Karen Watson wrote her own epitaph. Its message has stirred me up to pray for more radical devotion to Christ. She has not died in vain. She was a Southern Baptist missionary to Iraq and was killed by unknown assailants March 15, 2004. I am mentioning it now simply because I was reading the book Lives Given, Not Taken: 21st Century Southern Baptist Martyrs, by Erich Bridges and Jerry Rankin. In it I ran across the letter that Karen wrote and left behind in an envelope that said "Open in case of death." It said in part:

Dear Pastor Phil and Pastor Roger,

You should only be opening this in the event of death.

When God calls there are no regrets. I tried to share my heart with you as much

…

Continue Reading →

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Supreme Court in upholding the ban on partial birth abortions on April 18, 2007. It is astonishing to read the opinion (Docket 05-380). The detail with which abortion is discussed exceeded my expectation. Kennedy’s own descriptions of the various forms of abortion are explicit and extensive. Descriptions of the procedure of partial birth abortion (“intact dilation and extraction”) are given from both doctors’ and nurses’ perspectives.

Read the whole article.

Today is Friday the 13th. How should Christians respond to the fear of bad luck today? National Geographic News reports: “It's been estimated that [U.S.] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do.”

Consider two biblical truths in relation to this kind of fear.

1. God governs the lives of his children—not fate and not the devil.

One in-your-face example from the life of Jesus: “At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ And he said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox, “Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I fini…

Continue Reading →

It is a distinct pleasure to point out Sam Storms' good theology and bad advice. For the good theology read his essay "What if Christ is Not Risen?" There are few people on the planet who embody in life and in teaching the radically biblical and Edwardsian message of Christian Hedonism better than Sam Storms. He has a new website that I want you to know about.

But be careful. You may find sentences like this one:

If you haven’t read Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (Multnomah Publishers, 2003 edition), repent, close down this website, and go purchase that volume.

No, Sam. Bad advice. Don't repent. Don't close down the Enjoying God Ministries websit…

Continue Reading →

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. . . . Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” . . . But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:19, 30-32, 20)

Paul ponders how he would assess his lifestyle if there were no resurrection from the dead. He says it would be ridiculous—pitiable. The resurrection guided and empowered hi…

Continue Reading →

Sam Storms is on the Edwardsean and biblical wavelength when it comes to understanding the role of joy in radical God-centered Christian living. If you don't know Sam's website you might want to. It's called Enjoying God Ministries. The reason I mention it now is that I love this sentence from the newsletter I got from him today. He quotes Dave Smith, summarizing Sam's book, Pleasures Evermore: “When it comes to living a successful Christian life, and resisting the power of temptation, simply saying ‘No! No! No!’ won’t suffice. We must learn to say ‘Oh! Oh! Oh!’” In other words, being amazed at God is essential to fighting sin.

Since my father died on March 6, I have been looking through his papers. I found a small sheet with the following fifteen counsels, titled “Things I Have Learned.” He didn't make most of these up. Some of them go back to his college days when he was absorbing the pithy wisdom of Bob Jones Senior. They have again confirmed the obvious: I owe my father more than I can ever remember. The comment after each one is mine.

Read the whole article.

Let me tell you about a most wonderful experience I had early Monday morning, March 19, 2007, a little after six o’clock. God actually spoke to me. There is no doubt that it was God. I heard the words in my head just as clearly as when a memory of a conversation passes across your consciousness. The words were in English, but they had about them an absolutely self-authenticating ring of truth. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God still speaks today.

Read the whole article.

The funeral sermon I preached at my father’s funeral was built around his own sermon, titled “Saved, Safe, Satisfied,” from his book A Good Time and How to Have It. Safe refers to the security of every true believer in Christ. Those whom God saves, God keeps. Satisfied refers to our contentment in Christ himself, not first his gifts.

I made a link between “safe” and “satisfied.” The latter confirms the former. I based this on Philippians 3:12: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” In other words, the heart of the true Christian does not coast in a state of contented worldliness after conver…

Continue Reading →

The following is John Piper’s journal entry narrating his father’s death on Tuesday, March 6, 2007.

The funeral is scheduled for Friday, March 9, 2007, at 2 p.m. at White Oak Baptist Church in Greenville, S. C. Visitation is 7:00-8:30 p.m. Thursday evening, March 8, 2007, at Mackey Mortuary on Century Drive in Greenville. All are welcomed to both.

John Piper will not be preaching this weekend at Bethlehem Baptist Church.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007. 2 a.m.

The big hospital clock in room 4326 of Greenville Memorial Hospital said, with both hands straight up, midnight. Daddy had just taken his last breath. My watch said 12:01, March 6, 2007.

I had slept a little since hi…

Continue Reading →