By Speaker & Author Tim Challies

Marriage is under attack. Marriage has always been under attack. The world, the flesh and the devil are all adamantly opposed to marriage, and especially to marriages that are distinctly Christian. Marriage, after all, is given by God to strengthen his people and to glorify himself; little wonder, then, that it is constantly a great battleground.  If Satan cannot destroy a marriage, he will at least determine to weaken it. To neglect any of these 6 things is to invite his presence and to welcome his influence.

I have been thinking recently about some of the foremost foes of Christian marriage and, really, the foremost foes I see creeping up to assault my own marriage. Here are 6 deadly enemies of marriage, and Christian marriage in particular:-

Neglect of Foundation:

The enemy of marriage that deserves to be at the very top of the list is this one: neglecting the foundation—neglecting the biblical foundation. The Bible makes it clear that marriage is an institution decreed by God and an institution meant to glorify God by displaying something about him. The great mystery of marriage is that the covenantal relationship of husband and wife is a portrait of the covenantal relationship of Christ and his church. Marriage is from God, about God, to God, and for God, so we neglect God at our peril. It is only when the biblical foundation is in place that we are able to rightly understand how a husband and wife are to relate, how they are to take up their separate roles, and how they are to seek to bring glory to God both individually and as a couple. To build marriage on any other foundation is to neglect the rock in favor of building upon the sand.  Read More…

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By Kevin de Young – Kevin is the senior pastor of University Reformed Church (PCA) in East Lansing, Michigan, near Michigan State University. He writes as part of the Gospel Coalition.  Kevin has written 6 books, all of which CBD stock

The word doesn’t have to be annoying, but it usually is.

I opened up my big, red Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary (yes, I still have one of these dinosaurs on my desk) and found five definitions for the word “authentic.” It used to mean (1) authoritative, but now means (2) something worthy of acceptance or belief or reproduced in accordance with the originals. Authentic can also mean (3) real or actual, or (4) refer to a musical chord progression. It’s the fifth definition, however, that has become standard: “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.”

In a day where people disdain hypocrisy more than any other vice and prize transparency more than any other virtue, you can be as obnoxious as you want to be, fail spectacularly, and sin repeatedly, as long as you never pretend to be any better than you really are. It makes no difference what errors you say, think, or do, if only you are true to yourself. This is life in the Age of Authenticity.

Which is not all bad. Jesus spared no verbal expense in rebuking the hypocrites of his day (rule, to learn to be comfortable in your own skin, to refrain from trying to be someone or something you’re not. Authenticity appeals to so many of us because it seems a welcome antidote to calculating, self-righteous priggishness.

But living in the Age of Authenticity comes with many dangers–common vices made more deadly because they are willfully mistaken for virtues. Read more…

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By blogger, Author & Book Reviewer Tim Challies

We all have some familiarity with that deep, gnawing, pit-of-the-stomach anxiety, that stubborn worry that refuses to abate. The cause and effect may be a little different for each one of us, but we all have a time and a place and set of circumstances that causes us to be anxious.

In his book Running Scared, Ed Welch makes 4 fascinating observations about worriers and their brand of vision-casting.

Worriers Live in the Future

Worriers live in the future. We are all people of the past, present and future, and worry has a way of spanning all three time zones. Fear is often triggered by past events, then reacts to crises in the present, and anticipates their consequences in the future. Fear’s preference, though, is to point you to the future, and to do this it relies upon the power of imagination.

We tend to think that imagination is the realm of the child, but it is equally the realm of the worrier. We have imaginations so we can consider things that do not yet exist. We admire people with expansive imaginations as visionaries, people who are able to look ahead and anticipate the trajectory of the nation, of the church, of the business, or of the individual. The worrier is a visionary too, in that he sees, or thinks he sees, the future, and what it will bring. He lives in the future. He creates a vision of the future, he transplants himself there in his mind, and he feels all the traumatic emotions associated with it.  Read More…

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Frank Retief was pastor at St James Church Cape Town for 31 years, having planted the church in 1968 with his wife Beulah.  He became the Presiding Bishop of the Church of England in South Africa until he retired in 2010.  Frank remains active in ministry through preaching, teaching, pastoral work & writing, and has authored a number of books.

You are the Christ

Mark 8:29 “But what about you” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”  Peter answered: “You are the Christ”

This is an amazing moment in the Gospel narrative. Matthew records it in more detail in Matthew 16:13-20. He goes on to say that Jesus replied: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven.”

Have you ever wondered why it is that which is so clear to you about Jesus and the Gospel message, seems so difficult and obscure to others?  Or why when in a Church service you can be so moved yet others next to you on the same pew seem utterly untouched by the message?

Here is a strange and profound truth. Just as Simon could not have recognised Jesus as the Messiah in and of his own understanding, neither can we comprehend the truth about Jesus unless it is given to us to understand. God in His great Grace opens our eyes and suddenly we can see what was formerly hidden from us.

This should be a cause of wonder and praise that, in His great mercy, He should have opened our eyes to the truth. All the healings of blind beggars or people in the Gospel foreshadowed this great event – the Holy Spirit opening our understanding so that we may believe in Christ and be saved.

As a result we should walk very humbly before God in full awareness that we are what we are by His mercy and grace alone. Consequently when we encounter those who do not understand, comprehend or believe the Gospel we should deal with them in great humility and with compassion – not argumentatively or arrogantly. For once we too were blind and could not see. We should pray that God would be gracious and open their understanding so that they may see and believe with their hearts.

This should also be a reminder to us that we cannot simply argue or persuade people to believe. That must also be the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts and minds. This should lead us to pray much for our loved ones and friends so that as we have opportunity to speak, our words will be accompanied by the life-giving power of the Spirit. And may we than have the joy of seeing many come to faith as a result of God’s gracious revelation to their hearts.

Prayer:  “Dear Lord of all Glory.  Help me to remember that once I was blind but now I can see, only by your grace. Give me love, patience, humility and compassion for others. Use me as an agent to bring the words of life to them. Open their eyes, their hearts, their understanding so that they too may believe and be saved. Amen”

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By Author and Speaker Tim Challies

A reader of my blog site recently asked me this question: Is all sin equal in God’s eyes? It is a common question and the answer is of the variety that is always a little bit unsatisfying: It is one of those “yes and no” answers.

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Devotion by Blogger & Author Tim Challies

Life is full of difficult circumstances. Life inevitably involves circumstances that we would never have chosen on our own. Yet, the Bible assures, God does not work his grace in his people despite circumstances, but right through the middle of them.

As we look at life’s difficult circumstances, we can sometimes be confused about what this thing is and what it is meant to accomplish. The Bible tells us that there are at least two categories of difficult circumstances: there are tests and there are temptations (see James 1). Both of these exist, but they have very different sources and very different purposes. Every test is an invitation to grow in your faith and draw closer to God; every temptation is an invitation to weaken your faith and push God away. You face that battle every day.

The tricky thing is that the very same circumstances that bring us great blessing also tend to bring us sore temptation. Is this a test or a temptation? It may be both.

Read More…

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Frank Retief was pastor at St James Church Cape Town for 31 years, having planted the church in 1968 with his wife Beulah.  He became the Presiding Bishop of the Church of England in South Africa until he retired in 2010.  Frank remains active in ministry through preaching, teaching, pastoral work & writing, and has authored a number of books.

Insignificant things

Matthew 10:42 “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple. I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward”.

When the 2012 Paralympic Games came to a close in London, many thought that the event had done more to change attitudes towards disability than any educational programme or equal rights campaigns. One writer wrote: “No longer were these unusual athletes defined by their disability but by their extraordinary ability”.

Do you know who started the Paralympic Games? His name was Ludwig Guttman, a Jewish doctor who fled to Britain from Nazi Germany in 1939.  He later became director of the first specialist spinal injury unit in Britain. Little known today, the last Paralympics were nevertheless a tribute to an unsung hero.

Jesus tells us it will be like that with us too. Sometimes we feel we can do very little as a Christian to help others because of our personal or physical circumstances. Indeed sometimes we feel we can do nothing. But Jesus tells us that even something as simple as a cup of cold water to another believer to encourage them and help them on their way will not go unnoticed or unrewarded. Nobody remembers Ludwig Guttman today as the athletes are cheered from the stands. So it is from your point of view; there is nobody cheering you because you are able to do so little.

Just wait till Heaven. There you will be amazed at the numbers who will point to you as their encourager for the small and seemingly insignificant things you did or said to them to cheer them on. Never despise the cup of cold water when you have nothing else to offer.

Remember the occasion in Mark 12:41-44 when Jesus watched people putting money into the temple treasury?  A poor woman came by and “put in two very small copper coins worth only a fraction of a cent”. Jesus called his disciples and said: “I tell you the truth, that poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth, but she out of her poverty put in everything – all she had to live on.”

The smallest deed done for Him will be noted.

Prayer:  “O Lord, Sometimes I feel so useless and unable to do anything worthwhile for you. Thank you for reminding me of the cup of cold water. Help me to do what I can for you today and trust you to use it for your glory.  Amen”

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 By Trevor Bradley

Hebrews 4 vs 15 “For we do not have a high priest( the one who stands before the Father on our behalf) who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in ALL THINGS as we are, yet without sin”..

That’s a huge verse…  For whatever you and I have gone through..what we are going through…what we will go through…HE KNOWS HOW WE FEEL..

Deserted by friends… been there
Knew what it was like to suffer hunger… been there
Felt the pain/sorrow of the untimely death of a friend… been there
Betrayal… been there
His life being threatened constantly… been there
Ridiculed, scoffed, laughed at… been there
Rejection by his family…called a madman… been there
Had his heart broken..he cried over Jerusalem… been there
Look at Jesus life and you will see that He could safely have the words spoken about Him, written here in Hebrews 4 vs 15.

But more than that, He also “sees you”…in fact His eye is constantly on you, never leaves you for a minute.
Hear Psalm 33 vs 18 “Behold the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him..on those who hope for His loving kindness”  How awesome, how comforting.  His name speaks of this – EL ROI, the GOD who sees me- Wow..every minute detail is before Him and He carefully watches over us as a loving Father.

May we realise that afresh this day, this week.  He knows how we feel and we are NEVER ALONE!!!  Psalm 33 vs 21 & 22 ” Our heart rejoices in HIM because we trust in HIS holy name…and our hope is in HIM”

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By Author & Blogger Tim Challies

The church has always had some of those people associated with it. There have always been people who maintain an offensive disposition when it comes to their faith. These are the people who seem to love nothing more than a good fight. They bait every conversation with a few key words, hoping that you will blunder into a discussion they know they can win. They play one Christian off another. They might elevate themselves into positions of Christian leadership for the purpose of enriching themselves at everyone else’s expense.

Even back in the days when the Apostle Paul was traveling from city to city to preach the gospel and plant churches—even then there were people who had an unhealthy craving for controversy (see 1 Timothy 6). At one point he wrote Timothy to warn specifically about these people. He identified them as professed Christians who especially love to quarrel about theological nuances and who have a knack for causing fights between others. It’s a too-common “gift” this gift of spiritual discouragement.

But as I read 1 Timothy and hear Paul warn about these controversialists, I hear him sound a second warning as well. This is a warning about a second kind of person who sins very differently but no less seriously. If we have controversy on the one side of the equation, we have complacency on the other. This, too, is a sin and it, too, is very dangerous. Read More…

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By Author & Blogger David Murray

I couldn’t help thinking of all that power and wealth when I was preparing a sermon on 1 Timothy 6 late last week. There, in verse 7, we come across a label that God puts on every car, every house, every office, every dollar, ever title, every position, everything: “We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”

Nothing in, Nothing out: This is a label for all things, for all people, and for all times of life.

When you are having a baby: What does that baby come in with? Nothing. What shall it leave with? Nothing. As Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there” (Job 1:21). We all enter and exit the same way. Nothing in, nothing out.

When you are deciding on a career: Don’t make money, salary, and benefits the only consideration. Put this label at the top of every job offer.

When you want something too much: When covetousness and greed get a grip of your heart, loosen its deadly hands by putting this label on the object of your desire. “Nothing in, Nothing out.”

When you get something you’ve always wanted: Don’t make an idol of it. Don’t get too attached to it. It is certain we shall carry nothing out.

When you lose something valuable: It may be a well-paying job, an inheritance, a house, or many of your possessions are destroyed in a fire or taken in a robbery. It just got taken from us a few years earlier than expected. Nothing in, nothing out.

When you are tempted to do wrong to get more money:  Is it worth it? For something you are going to have to leave in a few short years anyway?

When you are deciding what to give to the Lord’s cause: Why not give more of it to the Lord before it’s taken by the Lord?

When you are complaining about how little you have: We all leave with the same amount. Nothing.

When you are planning your latter years: When thinking about retirement, pensions, trust funds, inheritances, etc. think on this verse. Yes, it’s appropriate to plan, but if you stick “Nothing in, nothing out” on everything, it will make your decisions much easier and much better.

When you are thinking of the judgment:  We check everything at the grave. When the multi-billionaire John D. Rockefeller died, his assistant was asked, “How much did he leave?” “Everything,” he replied.

Why not print this verse and stick it on everything you have or want: “We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”

And while you’re at it, maybe put another label beside it: “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

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By Tim Challies, author and blog writer.

The Christian religion is at once the broadest and the narrowest in the world. It is a faith that admits every possible kind of person. But it admits them in only one way.

There is one God. Only one: If there were two gods there might be two paths to salvation—you get saved by this god and I will get saved by that one. But there is only one God and, therefore, only one path to salvation.

There is one humanity. Only one: If there were two kinds of people there might be two paths to salvation—you are part of this group and I am part of that one. But there is only one humanity and, therefore, only one path to salvation.

There is one Mediator. Only one: If there were two mediators there might be two paths to salvation—you have this mediator represent you and I’ll go with that one. But there is only one mediator and, therefore, only one path to salvation.

There is one ransom. Only one: If there were two ransoms there might be two paths to salvation—you have your debt paid by that savior and I’ll have my debt paid by the other one. But there is only one ransom and, therefore, only one path to salvation.

One God created one humanity represented by one Mediator who paid one ransom. So there is only one way. The way to salvation is so broad that it can admit every person who seeks for God, yet so narrow that they can enter only through Jesus Christ. (See 1 Timothy 2:1-7.)

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By Tim Challies

We have come to a singularly important moment in the battle against abortion (which is to say, the battle for life). The stunning undercover videos by the Center for Medical Progress have taken us right to the heart of the abortion industry. They have shown that Planned Parenthood is enriching themselves with the bodies of murdered babies. Not only that, but Planned Parenthood is willingly increasing the risk to the women they serve in order to enrich themselves—altering the abortion procedures to deliver intact bodies. Planned Parenthood is a business, a government-supported business, that buys and sells death.

Yesterday’s video, the fifth, is the most horrendous yet. It shows a Planned Parenthood representative discussing babies as line items, considering how she can maximize profit as she sells “the products of conception.” It continues to the lab where we see people picking through the slaughtered remains of a child, lifting up pieces, separating an arm and a leg, lifting up the intestines and lungs, considering the monetary value of each one. It is absolutely sickening, absolutely shocking, absolutely unflinching, absolutely real. It exposes the industry, shining a billion-watt light into its darkest recesses. What was meant to remain hidden has now been made plain.

This is an important moment.

In the face of such overwhelming evil, it can be difficult to know what we, as individuals, can actually do. Few of us have any significant power or ability. We do not have access to the ear of the President or the front page of the Times. But we can still act.  Read more…

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