THIS & THAT and Favorite Quotes of the Week

NOW THAT’S A GOOD QUESTION!

• What Is a Christian’s Responsibility to Government? C. Sproul writes “When the government is no longer acting justly and no longer protecting life—sanctioning abortions, for example—then it is the task of the church to be the prophetic voice, to call the state to task and tell the state to repent and do what God commands it to do.”
• Why Does Anyone Become a Christian? Tim Keller writes “The early church surely looked like it was on the “wrong side of history,” but instead it changed history with a dogged adherence to the biblical gospel. That should be our aspiration as well.”
• What Does It Mean to Be One with Christ? Tony Reinke interviews Sinclair Ferguson, author of the wonderful new book Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification (my top book of the year), on the topic of union with Christ. Reinke writes that Ferguson “has been talking about union with Christ for a long time and is as good a teacher as any on this vital subject.”

IN THE NEWS:

• Cliff Barrows 1923-2016. Justin Taylor writes “Cliff Barrows has gone to be with the Lord to whom he so often sang. A longtime associate of Billy Graham as his evangelistic choir director, Mr. Barrows was 93.”
• Our Desperate Need for Unity. Scotty Smith prays “Heavenly Father, the swell of divisiveness, rancor, and protest in our country is quite disconcerting.”
• Duck Dynasty Draws to a Close. After five years and 130 episodes, the Robertsons told fans that this season will be their last. New episodes will run through Jan. 18. The show will take a break and the final seven episodes will air March 1 to April 12.
• Box of Lies with Megyn Kelly. Watch Megyn Kelly play Box of Lies with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show.

TO ENCOURAGE YOU IN YOUR CHRISTIAN WALK:

• 12 Lies American Evangelicals Believe. Tyler O’Neill writes “Here are twelve lies about God, morality, and salvation which Christians in the study believed, and why they are wrong.”
• Many Hear the Gospel with Joy but Don’t Continue in the Faith. R.C. Sproul writes “Not everyone who hears the Word of God is saved, and the same is true for many who respond to it initially.”
• The Most Revolutionary Thing a Woman Can Do. Bethany Jenkins writes “We need someone—someone outside of us, someone who isn’t fickle or deceptive—to tell us who we are, what we need, and that we’re okay. In short, we need God. He is the only one who tells us that we’re far more broken than we think, but far more loved than we can imagine. His stamp of approval is the most affirming, since it is the most accurate.”
• Things Parents Can do to Help Keep Your Kids from Sexting. Jessica Harris writes “If you’re a parent, I don’t envy your calling right now.  You’re trying to figure out how to raise children in a world where babies learn to play with technology before they even know how to read.  A world where, from day 1, kids are instagrammed, snap chatted, and Facebooked incessantly.  You have to navigate sex in the tech age with kids who haven’t even hit puberty yet.”
• Martin Luther’s 7 Characteristics of the Church. Read this excerpt from Robert Godfrey’s contribution to the new book The Legacy of Luther.
• Bryan Chapell on a Time in Ministry When God Demonstrated His Faithfulness. Watch this five-minute video in which Bryan Chapell, who was President of Covenant Seminary during the majority of my time there, shares about a season early in his own ministry when he experienced the faithfulness of God, even in the face of his own weakness.
• Unlimited Grace. Have you checked out Bryan Chapell’s new 25-minute Unlimited Grace podcast? I highly recommend it.
• Out of Nothing, Nothing Comes. Watch this three-minute video excerpt from his teaching series Nothing Left to Chance in which R.C. Sproul reminds us that if there was ever a time when there was nothing, there would be nothing now.

DEPRESSION:

• Two Myths about Christians and Depression. Frank Weller writes “Here’s the fact about mental illness: it is no respecter of persons. All of us are susceptible and will, at one point or another, personally experience a mental illness or know someone who has.”
• Depressed and Thankful: Six Ways to Find Joy. Stacy Reaoch writes “God calls us to be thankful people. And it’s the very attitude of thanksgiving that can transform our lives. If you find yourself wandering down the dark path of depression and despair, here are six simple ways to fight for joy through gratefulness.”

 

• If you uproot an idol in your life and fail to plant the love of Christ in its place, the idol will grow back. Tim Keller
• When we could not take care of ourselves, God took care of us. That’s the message of grace. Bryan Chapell
• Ordinary does not mean mediocre. Michael Horton
• Totally refuse to give into a spirit of self-pity, entitlement, victimization, self-contempt, shame, cynicism, resentment, or fear. Scotty Smith
• The worship of a holy God is made possible by his coming down, not by our climbing up. Kevin DeYoung
• There is only one reason to be a Christian: Because it’s true. Francis Schaeffer
• You may not always get what you ask, but you shall always have your real needs supplied. Charles Spurgeon
• The kindness of God leads to repentance. A Christianity that reverses the order of these statements is not Christianity. Scott Sauls
• Contentment is deeply God-like; grumbling deeply devilish. Michael Reeves