Thought For the Week

Dear Friends,

Today you will read very few words from me! I will simply turn your attention to the selection for today, found below. It is a little longer than usual, and I know that in our “60 Second Culture” a mere glance at a longer post is enough reason to pass it by – even if it is really good! And this one is. It is by Jon Bloom, author and co-founder of Desiring God, a ministry most commonly associated with the more well-known author and pastor to John Piper. His post deals with what is going on in our country, and (in my humble opinion) is worth the read, long or not! Enjoy.
Groaning, Waiting, Hoping. How To Live In A Fallen Fragile World.

“A late verdant spring is at this moment giving way to a lush early summer in Minnesota, the state where I have sojourned these nearly 55 years. Walking outside on a fair morning, when the brilliant new variegated greens of the trees and grasses are bursting with life, when a gorgeous spectrum of colorful…

Dear Friends,

Today I thought I would give you a couple "thoughts" from virtually unknown authors. Sometimes we look to well-known or best-selling authors for inspiration and challenging thoughts. But popularity is not proof of virtue, and some false teachers have an immense number of followers. The first thought is a very helpful admonition regarding prayer, and the second a helpful way to respond to loss. I trust you will find helpful advice in both. (I have taken the liberty to update and clarify both.) Enjoy.

"Among arguments that encourage the necessity of daily prayer remains the fact that Christ enjoins us to petition for "daily" bread. New bread, as we know, is the best. And in a spiritual sense our bread every day given, as a new and hot blessing, is daily requested and bestowed by God. Manna was to be gathered daily, and not provisionally hoarded up. Their attempts to store it up so as to avoid the need to collect it daily, led to it turning r…

Dear Friends,

Today I send out a "thought" from one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century - J. I. Packer. He is one of my favorites. I have at least 15 of his books! These are simply some thoughts on knowing God and His guidance for our lives. I trust you might find them helpful. Enjoy.
"Every time we mention God we become theologians, and the only question is whether we are going to be good ones or bad ones. A little knowledge of God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about him... [In fact] What matters supremely, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it – the fact that he knows me... Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life’s problems fall into place of their own accord.
How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each truth that we learn abo…

Dear Friends,

Initially I thought this excerpt might not be for everyone. Yet, if we are ministry-minded there's a sense in which it IS -- since all of us surely know someone who struggles with loneliness. Shut-ins. People who live in nursing homes. People in hospitals. People who have lost a spouse or live alone and are now in isolation -- and there are many other scenarios. Therefore I would encourage you to read it, if not for yourself, then at least for the help it might give you in ministering to others who wrestle with feelings of loneliness. It is by J. Oswald Sanders and comes from his book, "Facing Loneliness." Enjoy.
"A nine-year study by researchers at the University of California shows that loneliness has a greater impact on the death rate than smoking, drinking, eating or exercise. The study found that people without spouses or friends had a death rate twice as high as those with social ties" (ABC News). Loneliness is usually considered a m…

Dear Friends,

Today I received a gift from a close friend. It was a devotional book entitled, "Daily Readings - The Early Church Fathers." It is edited by a church historian named Nick Needham. As one who loves history, and especially church history, I immediately turned to the readings for May and decided to pass a couple along to you today! It's a chance for you to "step back in time" and see how some of the earlier believers used the Bible, defended the faith, and sought to instruct people in the faith. Enjoy.
Both entries are by Basil of Caesarea (330-339 A.D.). In the first he responds to a pastor who apparently had people in his church who rejected the teaching that Jesus came in the flesh. In the second he encourages us to affirm the central Gospel truth of justification by grace through faith alone.
He Knits our Shattered Lives Together

"You speak of men in your midst trying to overthrow our Lord Jesus Christ's saving incarnation, castin…

Dear Friends,

Last week we did a Zoom prayer meeting at my church for the National Day of Prayer. During that meeting I spoke on I Thessalonians 5:16-18: "Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." After the meeting a couple people asked me about a quote I used in explaining how we can "pray continually." Not just often, but continually.
 In this regard Brother Lawrence's short and very practical book, "The Practice of the Presence of God" was extremely helpful. But I was also helped by the spiritual guidance offered in the three quotes I have chosen to share today. And the benefits are enormous. Praying continually adds stability to our spiritual lives and helps keep us get off the spiritual roller coaster ride that can occur when we pray sporadically. And it helps us to "bring every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ" as Paul admonishes us …