False Christian teachings, trends….
The 5 minute J R Miller devotional in this post is about how thoughts and thought patterns reveal themselves on one’s face; he talks about what Jesus’ face must have been like; but his words suggest that we might learn to think thoughts of peace, love, kindness [fruit of the Spirit] that could make our faces more lovely despite the cuts we have from aging
Since I read the following words from Jonathan Edwards diary, I’ve taken great comfort in them, especially at times of personal failure. Those words also make me want to learn how to lean on the Holy Spirit instead of myself. I am posting them without comment that you might read and reread them, because such observations are not easy to come by in modern evangelicalism.
The following 3 minute devotional is from a Reformed Devotional; the words are from Puritan Richard Baxter’s book, The Saints Everlasting Rest.
Baxter provided gentle encouragement to contemplate spiritual things; he spoke of the benefits of having such a friendship with God in this life and when one enters into eternity:
Psalm 34:8 is sung in this post; take a moment and sing along a few times, the words will lift you up; and you will likely enjoy the lovely voice of the vocalist. Matthew 7:11 is sung in a second video, in english and in indonesian.
There are several posts from this blog linked to this post because they are directly related to the last post about how the Holy Spirit helps the weak. These linked posts are about the following: the five stage struggle of faith developed by Jonathan Edwards; instruction about self-observation, examination, journaling…from Jonathan Edwards; instruction in basic doctrines such as justification and faith; and lastly, some basic instruction on God’s purpose in affliction; and spiritual disciplines that help Christians deal with the aforementioned
Dr. Mayfield continues to explain chapter 2 of John Owen’s book, Communion with God. He talks about how Christ purifies us for fellowship and eternal life; moreover, he touches on the work of Christ’s Spirit and word in sanctification; he concludes by encouraging believers to think about God’s word, meditate upon it and thereby learn to delight in it
The Christian who has learned contentment, does not look at the means of affliction which the Lord uses to conform him to the image of Christ, he merely submits to God’s hand and finds pleasure in receiving His providences. The election 2020 has brought afflictions into the lives of many conservative Christians, do you want to learn how to receive God’s affliction obediently? This post uses some quotes from Jeremiah Burroughs’ Rare Jewel Of Christian Contentment help the biblical Christian learn how to identify disobedience and seek obedience regarding receiving afflictions from the Lord’s hand
It is necessary for Christian maturity, to learn biblical meditation; the word may therein be applied to your life, furthering the sanctification process
In broad poetic terms, spring symbolizes rebirth and resurrection, summer youth with all its reckless pleasures and joys, and autumn old age and the inevitable journey to death. But what about winter? …Given that this winter, with its pandemic and its political turmoil, may be particularly hard on us, I began to look for some winter poems that give hope and comfort, a glimpse of the season’s often austere beauty, and even some joy.
This post focuses on the concept of Christian meditation from Dr. Donald S. Whitney’s book: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life