CHRISTIAN LIVING….AND DYING: 

• The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About Cremation. Joe Carter writes “For the first time in American history, a majority of Americans (50.2 percent) have chosen cremation rather than burial (48.5 percent) after their death. The National Funeral Directors Association expects the trend shifting from burial toward cremationto continue over the next 20 years, with the projected rate of cremation reaching 78.8 percent of deaths by 2035.”
• Only Love Prevents Adultery. Jani Ortlund writes “Adultery often begins in your imagination.”
• No More Boredom. Randy Alcorn writes “If you think that life in God’s new universe will be boring, you’re just not getting it.”
• Godliness is Not Your Personality. David Murray writes “Why do we take our individual, personality, character, gifts, or calling and make that the sum total of godliness for everyone else?”
• Don’t Speak Up: On the Spiritual Discipline of Silence. Mark Dever writes “There is a time for Christians not to speak.”
• Ravi Zacharias Remembers His Young Protégé, Nabeel Qureshi. Ravi Zacharias writes “Qureshi was not just an evangelical; he was passionately evangelistic. He desired to cover the globe with the good news that God’s forgiveness was available to all. I have seldom seen a man with such deep conviction and proportionate passion and gifting. When he spoke, he held audiences spellbound.”

BIBLE STUDY AND GREAT RESOURCES:

• P.T.A.T. A Strategy for Daily Bible Reading. Watch this new six-minute video from John Piper in which he introduces a strategy for better Bible reading: 1. Admit you can do nothing without God. 2. Pray for help. 3. Trust a specific promise. 4. Act. 5. Thank God for His provision and goodness.
• Here We Stand. To mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Desiring God invites you on their 31-day journey of short biographies of the many heroes of the Reformation, just 5–7 minutes each day for the month of October.
• After Darkness, Light.  I continue to re-listen to the messages (some of them multiple times) from the 2017 Ligonier National Conference, which had a theme of “The Next 500 Years”. Here is the excellent conference opening message from Michael Reeves, who has written extensively on the Protestant Reformation.
• Gospel Coalition’s 2018 Women’s Conference. Registration is now open for the Gospel Coalition’s 2018 Women’s Conference to be held in Indianapolis, Indiana June 14-16. The theme will be “Listen and Live”. Speakers include Rosaria Butterfield, Jackie Hill Perry, Nancy Guthrie, Jen Wilkin, John Piper, D.A. Carson and many others.

TO MAKE YOU SMILE:

• Facebook Introduces New ‘Heresy!’ Reaction Button. The Babylon Bee reports “According to a press release by the company, while users still have at their disposal all the previous reactions—“Like,” “Love,” “Haha,” “Wow,” “Sad,” and “Angry”—they’ll now be able to react to any Facebook post with a “Heresy!” button, complete with aghast emoji man wearing a 16th-century-style scholar’s cap.”
• New Martin Luther-Shaped Amazon Echo Will Rudely Answer All Your Theology Questions. The Babylon Bee reports “Dubbed the “Amazon Luther,” the new device is programmed to answer all your theology questions in the Reformer’s trademark aggressive tone and style.”
• ESPN Launches Fantasy Preaching Software. The Babylon Bee reports “ESPN’s proprietary software will track stats like conversions, Greek words utilized per minute, arm movement, and Scripture references in real time. Participants will draft their dream team of fantasy preachers and decide which ones to place in their lineup’s various positions, like the all-important Head Pastor slot, several associate pastors, and even a closer for sealing the deal at altar calls.”

• What About Animals and Pets in Heaven?Randy Alcorn writes “One question I’m frequently asked related to my Heaven book is whether there will be animals on the New Earth, and specifically whether it’s possible that our pets might be there too.”
• Christianity Has Something to Say About Your Economic Situation. Tom Nelson writes “The rightful worship of God, the spiritual formation of God’s people, the plausibility and proclamation of the gospel, and the common good of our neighbors—both local and global—are crippled because we’ve long neglected to understand how the gospel speaks to every nook and cranny of life, including our work and economic systems. Pastors and Christian leaders in all vocations are called to care for the vulnerable and to seek the flourishing of every image bearer of God.”
• Does God Really Save Us by Faith Alone? John Piper writes “The five solas provide wonderful clarity about the crux of the Reformation and the heart of the gospel, ifthe clause that the five prepositional phrases modify is “Justification before God is. . .”
• Answering Frequently Asked Questions about The Nashville Statement. Denny Burk recently answered a number of questions about The Nashville Statement on the Apologetics Canada podcast.
• Jesus, the Son of Man. Watch this two-minute clip from Sinclair Ferguson’s teaching series Lessons from the Upper Room as he explains what Jesus meant when He referred to Himself as the “Son of Man.”
• Zurich Revolutionary: Ulrich Zwingli. Steven Lawson writes “Other than Martin Luther, Heinrich Bullinger, and John Calvin, the most important early Reformer was Ulrich Zwingli. A first-generation Reformer, he is regarded as the founder of Swiss Protestantism. Furthermore, history remembers him as the first Reformed theologian. Though Calvin would later surpass Zwingli as a theologian, he would stand squarely on Zwingli’s broad shoulders.”
• Prince of Translators: William Tyndale. Steven Lawson writes “William Tyndale (ca. 1494–1536) made an enormous contribution to the Reformation in England. Many would say that he made the contribution by translating the Bible into English and overseeing its publication.”
• God’s Sovereignty and Our Responsibility. Derek Thomas writes “God is sovereign in creation, providence, redemption, and judgment. That is a central assertion of Christian belief and especially in Reformed theology. God is King and Lord of all. To put this another way: nothing happens without God’s willing it to happen, willing it to happen before it happens, and willing it to happen in the way that it happens.”
• How Should We Then Worship?C. Sproul writes “The “what?” of worship, the “where?” of worship, the “when?” of worship, and especially the “how?” of worship must always be determined by the character of the One Who is the living God.”
• Visual Theology: The End of the World as We Know It. Tim Challies shares this visual presentation of the different views of the end times.

• You don’t know Jesus is all you need until He is all you have. Bob Smart
• The older I get the more evidence I have that there are many, many ways to lose your life, but only one way to save it. Andy Crouch
• Every hour we live, we are getting nearer Heaven, and sinners are getting nearer Hell. Charles Spurgeon
• Your only joy is to be found in obeying Him, your true fulfillment is to be found in worshiping Him. Sinclair Ferguson
• Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer. John Bunyan
• I left Islam because I studied Muhammad’s life. I accepted the Gospel because I studied Jesus’ life. Nabeel Qureshi
• One of the biggest struggles for Christians is lack of assurance and one of the biggest struggles for nominal Christians is false assurance. Burk Parsons
• The foolish account a matter to be indisputable for the sole reason that it has been espoused by the crowd. Martin Luther
• People typically know what they ought to do, the difficulty is finding strength to do it. The law guides; grace and character empower. Dan Doriani