Passion Points

On April 4, 2020April 4, 2020 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some helpful posts for your weekend reading:

We May Be Confused, but God Isn’t – Paul David Tripp (Crossway)
Today you’ll encounter things that will confuse you, but rest assured the One who rules all those things is not confused.

Locked Down Alone – Tim Challies
But what about those living alone? They are dealing with the lack of physical touch for weeks on end and have no one to keep them company in-person. If you or someone you know is living alone and is about to go into lockdown, you’ll benefit from hearing wise words from those who have been living alone in lockdown for 10 days or more.

Leverage Your Loneliness – Rusty McKie (TGC)
Our first hurdle in the days to come is to choose not to make our lonely places loud places. This moment in history is spoonfeeding us the opportunity to get still and silent with our God. Hidden in this pandemic is an invitation from him to draw near, to be still, and to know that he is God—even though it may feel the whole earth is crashing down around us (Ps. 46).

7 Suggestions for Finding Joy in Isolation – Kimberly Wagner
Breath some fresh air. It’s dangerous to stay cooped up with the Pandemic for too long—I’m not suggesting getting in crowds, but find spaces to safely move outdoors and enjoy the sunshine or rain shower. Listen to the birds, feel a breeze, and take time to thank the Creator for the changing of seasons and spring’s reminder that He makes all things new.

Trusting God In Suffering, Sacrifice, Disease and Death: A Lost Art? – Peter Adam (TGC)
What amazes me most when I read of the lives of Christians who lived before the 1950’s is their positive attitude to suffering, disease, and death. They expected to suffer, they were willing to suffer, and welcomed it as God’s gift. They expected to have diseases, and could welcome them as God’s gifts. And they could welcome death, knowing that ‘to die is gain’ (Philippians 1:22), and looking forward to the joys of eternal life with Christ.

6 Things to Do with Your Anxiety – Justin Taylor
Your mind loses its grip. Fear and anxiety have taken over. Nothing’s safe or certain. Anxiety is a universal human experience, and you need to approach it with a plan.

Why Being Discouraged About Not Gathering as the Church is A Good Sign – Joey Tomlinson So we are discouraged. We may even be depressed. But here is the good news- your emotions may be telling you, ‘this isn’t how things are meant to be’. So the moment the elders of your church prayerfully decide to open the doors, come. Come and be refreshed by those means the Lord has given us to worship Him and be spiritually built up in Christ. Come with a fresh, biblical perspective on the importance of Lord’s Day corporate worship.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!

Passion Points

On March 14, 2020March 14, 2020 By BrianIn PASSION Points1 Comment

Everyone is thinking about the coronavirus, and it is important for us to think about it as Christians. So here are some good posts toward that end:

The FAQs: Coronavirus Explained by an Infectious Disease Expert and Pastor – Miguel Nunez (TGC)
This is a good time for Christians to demonstrate sanity, peace, and hope, recognizing that our lives do not depend on the entry of a micro-organism into our bodies. Instead, it depends on the God who determines the beginning and the end of our history on earth.

Should Christians Be Anxious About the Coronavirus? – Todd Wagner (TGC)
Prayer-infused confidence, compassion, and selflessness should mark how we talk about the coronavirus. Why? Because our Savior put on flesh (John 1:14) and stepped into our sickness, sin, and death. He healed the sick and cared for the hurting. We must do likewise.

Anxiety, Waiting and the Coronavirus – Alasdair Groves (CCEF)
A virus is seeping across the world and has reached our shores, and we don’t know how treacherous it’s going to be. God is calling us to continue forward in love of neighbor and service to his kingdom, but all we can see are public surfaces potentially covered in germs and neighbors who may be walking vectors of disease.

Neighbor Love in the Era of COVID-19 – Kathryn Butler (TGC)
The question we should be asking ourselves, isn’t which supplies to stockpile in preparation for an apocalypse, but rather how to support those at real risk for losing their lives to this swiftly moving disease.

Dear Christian, When The Pandemic Hits, This Is Our Time – Akos Balogh (TGC)
But whatever happens, dear Christian, know this: this is our time. God has raised us up for such a time as this. It’s no accident you’re here. This is our time to think not about ourselves, but about our neighbours. Many of whom are scared, and will only grow more so as the virus spreads. This is our time to hold out the Word of Life to those around us—and give hope to those who are afraid, and are wondering what’s going to happen. This is our time to trust our God no matter what the future brings. For, unlike our secular neighbours, we know where our hope lies. We know where our security lies. We know where our future lies.

The Best Laid Plans – Matthew Hosier
The world we have created tends to make us very arrogant. We feel we are in control because of the general predictability of our systems and services. But really we are not. CV19 is humbling us.

Ten Things I’ve Loved about the Coronavirus Lockdown – Jonathan Whitman Coronavirus is scary. Certainly a few important questions come to mind: When will it end? Will we survive? How will we pay the bills? How will I survive the boredom of being stuck inside with nothing to do? The good news is that God ordered Israel to stop often…not just once a week. There were good reasons for that. Here are a few tips I have come up with from my first week of lockdown.

You’re Not a Bad Pastor If You Cancel Services Over COVID-19 – Ronnie Martin (FTC)
In the end, you’re not a bad pastor if you cancel services over COVID-19. In this unique season, God will provide you with wisdom and faithfulness as you seek His face. Allow the assurance of Christ and the riches of his gospel to be the death of any guilt, anxiety, or fear that threatens to condemn you. Be reassured by His faithfulness, and rest well.

Love in the Time of Coronavirus: A Guide for Christian Leaders – Andy Crouch (Praxis)
The reason to alter our practices, especially the way we gather (see below), is not self-protection. For one thing, in the case of this particular virus, if individuals are young and healthy, infection may pose not much more threat than the ordinary seasonal flu. The change is needed because our vulnerable neighbors — those of any age with compromised immune systems, and those over 70 years old — are at grave risk. One of the basic axioms of the Christian life is that the “strong” must consider the “weak” (see Rom. 15). We are making these choices not to minimize our own risk, but to protect others from risk.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating our hope in the Lord!

Passion Points

On May 12, 2012December 6, 2014 By BrianIn PASSION Points1 Comment

Here are some good posts for your weekend:

Don’t worry…
Eight Reasons Why My Anxiety is Pointless and Foolish – Justin Taylor
Exactly what the title says!

…be happy
The Road to Happiness Part One and Part Two – Paul Tautges
Jesus defines the path to happiness very differently than the world does.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day rejoicing in the Lord with his people!

Anxious Idolatry

On October 26, 2011 By BrianIn Idolatry

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat
or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
– Matthew 6:24-25

In answer to Jesus’ question: Of course life is more than food and clothing. But if you make your life about food or clothing or money or any number of other things, you have made that thing into an idol. It has become your god. It has become your master whom you serve. And your idol will make you anxious. Why? Because your idol can be threatened. If you treasure anything on this earth, it can be lost (see v19). And when your idol (what is central to you) is threatened or lost, you will become anxious. You will worry.

How different if we make our life all about God. He cannot be threatened or lost. If our lives are about him, we need not worry.

Next time you catch yourself worrying, ask yourself: what idol in my life is being threatened? Then repent of your anxious idolatry and turn back to the one true God.

Idolatry and Anxiety

On October 20, 2011March 21, 2015 By BrianIn Idolatry Quotes

When we find ourselves feeling anxious, that feeling tells us that something we treasure is being threatened…. [It is] a signpost telling us that something is amiss with our hearts. We are not loving the Lord as we should – which is to say, we have lost sight of his supreme loveliness and forgotten that in his presence only is fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11). We have other gods…. Our Savior, the one who loves and welcomes us, tells us where our treasure should be: with his kingdom and his righteousness (Matt. 6:33). If our treasure is in living our lives for him and in leaving our success and security to his providential care, and if our treasure is his righteousness, not ours, then we will be able to appreciate all the good things he bestows without succumbing to worry. On the other hand, when we find ourselves plagued by anxieties, we have to conclude that his kingdom and his righteousness are not the chief delight of our heart.