Let me ask you a strange but important question: Are you more hippo or frog?
I’m not talking about physical stature (you’ll be pleased to know), but about the way you respond to discovering there are idols in your heart. Are you more of a wallower or a jumper?
Hippos are wallowing creatures. If they see a patch of warm, muddy water deep enough to envelop their enormous bodies, they will head for it and sit in it for hours. They snort and they snuffle, they rub and they roll in the filth that surrounds them.
And some of us do that with our idols. We see the things we want more than God—maybe we see them clearly for the first time—and we get overwhelmed by the dirt and rebellion present in our lives. We get hit by a tidal-wave of realisation that we are not the beautiful people God calls us to be, not even the half-beautiful people we thought we were, and we become paralysed by the enormity of who we’ve become. We wallow. We sit, inert in our sin, shrouded in despair and unable to believe that change is an option.... continue reading
It was an unpleasantly hot autumn afternoon on the London underground. Having read all the adverts and glanced one too many times at my neighbour's newspaper, my eyes settled on the man opposite. His t-shirt was blue, slightly grubby and bore these words: "You are what you watch"
I imagine it was a commentary on film or TV watching. If so, that would make me James Bond or a character from NCIS - for better or for worse. But the concept intrigued me - a deeper truth lurked in those crumpled words.
Where we put our eyes impacts our Christian walk:
I guess, in part, that's why the writer of Hebrews encourages us to live our Christian lives with our eyes very carefully positioned:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
It's an inescapable fact: you are what you watch.
It's a subject that's taboo. A reality that many find shocking. A fact that some would prefer to deny. But the truth is out there: women use porn too.
Accurate statistics are difficult to source but a quick trawl of the web seems to suggest that about a quarter of those who visit internet pornography sites are female. Some pages suggest that up to 60% of women have used porn at some point in their lives. And while we might prefer to think otherwise, it's fairly safe to assume that some of those surfing such sites will be Christians who are confused, ashamed, addicted or desperate. Indeed over the last decade I've had quite a few Christian sisters confide in me - each convinced that they are the only one. Far from being a solely male pastoral issue, porn is something that affects women too and those involved in women's ministry need to be addressing the subject proactively.... continue reading
1. Connected ebook just £4.99 till midday Monday
Get the ebook version of Connected by Sam Allberry for just £4.99!
2. 5 worst tips for freshers
A list of 5 don’t’s for those just starting university.
3. Daily Dose of Greek
A website from Rob Plummer where you can learn Greek from scratch or review the fundamentals.
4. Seven Dangers of Social Media
Richard Perkins shares seven dangers of social media.
5. Encourage One Another: Giving Grace with Your Words
A useful article about encouraging others from 9Marks.
6. Three Things to Remember When You Read the Bible
Three things to remember when reading the Bible, from Desiring God.
7. And finally...
Our video of the week, Dai Hankey introduces his new book, A man’s greatest challenge:
Found something that you think should make it on to the On to a Good Thing round-up? Send it to: ontoagoodthing@thegoodbook.co.uk
Last week was an exciting time of filming in the States. Here, cameraman Luke Stanley adjusts the microphone for Erik Raymond, pastor from Omaha and writer of the Ordinary Pastor blog. Watch this space for more news of the Gospel Shaped Church curriculum we're working on with The Gospel Coalition.
We have a strong city;
God makes salvation
its walls and ramparts.
Open the gates
that the righteous nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.
You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord for ever,
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
Isaiah 26:1-4
Plan to send 300,000 new Bibles into Iran
Religion can be 'dangerous and lethal', warns Bishop of London
Religious education 'too weak' in Anglican primary schools
Christianity will live on in Iraq
Christianity in Iraq is finished
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Are you looking forward to getting older?
Not the aches and the pains or the more serious bodily deterioration. Nor the reduction in energy. Those things are no fun at all. But the wonderful benefits of age - are you looking forward to them?
We live in a culture obsessed by youth - looking young, living young, feeling young - but the Bible has a different perspective.... continue reading
I’ve just come back to the office after having spent two months in South Asia with Serving in Mission. Here I tell the story of one of the believers I met there—I’ll call her T. As I sat in her living room eating the traditional sweet dessert she’d served me (like many things there, it was made from rice), I asked her how she had become a believer. This is what she said:
“It all started with my husband.”
As a young woman, T had an arranged marriage. This would have been very normal, except for the fact that—unlike herself, her family, and almost everyone else in the region—her new husband was not the Muslim T had assumed he would be. It was only after she married him that she discovered, to her alarm, that he was in fact a Christian.
Her family advised her to get divorced at once, but T knew she would have no hope of getting married again. In any case, her husband seemed like a good, caring man. “I was on this path”, she told me, “so I thought I might as well see where it led.”... continue reading
1. Doubt in Perspective ebook just £4.99 till midday Thursday
Get the ebook version of Doubt in Perspective for just £4.99!
2. Over 125 Free eBooks
A number of free ebooks made available by Monergism.
3. Four Benefits of Social Media
Richard Perkins at The Urban Pastor shares four benefits of social media.
4. The Magnificent Seven
A new video series from Mike Reeves at Union Theology.
5. And finally...
Our video of the week, Tim Keller introduces the book of Romans for our Explore daily Bible reading notes:
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