D. A. Carson on the Gospel and Personal Devotions

This is the most important way to consider all aspects of Christian discipleship:

D. A. Carson applies the Gospel and the Glory of the transcendent Christ to the Christian life to promote change.

Filed under: Biblical Counseling, Biblical disciplines, Christ our treasure, Christ-centred, DA Carson, Discipleship, Doctrine, Jesus Christ, Sanctification, The glory of Christ

How Do You Break Free from an Addiction to Entertainment?

John Piper answers this question, writing that “Recognizing [the problem] is a huge step in the right direction” and that ” ultimately it’s a gift of grace to feel the glory of God.” Here are some suggestions of what you should do:

1. Seek the Lord earnestly about it. Pray like crazy that God would open your eyes to see wondrous things out of his law.

2. Immerse yourself in the Bible, even when you don’t feel like it, pleading with God to open your eyes to see what’s really there.

3. Get in a group where you talk about serious things.

4. Begin to share your faith. One of the reasons we are not as moved by our own faith as we are is because we almost never talk about it to any unbeliever. It starts to feel like a kind of hothouse thing, and then it starts to have a feeling of unreality about it. And then the powers of entertainment have more sway in our life.

5. . . . [T]hink about your death. Think about your death a lot. Ask what you’d like to be doing in the season of life, or hours or days, leading up to meeting Christ. I do that a lot these days. I think about the impact of death, and what I would like to be found doing, and how I would prepare to meet him and give an account to him.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

Filed under: Biblical disciplines, Death, Discernment, Discipleship, Evangelical, God centredness, Jesus Christ, John Piper, The Bible, The Gospel

Disciplined Duty vs. the Lie of Legalism

John Piper:

But the hard truth is that most Christians don’t pray very much. They pray at meals—unless they’re still stuck in the adolescent stage of calling good habits legalism. They whisper prayers before tough meetings. They say something brief as they crawl into bed. But very few set aside set times to pray alone—and fewer still think it is worth it to meet with others to pray. And we wonder why our faith is weak. And our hope is feeble. And our passion for Christ is small.And meanwhile the devil is whispering all over this room: “The pastor is getting legalistic now. He’s starting to use guilt now. He’s getting out the law now.” To which I say, “To hell with the devil and all of his destructive lies. Be free!” Is it true that intentional, regular, disciplined, earnest, Christ-dependent, God-glorifying, joyful prayer is a duty? . . . Is it a discipline?

You can call it that.

• It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater.
• It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers.
• It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns.
• It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food.
• It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water.
• It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid.
• It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin.
• It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey.
• It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.

I hate the devil, and the way he is killing some of you by persuading you it is legalistic to be as regular in your prayers as you are in your eating and sleeping and Internet use. Do you not see what a sucker he his making out of you? He is laughing up his sleeve at how easy it is to deceive Christians about the importance of prayer.

God has given us means of grace. If we do not use them to their fullest advantage, our complaints against him will not stick. If we don’t eat, we starve. If we don’t drink, we get dehydrated. If we don’t exercise a muscle, it atrophies. If we don’t breathe, we suffocate. And just as there are physical means of life, there spiritual are means of grace. Resist the lies of the devil in 2009, and get a bigger breakthrough in prayer than you’ve ever had.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

Filed under: Biblical disciplines, Discipleship, Doctrine, Evangelical, Holiness, Jesus Christ, John Piper, Legalism, Love for God, Prayer, Spiritual Disciplines, The Christian Life, The word of God

Don’t trust your resolutions!

From David Mathis:

Reading Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ classic Spiritual Depression would be a strong way to start the new year.

The title can be a tad deceiving. It’s not merely a book for those with a pronounced sense of spiritual depression. It’s a book for all Christians—for the daily spiritual depressions we all face this side of heaven.

Lloyd-Jones ends his second chapter with these challenging and refreshing words:

Would you like to be rid of this spiritual depression? The first thing you have to do is to say farewell now once and forever to your past. Realize that it has been covered and blotted out in Christ. Never look back at your sins again. Say: ‘It is finished, it is covered by the Blood of Christ’. That is your first step. Take that and finish with yourself and all this talk about goodness, and look to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only then that true happiness and joy are possible for you. What you need is not to make resolutions to live a better life, to start fasting and sweating and praying. No! You just begin to say:

I rest my faith on Him alone
Who died for my transgressions to atone. (35)

Filed under: Biblical disciplines, Christ our Mediator, Christ our righteousness, Discipleship, Evangelical, God's grace, Jesus Christ, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Sanctification, Substitutionary Atonement, The Christian Life

Lewis Hamilton – World Champion!

How’s your focus, discipline, determination, perseverance, and motivation today?

1Cor. 9:24  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

1Cor. 9:25  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

Filed under: Biblical disciplines, Communion with God, Discipleship, God centredness, God's worthiness, Love for God, The Christian Life, The word of God, Worship, Zeal