As I prepare for my seminar Friday at our National Conference on “Rethinking Productivity in Light of Justification by Faith Alone,” I'm realizing that a lot of things in my preparation probably won't make it into the actual seminar. Here's one such segment which, although it might not make it in to the seminar, is absolutely critical to the way we should be as Christians and why things like learning to be more productive matter:

Christians are to be eager and enthusiastic in dreaming up ways to do good for others. We are to not just to do good when the opportunity comes to us—although we are to do it then, also—but we are to think hard about ways we can be proactive in serving people. And…

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The triune God had a purpose when he set his final creation, man, in the midst of such a marvelous universe. He wanted every aspect of that universe to teach man something about him.

Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:20 tell us this. "The heavens declare the glory of God"; that is, they show forth "his eternal power and divine nature," along with the rest of creation.

In this excerpt from Miscellanies #108, Jonathan Edwards lists a variety of scenes from nature and suggests which attributes of Christ they were made to picture.

[T]he Son of God created the world for his very end, to communicate himself in an image of his own excellency. . . .

So that when we are delighted with flowery meadows…

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The excitement was so real you could almost touch it. In the dim light of the single florescent bulb, the circled faces were turned toward Suay, their young relative. She told about God and the gift of His Son. He changed her life and could change theirs too. That night, five Shan prayed to receive Christ. Joy was on their faces and in their hearts. During the next few days they spent time in the Word, in prayer and song and were baptized.

– excerpt from "30 Days of Prayer for the Shan" prayer guide

The unreached Shan-Tai people, related to the Thai of Thailand, number 5-7 million and live in Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and China.

The Shan are Buddhist. Every year Shan celebrate numerou…

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John Piper’s latest book, Think, challenges readers to use their minds for the glory of God and in service to others.  We love the message of Think, as it matches the heartbeat of Crossway’s ministry, where we strive to publish books that challenge, encourage, and strengthen the church.

Below are a few classics and some newer resources you may not be aware of—books that we believe will serve you as a thoughtful Christian.

• A Francis A. Schaeffer Trilogy: Three Essential Books in One Volume: Including The God Who Is There, Escape from Reason, and He is There and He Is Not Silent, Francis Schaeffer’s theological trilogy engages contemporary cultural and worldview issues while rooting readers …

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When you scan the biblical story you can’t help concluding that following God brings a life of surprises. Whatever plans God’s people made and however they tried to figure out God’s plans, they were constantly greeted with surprises. They faced turns in the story that they never would have anticipated. God’s plan again and again included things that would not have been included in the story if his people had been doing the planning.

One of the reasons for this is that we human beings tend to focus on outcomes. We simply want things to go well and turn out right. God surely does care about the end of all things, but he is graciously at work in the process as well.

The surprises along t…

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Jonathan Edwards believed that Christians in heaven will only increase in holiness and happiness forever and ever.

He based this on the idea that, once in heaven, a Christian's bank of memories will forever be growing, which only means that the number of ideas in their mind will forever be growing also. Of course, this is just another way of saying that a Christian's knowledge will always be increasing—and here is Edwards' connection—

. . . and if their knowledge, doubtless their holiness. For as they increase in the knowledge of God and of the works of God, the more they will see of his excellency; and the more they see of his excellency . . . the more will they love him; and the…

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In John 6 a large crowd crosses the Sea of Galilee looking for Jesus. But when they find him, instead of welcoming their “seeking” Jesus says to them,

Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. (John 6:26, 27)

A little later on in the chapter, he purposely offends them with his “hard sayings” so that many turn away and no longer follow him. But weren't the crowds coming to the right source of blessing? Didn’t they believe that he could and would heal them and give them bread to eat?

…

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Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is perhaps the holiest day in the Jewish year. The nation of Israel has all but shut down operations. And similar to Easter for non-religious people from Christian backgrounds, Yom Kippur has such strong traditional and cultural influence that even many non-observant Jews are attending synagogue and fasting today.

In ancient Israel, this was the day when two unblemished male goats were selected. Then by lot one was chosen as a burnt offering and the other (scapegoat) to have the peoples’ sins transferred on to it ritually and bear them away into the wilderness.

Regarding this day, God said,

For on this day shall atonement be made for you t…

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Jonathan Edwards gives three reasons why human beings, though sinful and inferior in wisdom and strength, will forever exceed angels in glory and honor:

1. Angels were made to serve God by serving man, but man was made to serve God directly.
2. Human grace, holiness, and love are greater virtues than angelic wisdom and strength.
3. Believers are united to Christ in a way angels never will be.

Follow his logic for these points in Miscellanies #103.

Noël and I continue to be deeply thankful to our family at Bethlehem for the gift of these months away. You may recall my explanation for the leave where we said there were three components: soul, marriage and family, and vocational. Each needed a reality check. And of course they are interrelated.

On the soul front, we continue to probe the roots of our most characteristic sins with a view to confessing them and repenting and seeking God’s transforming power through prayer and Bible-saturated counsel. Extended time in prayer and the word is part of this focus.

On the marriage and family front, we are spending much more time than usual talking with each other and connecting with our children…

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