Devotional – Page 9

A Tough Means of Grace: Profiting from the Rebukes of Others, Part 2 (Guest-Blog by Derek Brown)

August 14, 2009

Guest Post by Derek Brown As we saw in the last post (Part 1), the path to wisdom is paved with the hard yet precious stones of reproof. Yet our ability to profitably accept rebuke and correction is not something we stir up by sheer will power, nor is it something that “just happens.” There … More A Tough Means of Grace: Profiting from the Rebukes of Others, Part 2 (Guest-Blog by Derek Brown)

A Tough Means of Grace: Profiting from the Rebukes of Others, Part 1 (Guest-Blog by Derek Brown)

August 12, 2009

Guest Post by Derek Brown Our ability to consistently and graciously receive correction, admonishment and rebuke from others is a quality essential to our making enduring progress in our spiritual lives. There are no two ways around this truth: either we will readily receive correction and enjoy the fruits of godly wisdom, or we will … More A Tough Means of Grace: Profiting from the Rebukes of Others, Part 1 (Guest-Blog by Derek Brown)

The Tears of the Godly

June 26, 2009

Puritan Thomas Watson said that gospel tears are one mark of a godly man. Here are his reasons why a godly man weeps. A godly man weeps because of his indwelling sin, his sinful nature which he knows is at enmity with God. A godly man weeps because his corruption clings to him, and he … More The Tears of the Godly

Imaginary Conversations

June 24, 2009

I’ve had several remarkable conversations recently. I made incredible points with decleating rhetoric complete with magnetic emotion. In each case my conversation partner was slow-witted and unimpressive, and more or less faded into the background. I was oratorically indestructible, surprising even myself with my penetrating words and impeccable argumentation. Propositions were concrete and immovable. Illustrations … More Imaginary Conversations

It’s Not That Simple

June 16, 2009

King Solomon summed up a vital life principle in Proverbs 14:15 — “The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.” This is a critical contrast between the naive and the judicious. And it is laden with implications. We tend to laugh at gullibility, to see it as little more than a … More It’s Not That Simple

Do It As the Church

June 12, 2009

There is an undercurrent of religious discontent in my generation that is no longer an undercurrent. It is now, and has been for some time, a flood. People are disillusioned with Christianity, hyper-aware of the slighest whiffs of hypocrisy and externalism, clamoring for (a hundred different definitions of) authenticity, and generally frustrated with the church, organized … More Do It As the Church

The Psychology of the Sages

June 9, 2009

In co-teaching an adult Sunday School class in Proverbs for the past year, I’ve come to realize that the Hebrew sages had a deep and nuanced psychology. I realize that over the last several decades, “psychology” has become a buzzword in conservative Christian circles and a ten-letter curse word throughout the biblical counseling movement. The rise of … More The Psychology of the Sages

The Things That Matter Most

April 29, 2009

I’ve spent the last year adjusting to a leadership position where there are so many little things demanding attention and so many trivial topics clamoring for discussion that it’s frighteningly easy to neglect the things that matter most. I don’t yet know if most of life is like this. I anticipate that this temptation is present everywhere, … More The Things That Matter Most

Closer Than a Brother

April 26, 2009

Tonight began the first of many end-of-the-year goodbyes to some precious people in my life. These are people I love very dearly. I am and will be deeply saddened to see them leave. Over the past several years I have found myself often summarizing the Lord’s blessings on my life by saying that I am rich in … More Closer Than a Brother

The Love of Christ Controls Us

April 23, 2009

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). I think and talk … More The Love of Christ Controls Us

Good Friday

April 10, 2009

Good Friday. It seems that nothing less than your spiritual best can qualify you to worship on such a day. A day of gory splendor such as this calls for heartfelt pangs of conviction and heartwarming expressions of gospel praise. Dressed in white robes or with the flashing brightness of the angels, you may come. … More Good Friday

Give Me This Mountain

March 9, 2009

With my $50 gift card to the Shepherds’ Conference bookstore, I purchased (among other books) Give Me This Mountain by Helen Roseveare, first published in 1966. After reading it over the weekend, it feels a bit inappropriate to have gotten it for free. Roseveare was a medical missionary to the northeastern province of the Belgian Congo … More Give Me This Mountain

Dean’s Series, Part 4: College and “Real Life” (Continued)

February 16, 2009

This false dichotomy is very attractive at The Master’s College since we’re a conservative, residentially-focused Christian institution that has a pretty defined subculture, for better and for worse. Put your ear to the ground for long enough and you’ll hear the rumblings of the “TMC isn’t real life” mantra. I’m not intensely bothered or threatened … More Dean’s Series, Part 4: College and “Real Life” (Continued)

Dean’s Series, Part 3: College and “Real Life”

February 9, 2009

The best way to handle false dichotomies is to expose them, and then to harmonize them. The first is hard enough; the second can take decades. I’m admittedly in the beginning stages of my own journey of understanding and living these things well, but I’m hopeful that a few on-the-go reflections can at least function … More Dean’s Series, Part 3: College and “Real Life”

Dean’s Series, Part 2: False Dichotomies and Their Consequences

February 3, 2009

As I mentioned a couple days ago, I’ve wrestled over the years with a lot of seemingly contradictory theological themes as well as various aspects of Christian living that seem to be at odds with one another. And I know that my struggles aren’t uncommon. This is why I chose to address what I perceive … More Dean’s Series, Part 2: False Dichotomies and Their Consequences

Blogging the Dean’s Series

February 1, 2009

Now that I’m the Dean of Men at The Master’s College, I (1) rarely have time to blog and (2) preach back-to-back in chapel for the Dean’s Series at the beginning of every spring. This being my first spring semester, I recently finished my first Dean’s Series. Combining these realities leads me to think that maybe it would be … More Blogging the Dean’s Series