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One of the reasons I write so few blog posts is that I’m too busy reading excellent posts from elsewhere. Let me share with you some recent highlights:
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Published on 5 October , 2007
in Articles.
Loving the truth is definitely not an optional extra for any Christian. Loving the truth is not less important, nor less ‘spiritual’ than loving the gospel, living a holy life, or even loving our Saviour. Indeed, it is impossible to separate loving the truth from those things. We cannot do them unless we love the truth.
Yet there are many Christians who show by their lives that they do not really love the truth at all. They may believe the truth, and possibly even admire the truth. They may defend the truth, and perhaps even preach the truth. But they do not love the truth. They are not passionate about the truth. Some Christians have a worldly attitude which shows itself in immorality. Some have a worldly attitude which shows itself in materialism. And some Christians have a worldly attitude which shows itself in that they do not really love the truth. Perhaps you are one of them. I fear that sometimes I am one too.
Continue reading ‘Passionate about the truth #2′
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I was challenged tonight by these words of Ion Keith-Falconer given as he left Scotland to serve as a missionary to Muslims in 1886.
There must be some who will read these words, or who, having the cause of Christ at heart, have ample independent means, and are not fettered by genuine home ties. Perhaps you are content with giving annual subscriptions and occasional donations, and taking a weekly class ? Why not give yourselves, money, time and all, to the foreign field ? Our own country is bad enough, but comparatively many must, and do, remain to work at home, while very few are in a position to go abroad. Yet how vast is the Foreign Mission field! The field is the world. Ought you not to consider seriously what your duty is ? The heathen are in darkness, and we are asleep.
Continue reading ‘Should I stay or should I go?’
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Don’t worry, there are no spoilers for Deathly Hallows in this post!
I confess. I’m a big fan of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter books – and have been since I discovered Chamber of Secrets nearly ten years ago. I understand why some Christians baulk at the concept of good witches and wizards, but frankly I just cannot see the difference between Rowling’s writings, and those of Tolkein, and countless tales of Merlin and King Arthur which I grew up on.
The Bible is clear, witchcraft is wrong. But if I lay aside every book that contains things that are wrong, I will only ever read the Bible. The doctrine of common grace – not to mention that of common sense – surely demands otherwise. We should be far more worried about books who’s subliminal messages are opposed to Christian virtues than we should about Harry Potter. A great deal of children’s literature promotes lifestyles that are directly opposed to Christian values and morality. It relatively simple to sit down with your young son or daughter and say “Real witches and wizards are not like Harry Potter. Look with me at what the Bible says”. It is much harder to say, “The underlying meta-narrative of the book you are reading runs contrary to a Christian worldview”. In other words, we ought to be much more wary of the devil’s subtle attacks, and his great desire for us to accept as normal that which God says is unnatural. Harry Potter is an easy target, but surely it should not be our primary target.
Continue reading ‘Life, Death, and Harry Potter’
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Every consistent Christian is passionate about the truth. We know this because 2 Thessalonians 2:10 tells us that those who are not Christians “perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved”. I have never met a Christian who does not believe that we ought to be passionate about prayer, passionate about the gospel, and passionate about Jesus – even if we have to admit that often our lives don’t reflect what we say we believe. But I’ve met lots of Christians who regard those who are passionate about the truth with some suspicion, as if they’re not really sure whether it’s right to be passionate about the truth at all. So what evidence do we have from the Bible that tells us that every Christian must be a lover of the truth?
Continue reading ‘Passionate about the truth’
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Published on 21 June , 2007
in Personal.
Regular readers of this blog will be quite used to long periods going by without seeing any new content. But it’s time I explained my current silence.
For the last several weeks it’s become increasingly clear that the Lord is calling me to a new work. He has been very gracious, and led me step-by-step. Yet it is also true that the pace at which God has caused things to happen has been remarkable indeed.
Through a variety of means, during the month of April it began to be clear that the Lord was bringing my ministry in St Mellons to an end. This came as a great surprise, as I have always been (and still am) very happy in the church. But the Lord was clearly moving me on. It seemed as though He was leading me to a particular church, and as I began to push a few doors, that sense increased.
But just before I opened the very last door on that route, on the 6th May this year, I fulfilled an ordinary preaching engagement at Bethel Evangelical Church in Clydach, near Swansea. I enjoyed my day there, and the congregation were encouraged by my preaching. They invited me back, this time with a clearer sense of purpose on both sides. Now I was in a quandary. Would the Lord lead me along a clear path to one church, only to draw me to another at the final door?
Continue reading ‘Moving on to pastures new’
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I know I promised my next post was going to be about whether charismatics are really New Testament believers, but
today’s post from Martin Downes was too helpful not to share. He’s been running a series of interviews with Christian leaders, and today he posted the second part of his interview with Carl Trueman. Carl had been struck by 1 Timothy 1:5-7, where Paul writes:
The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
Those who desire to be teachers, rather than simply desire to teach are in danger, Trueman says. I then goes on to add a timely warning to those of us in this present generation:
Continue reading ‘Blogging can ruin your life’
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One of the reasons I write so few blog posts is that I’m too busy reading excellent posts from elsewhere. Let me share with you some recent highlights:
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