I was at a confirmation service for my eldest son on Sunday night. A poignant moment in any parent's life. It's great to see your child committing themselves to the Lord in such a public way.
As all the candidates renewed their baptismal vows and confirmed what they believe in, it struck me that we all need to revisit those beliefs from time to time and just ground ourselves in the gospel truths we live by.
Rock Solid, is a book that helps us do just that. It explains and clarifies these important and powerful doctrines, or ‘themes’, of the Bible so that we might have the comfort and assurance that comes from them, and so that we can make our life decisions by them.
Read more HERE and get the ebook for just £2.49 using code rse0614 at the checkout.
Living the good life of the gospel is always a challenge when we live in a wider culture that defines the good life in other ways. It is particularly hard in a culture where newspapers cannot be trusted and politicians are corrupt; a harsh, selfish, racist culture in which there is a fear of crime; a culture where people are reluctant to do manual work, which is therefore left to migrant workers; a culture in which people routinely overeat.
And that was the culture of first-century Crete, where Titus led the church and to whom Paul wrote: “One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons,’” (Titus 1:12). The quote is from a Cretan philosopher, Epimenides. Epimenides was held in high honour by Cretans—so they could not readily ignore or deny his verdict. And yet, of course, this description of first-century Crete could just as easily be a description of twenty-first century western culture. How do we live as Christians in a dishonest, harsh, selfish culture? How can we survive without adopting those attitudes? How can we live the good life in this situation? These are the questions the letter of Titus addresses, and these are the questions we need help with each day as we seek to live a gospel-changed life in a society that seeks change and finds truth in many places, but so rarely in the gospel.... continue reading
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
Philippians 3:7-10
Rachel Jones, The Good Book Company's editorial intern, is about to take 3 months off. We thought you might like to know a little of what she's getting up to ...
What are you going to do?
I’m spending 2 months in a South Asian country with the organisation Serving In Mission. I’m hoping to learn what it’s like to be a cross-cultural Christian worker—so I’ll be getting up to a variety of things, from running activities at a playgroup at a development project, to trying my hand at learning the local language. The writing and editing training I’ve received from the great creative minds of The Good Book Company may well come into use too…
Why do you want to serve God in this way short term?
Like many Christians, I’m compelled by Jesus’ command to makes disciples of all nations, and so I hope to be able to contribute something towards that great commission. Secondly, It’s often said that in our churches, some are called to serve God overseas long-term, while others are to “send” them, by providing financial and prayer support. Which is my role? This trip, although short, will better equip me for either.
How can we pray for you as you serve?
As I’ve been doing some background reading, I’ve been really challenged by the vision of what Jesus gave up to rescue us—giving up all the glories of heaven to become fully human, and ultimately dying on the cross. So cross-cultural workers, in a (lesser) sense of the word, aim to become fully “incarnate” in the host culture. That means living as much like the people they’re trying to reach as possible, and trying to fit into the culture, however uncomfortable that may feel. So please pray that instead of worrying about physical discomfort and distance from loved ones, I would keep what Jesus has done for me at the forefront of my mind, and be as ready as he was to listen to, understand, love and serve others.
But much more, please join me in praying that God would grow the church in South Asia, so that on the last day, there would be many from that culture among the scene described by John in Revelation 7:9-10:
“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
‘Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.’”
Two takes on Acts 2:42-47:
I devoted myself to personal Bible reading and study, to church attendance and private prayer. I was really impressed when I saw the obvious signs of God's work in other people when my home group leader invited people to speak. I gave what was convenient whenever the pastor asked for cash. I sometimes gave to other people if there was a whip-round after the service. I turned up to most meetings and took communion regularly. I had pleasant meals with fellow Christians fairly often, talking about all kinds of safe, interesting topics. I quite liked seeing new people thinking about Christianity every now and then.
Or... continue reading
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Disclaimer: The Good Book Company is not responsible for the content of external sites and does not necessarily agree with the content of articles listed.
So, how can those of us who tend towards independence change to the healthily inter-dependent people that God is calling us to be?
Remember - God is generous. He has lavished us with all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). So, in calling us to community, he is not asking us to do anything that we aren't equipped to do. It may be scary - especially if we have been hurt in the past - but it is possible. This is part of his good will, he does not make mistakes and he is calling you to a more faithful life not asking you to endure pointless pain. Becoming someone who ever more shares their life with others is something that will make us all more like Jesus.... continue reading
The Trojan Horse 'Islamic radicalisation plot', in which several schools in Birmingham stand accused of enabling (or not preventing) the potential radicalisation of their overwhelmingly Muslim pupil bodies, has revealed what a threat to Christianity the faith is.
By faith, I don't mean Islam. I mean secular 'tolerance'.
Of course, it's serious if state-funded schools are having speakers in assemblies who promote extremist viewpoints; if pupils are not taught properly about faiths other than Islam; if girls are not given the same opportunities as boys.*
But what's most serious is lines like this, which came from MP Chris Bryant on the BBC's Question Time the other day:
“Of course it’s not wrong to be devout and conservative and to have conservative views, but it is wrong to separate girls and boys or to treat girls differently.”
Why should that worry you? Because Chris Bryant has done the classic mid-sentence switch that tolerant relativists all end up doing.
The Intolerantist faith
Notice the first part of his sentence is classic tolerance. It’s fine for you to believe whatever you believe. Who is anyone to tell you what to think, or to tell you that what you think is wrong? This is a tolerant country, where we welcome people of all faiths.
But the second part of his sentence completely undermines the first part. Because if your religious conservatism means you think your sons and daughters should sit separately in class (or that, if you’re a teenager, you should sit apart from the opposite gender in class), well that’s not fine anymore. That’s wrong. And you’re wrong.
In other words, you can be a religious conservative as long as your religious conservatism doesn’t lead you to do things that I don’t think are right.
That’s intolerant. It’s the intolerance of a ‘tolerant society’, which decides the boundaries of acceptability, and then polices them fiercely. It’s the intolerance of tolerance—we might call its advocates devout (in)tolerantists.
And it’s an issue for Christians. Because despite all the jumping up and down, Muslims form a very small proportion of the UK population. Radical Muslims are not going to be in charge of our laws and courts anytime in our lifetimes.
But radical (in)tolerantists already are. And how long is it before there’s a news item about a school, or group of schools, where some of the governors stand accused of:
How long before someone sits on the Question Time panel and says: “Of course it’s not wrong for evangelical Christians to be devout and conservative and to have conservative views, but it is wrong to think what you do about sexuality, act like you do in evangelism, promote what you do as a school governor.”
If you’re an evangelical, your beliefs sound just as radical, extreme and unpalatable to a secular (in)tolerantist as a conservative Muslim’s do. Don’t be fooled by the first half of the sentence: it’s the second that shows the danger.
*Although let's make two qualifications; it's serious if non-state-funded schools do these things too—would you be fussed about the educational background of a radicalised terrorist? And second, it's amazing how segregation of girls and boys seems anathema, when I attended a very 'English' and wholly segregated school. It was a boys' grammar school.
It's an exciting yet, at times, uncomfortable truth: God didn't save us to be a bunch of individuals each following him in the way that seems best to us, he called us to be a community, passionate about sharing our lives with one another.
We are called to:
And we can't do any of those things alone ... We need to know people deeply and love them sincerely by spending quality time with them regularly if these things are to be possible. There's no getting away from it, when we are truly authentic in our walk with the Lord, our lives are healthily enmeshed with our brothers and sisters in Christ.... continue reading
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2. Good: The Joy of Christian Manhood and Womanhood (New eBook)
A free e-book about God’s design for men and women.
3. St. Helen’s Training: The Word of God Part 2 of 6
A new video from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.
4. Taking God At His Word Audio & Video
Audio and video resources from the launch of Kevin DeYoung’s new book.
5. Look at the Book
A new initiative from John Piper and Desiring God.
6. And finally...
Our video of the week, ‘Is forgiveness really free?’ trailer:
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