But all that hurry has gotten me no farther ahead. It’s actually set me back. It’s diminished me. My efforts to gain time have only lost it. Whole epochs of my existence have swept by me in a blur, with nary a cheap souvenir to remember them by. There are seasons and seasons of my life swallowed whole, buried in a black hole of forgetting…. Through all that haste, I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away.
– Mark Buchanan in The Rest of God
Sometimes we are awed into silence in the presence of the Eternal.– J. Oswald Sanders in Enjoying Intimacy with God
Here are some good posts for pastors:
Burnout Begins with Bad Theology – David Murray (DG)
Should a Pastor Take a Day Off Every Week? – Brian Croft (PS)
How To Control Your Calendar – Mark Dance (F&T)
Is Jesus Christ the dominant theme in your preaching? In the pulpit, do you magnify his sovereign lordship and saving work? In your ministry, do you continually point your listeners to him? Do you call people to commit their lives to Him?– Steven Lawson in The Kind of Preaching God Blesses
A Sabbath heart is restful even in the midst of unrest and upheaval. It is attentive to the presence of God and others even in the welter of much coming and going, rising and falling. It is still and knows God even when mountains fall into the sea.– Mark Buchanan in The Rest of God
Worship flows from love. Where love is meager, worship will be scant. Where love is deep, worship will overflow.– J. Oswald Sanders in Enjoying Intimacy with God
Here are some good posts to help parents think about their children and smartphones. You may not agree with everything, but these posts address some important issues and possible approaches.
Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? – Jean Twenge (Atlantic)
Should Teens Own Smartphones? – Tony Reinke (DG)
Twelve Tips for Parenting in the Digital Age – Tony Reinke (DG)
Simply put, all preachers are finite, and we must rely upon the infinite power of God in our pulpit ministries.– Steven Lawson in Expositor (Winter 2018)
Q/A#11
Q: Who are people?
A: People are God’s special creation, created either male or female, each with body and soul joined together.
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.
– Genesis 1:27 (ESV)
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. – Matthew 10:28 (ESV)
For Further Reflection
Psalm 139:13-18, Genesis 1-2
Our Response
Realize you are special!
Praise God!
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
J. I. Packer on the 6 Things You Should Tell Yourself Every Day – Justin Taylor (TGC)
Spiritual adoption is a big deal for the practical theology of J. I. Packer….
Always Count the Cost – Tim Challies
There are at least four costs to being a Christian—costs that we do not pay once, but over the whole course of our Christian lives….
Help! I Keep Losing My Temper – J. Alasdair Groves (Crossway)
Losing your temper is a lot like losing your car keys—you never choose to and it always seems to happen at the worst moments.
Specific Ways You Can Pray for Your Pastor – Geoffrey R. Kirkland
1. To have an insatiable hunger for God’s Word.
2. To feed regularly & be filled joyfully from communing with God in His Word….
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!
Brian J. Mikul 