·        A leader should always do what conscience dictate so he will never have cause for self-doubt.  “You have only always to do what is right.  It will become easier by practice, and you will enjoy in the midst of your trials the pleasure of an approving conscience.  That will be worth everything else.”

[Wouldn’t we wish that some Pastors and Elders would apply these principles in the church.]

Excerpted from “Robert E. Lee on Leadership, Executive Lessons in Character, Courage, and Vision” by H.W. Crocker III, published by Three Rivers Press, New York, © 1999. (pgs. 6 and 27)

Spot the Difference at the E Churches

 I wonder if highly observant readers can spot the subtle differences between these two descriptions of the ideal candidates for ministry?

Elevation Church:

The typical applicant is 23-30 years of age who is a recent college/seminary graduate or someone with relevant experience. However, do not let the age range deter you from applying. The applicant should also be someone seeking to join with Elevation Church, who is a high capacity leader with the ability to multi-task and thrives in a fast paced ministry environment.

Ephesian Church:

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. 

Thanks to Pastor Carl Trueman for this insight: http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2014/03/spot-the-difference-at-the-e-c.php

Of Good Reputation With Those Outside

…I want to focus on the last qualification for eldership, 1Tim. 3:7, 'Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders....'

At first glance, that is an odd qualification for Paul to include in the list.  Often, Christians are not well thought of by those outside.  I am fortunate to have two jobs which shelter me to a large extent from the rough and tumble of  life in the secular world.  Many in Cornerstone's congregation work in secular environments where there are many pressures on Christians precisely because Christians are not liked or respected in the wider world.  Yet that is often because of the offence of the cross.  The message of the cross is that we are all sinners and in need of a savior.  That is an offensive message.

Clearly, Paul is not requiring Christians to abandon the offence of the cross in order to qualify for office.  What he is saying is, to use the old English idiom, that elders should be decent people.  Their neighbours, work colleagues, and non-Christian friends should know them as people of integrity, who embody the Christian virtues in which they profess to believe.  

The reason should be obvious: the church's leaders are the public face of the church.  When a Christian falls, say, into adultery, it is a bad enough scandal.  But when a leader falls, the impact is so much greater because the general public regard leaders as the moral barometer of the church as a whole.   A further implication of this is that the manner in which a church handles the sin of its leaders will be seen by the wider world as indicative of the church's own commitment to her stated moral standards.

The world, however, takes a different line.  It does not trust and then verify.  It verifies and then, after a period of time, if at all, it trusts.  And that is not something we can simply dismiss as the way of the world and as of no relevance to us.  When Paul speaks about 'of good reputation with those outside,' he demands that the church take the logic and the opinion of the world seriously when we are dealing with leaders and when we are not talking about the offence of the cross but rather the offensiveness of some Christians' behavior.

This has twofold relevance in the current climate.  First, what has become the standard New Calvinist approach to the critics (either ignore them as irritating upstarts or point to them as the real problem -- but never, ever, treat their concerns as worthy of serious respect) fools nobody but those who want to be fooled.  It certainly does not fool the outside world as it looks on.  And as the various Mars Hill scandals have made their way into the secular media, we can assume that the favoured strategy of 'Now, see here, you little whipper-snapper...' will be seen for what it is: a deflective move to avoid  addressing the root problems.

Second, we need to remember that overseers are held to a higher standard because they are the public face of the church.   That is why behavior such as we have witnessed actually disqualifies from office, no question.  Now, there are some sins, such as adultery, which I would argue disqualify from office permanently.  For some other serious public sins, it can be for a period of time.  As restoration to office requires restoration of reputation inside and outside the church, such a time cannot be specified precisely in advance.  It requires the fallen leader working at some other calling while being pastored under the Word by wise and godly men until such time as he has grown to maturity in the faith.  Then he may again be qualified to be considered once more for office.  As Todd pointed out yesterday, disciplining fallen overseers is not hateful but the best thing that can be done for them.

The moral onus is on the church.  It is on the church to make sure that its leaders are of good reputation with those outside.  If they are not, then the world, lacking an elaborate taxonomy for the evangelical universe, will assume we are all in on the scam, every single one of us.

Excerpted from a post dated March 19, 2014 @ 10:03 AM by Carl Trueman.  Read the complete post HERE: http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2014/03/of-good-reputation-with-those.php

The Accountability Question

An interesting post today by Pastor Carl Trueman at Reformation21Blog.  If you have read many of his articles you should be familiar with Trueman’s perceptive insight into today’s problems in the “evangelical movement” and the mega-church.

Carl Trueman’s recent article speaks to the issue of dealing with potential problems affecting the evangelical community at large and by extension the local church before they become too great to control.

He refers to his earlier warnings against the current “cults of personality” in which people fail to speak against pastors who have built up followings of devotees who refuse to correct pastoral abuse.  His reference is to current mega-church leaders who amass great fortunes and power by fleecing the flock and using dubious means to promote and maintain their prominent positions. In principle his argument could also apply to those who want to maintain a similar position in a smaller venue.

Trueman states that when accountability was called for in the church “the critics were to be treated as the problem…”. And he states,  “part of me thinks that, if the early warnings had been seen as significant….perhaps things might be different today”.

Read the entire article HERE and make up your own mind: http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2014/03/celebrity-pastors-a-retrospect.php

God’s Providence

“God’s providence supplies a testing ground for men’s prayers.  Its workings have been likened to the spokes of a wheel, sometimes up, sometimes down, but always moving toward the grave, judgment, and eternity.”

Robert Jones in “Manna for Christ’s Servant and Witness”, pg. 144, Published by Old Paths Tract Society (date unknown).

Three Tips (Plus One) in Responding to Criticism

The following was posted this morning and I thought appropriate to share as it relates to some issues. (The Plus One was added.)

Criticism is inevitable. At certain times we will all face another person’s analysis or rebuke of our behavior. The best kind of criticism comes from friends, from those who know us and love us best. “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy” (Proverbs 27:5-6). In his little book True Friendship, Vaughan Roberts offers three tips for responding to criticism, and especially this kind of criticism—the kind that comes in the context of friendship, of iron sharpening iron.

Expect It

 

We should expect criticism. We should expect criticism because we are sinful, so far from the holiness God requires and so far from the holiness we desire. If anything we ought to be surprised that we receive so little criticism. We should also expect criticism because friendships—especially close friendships—invite it. Criticism may arise from a negative spirit, but it can also arise from love. Our best friends must have an open invitation to offer criticism of our lives. Is there no one in your life who offers you critical feedback? Then it may be that you have chased off your friends by responding poorly and pridefully in the past. Expect to be criticized from time to time, and give your friends an open invitation to do so.

Examine It

 

“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”

When we receive criticism, and especially when that criticism stings or seems outrageous, we need to examine it to see if it is true. It may be that our friends have a faulty perspective, but it may be that they have a better perspective that we do. George Orwell was right when he said, “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” Humility admits that others may see what we cannot or will not see ourselves. Roberts says, “We should resist the instinctive temptation to defend ourselves or attack the critic, but rather consider whether there is truth in what is being said.” Prayerfully examine that criticism to see if it is true and fair.

Endure It

 

There will be times the criticism will be painful but true. In such times, we will need to endure that criticism as we respond to it by making changes to our lives. There are times the criticism will sting because we come to believe the criticism is unfair. In either case, we need to keep ourselves from responding in kind or lashing out at the one who criticized us. We must resist the temptation to gossip about that person or to sever the friendship. Far better, we must endure criticism just as Christ Jesus patiently endured all the criticism that was heaped upon him. As always, as ever, he is our model.

Plus One – Ignore It

For some this seems to be their response….which, as you know, solves nothing…and often delays the inevitable.

Posted on Challies.com March 05, 2014

God of the Deaf

Christian celebrity Sue Thomas, 64, who made history when she became the first deaf person to ever work as an undercover FBI investigator, says she was blindsided by former deaf pastor-turned-atheist Justin Vollmar's decision to publicly renounce Jesus and wants the deaf community to know that God is real.

In an interview with The Christian Post Thursday, Thomas highlighted that the deaf population is one of the largest groups of people unreached by the Gospel in the world.

She acknowledged that while it is a difficult task reaching the deaf community today, the church needs to do more in reaching out. Vollmar's experience, she says, is a prime example of how difficult it is to minister to the deaf community.

While she expressed concern over how Vollmar's apostasy will "affect other deaf people who do not know the truth," she said she wanted to serve as a light of encouragement and inspiration, and shared her lightly edited testimony in an email below.

I have been profoundly deaf since the age of 18 months, and was raised in a family where we attended church on Sunday, and was taught in the home that there is a God and there's a difference between right and wrong. My parents instilled in me the belief that there is a God and that He didn't make a mistake, and as a child, I believed them.

My childhood days were filled with torments from school bullies and the loneliness of being left out and not understanding due to my deafness. Yes, there were times when God brought that glimmer of hope amidst despair through classical music felt with vibrations or a skating rink where I became a champion skater.  

Though there were rays of sun at times, my life was always tossed among the stormy dark skies and the question would begin to surface: Did God make a mistake?

My love for people was taken from me when the silence over took me - as much as I thrive and want to be with people, I can't, as with groups of people I cannot understand and always feel left out - the very thing that I want, I can't have. Yes, the older I got, the more the question became stronger, as well as the answer - God does make mistakes.

My story is an interesting one, as my deafness caused me to become a skilled lip reader and the skill took me to the FBI as an undercover special assistant. Who could have imagined the girl that was laughed at and despised for talking so poorly would be in demand at the FBI?

It was in Washington, D.C. where years of simmering anger turned to rage against God. How could He give me a good job, but not give me the peace to live with my deafness? I hated it! I despised it. My deafness was destroying my inner being, my deafness was seriously doubting God and Him not making mistakes.

The rage became so over-powering that I left the FBI to search for God. It was a search that would take me to Columbia Bible College and Seminary in South Carolina where it is known today as Columbia International University. Most people go to seminary to become pastors, missionaries, teachers or counselors. I did not. I went to seminary for one purpose - to find God and to make Him confess, He made a mistake.

My journey ended 30 years ago on that seminary campus where I met God and wrestled. He won.

That is a story in itself, a story of lies, of deceit, and living in it until I loathed my life and became physically ill. God's hand was heavy on me. The college was praying for my healing, but they thought it was for a physical healing. God gave me a spiritual healing.

At the age of 35, I finally surrendered my all and asked for His forgiveness. Yes, there is a transformation in a life that truly repents and comes to the foot of the cross in brokenness and shame. In my case, the transformation of the hatred and bitterness over my deafness led to not just the acceptance, but the embracing of what I once despised.

The silence would become my best friend. It is only in the silence we truly hear the still small voice of God. The silence will teach us, if we listen.

The story did end at the cross, or should I rather say it truly began there. The FBI days made its way to Hollywood where the TV series, "Sue Thomas: FBEye" was created and syndicated throughout 65 nations around the world.

The story continues as I am afflicted with multiple sclerosis but continue to speak around the world proclaiming the one and living God who makes no mistakes.

For this deaf man who has made your post to bear no witness unto Him, my heart is saddened. Will CNN not rather seek the miracles of life for which much has been given or will they, too, be deaf, and be dead to those who are alive?

The deaf man screams that there is no God. Well, he never knew Him. He is spiritually dead and He is deaf as a stone to the voice of a living God.

I can attest that God does speak in a voice that even the deaf can hear, if they will listen.

I receive The Christian Post regularly, and cannot remain silent after reading this article about the deaf pastor.

I'm simply a woman that bears witness. I'm simply a voice in the silence.

Wishing you God speed,

Sue Thomas

You can view the entire article at Christian Post HERE: http://www.christianpost.com/news/believer-sue-thomas-first-deaf-person-to-work-as-undercover-fbi-investigator-delivers-amazing-response-to-deaf-pastor-who-turned-atheist-114580/

Faith THE Gift

          Although faith and repentance are both Divine and gracious gifts, they become those of the sinner himself.  It is his faith; it is his repentance.  He believes, trusts in, and relies on the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin and pardon and a right standing before and reconciliation with God. From a willfully believing heart, he freely repents of his own volition and turns from his sin to God.  But these can be deceptively become the elements of an attempted salvation by works.

          How can this be?  Salvation by grace and salvation by works are forever distinct and opposed to each other ( Romans 11:5-6).  Salvation by grace does not allow for any human merit whatsoever.  Even the gift of saving faith, when it becomes the possession of the individual, is non-meritorious, i.e., salvation is by grace "through" {or by} faith," never "because of faith."  Faith is ever instrumental, never causative.  To seek to make God obligated to save because one has believed or has repented is to give these gracious gifts saving merit.   This is a subtle approach to salvation by works.  We must never turn the grace of God into a works-system.  This is why we must be absolutely clear that faith and repentance are graciously bestowed and not simply the products of human nature, i.e., mere human trust and mere self-reformation.  Are we repentant?

A Baptist Catechism – With Commentary by Dr. W.R.Downing (pgs.166-167)  – P.I.R.S. Publications © 2008

The Law

“The Law was not given for salvation.  It was given to a redeemed people so they could in their daily lives, in their legislation, and in their community reflect the moral character of God in a very practical way.”Dr. William Downing

Sermon delivered by Pastor Downing on July 28, 2013 “The Moral Law as it is Expressed in the Ten Commandments – The Third Commandment (44)”  Dr. Downing is the Pastor of the Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Silicon Valley, CA..

TIME

Each of us has a finite amount of time allotted to us in this world. We do not know how much time we have, but we do know that our time will come to an end. No matter how many years we have, one thing remains true: we will not do all the things we would like to do. Each of us will die with a million things left undone, a million dreams left unaccomplished, a million tasks still ongoing, a million things we could have done better. Each of us will die with some regrets about the way we used our time and the way we prioritized our opportunities and responsibilities. And all of this is true because we are sinful, we are mortal, and our time is finite.

I have found freedom in this: Freedom to know that even though this life isn’t the way things were meant to be, it is the way things will inevitably be. I am to faithfully steward my time, to glorify God in the days he gives me. But all the while I have to keep in mind that I am finite and time is short and there must be difficult decisions and inevitable regrets. God has given me all the time I need to do what he has called me to.

Excerpted from “These Precious Days” by Tim Challies (February 13, 2014)

The Death of a Queen

Lady Jane Grey, the 18 year old Protestant queen who reigned for only nine days, was executed 460 years ago this week.  Her short life ended as a result of political intrigue and began the reign of “Bloody Mary”.  Lady Jane Grey was a Christian woman and remained steadfast to the end.  Here is a short quote from one of her last letters written to her 14 year old sister,

 

"Live to die, that by death you may enter into eternal life, and then enjoy the life that Christ has gained for you by His death. Don’t think that just because you are now young your life will be long, because young and old as God wills."

Justin Taylor wrote a compelling account of the events surrounding her death and her Christian witness you can read it at: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2014/02/12/the-execution-of-lady-jane-grey-460-years-ago-today/