Prone To Wonder

by Jonathan Hayashi

One of my favorite classic hymns is “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” which was written in 1757 by 22-year-old Robert Robinson.

Robert Robinson had a rough beginning. His father died when he was young, and his mother, unable to control him, sent him to London to learn barbering. What he learned instead was drinking and gang-life.

When he was 17, he and his friends reportedly visited a fortune-teller. Relaxed by alcohol, they laughed as she tried to tell their futures. But something about that encounter bothered Robert, and that evening he suggested to his buddies they attend the evangelistic meeting being held by George Whitefield.

Whitefield was one of history’s greatest preachers, with a voice that was part foghorn and part violin. That night he preached from Matthew 3:7:

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘ Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’”

There is more: https://jonathanhayashi.com/prone-to-wonder/

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Why Do People Completely Misunderstand the Word “Faith?”

chab123

Anyone who has been engaged in talking to people in our culture about the Christian worldview knows that many people misunderstand the word “faith.” I could go ahead and blame the media, pop culture, and the university for this widespread problem. But the reality is that it is incumbent upon pastors, apologists, and ministry leaders to teach and instruct Christians about the proper definition of the word “faith.” Yes, many Christians don’t know how to explain the word “faith.”

Some theologians and apologists have suggested that it might be a good idea to substitute the word “trust” in place of the word “faith.” This has some merit to it. Joseph Thayer says the following:

“To believe” means to think to be true; to be persuaded of; to credit, [to] place confidence in. [And in] a moral and religious reference, pisteuein [from pisteuo] is used in the N.T. of a conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of his soul. “ (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 511).

Read more: https://chab123.wordpress.com/2019/08/15/why-do-people-completely-misunderstand-the-word-faith-3/

Holiness: An Unpopular Topic

https://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/2019/07/25/holiness-an-unpopular-topic/

A Rule & Rhythm of Life

~ Titus Benton

Some call them spiritual disciplines. Others refer to them as daily rhythms. The monks established a “Rule of Life” to live by. Whatever you want to call them, if you are a Christ-follower, there are more than likely some habits that you try to keep up in your life.

For me, these used to be boxes to check to prove to myself that I was doing what I was supposed to.

Now, I view them more like the ingredients in the recipe of my life — a recipe I want to follow if what I’m trying to cook is wholeness.

In pursuit of that wholeness, I’ve discovered some things that are part of my daily rhythms. Call it a modern-day Rule of Life. They fall into four categories, which happen to be the four relationships that I think are prone to buckle and break in one way or another. While once things were “good” and declared so by God, my own rebellion and stubbornness created gaps in each of these areas. I’m not whole, and I desire wholeness.

Me & God

1. Daily Liturgy — I use an app called Pray As You Go. It’s Catholic-ish and everyone speaks in a British accent.

Read more: https://tituslive.com/2019/08/07/a-rule-rhythm-of-life/

5 Things the Bible says about Joy

~ Frank King

https://frankking.net/2019/08/five-things-the-bible-says-about-the-joy-of-the-lord/

Men: Don’t Neglect These 4 Key Spiritual Disciplines

https://www.crossway.org/articles/men-dont-neglect-these-4-key-spiritual-disciplines/

The Challenge of John’s Vision

The book of Revelation also known as the Apocalypse of John can be rather hard to understand. It is, after all, apocalyptic literature – a form a bit ‘interesting’ in the Old Testament prophets and every bit as ‘interesting’ here. I don’t usually worry too much about the book, or try too hard to make sense of it. This isn’t to say it should be ignored or bypassed (I’ve listened to it several times through over the last couple of years along with the rest of the Bible) – just to say that the appropriate interpretation seems somewhat obscure for the most part. But it is a book worth some consideration, so I turned with interest to the chapter in Let Creation Rejoice: Biblical Hope and Ecological Crisis by Jonathan Moo and Robert White where they look at John’s vision.

Read more: https://musingsonscience.wordpress.com/2019/08/01/the-challenge-of-johns-vision/