This last week an esteemed brother minister was telling me that, in speaking to a man who professed to have been converted, he asked him which sin remained as a load upon his mind. “Well,?” said the man, “I have to see after cows, and I have often beaten the cows very badly.” “What do you do now?” “Oh, I coax them instead of beating them.” Now, I have no doubt, that in his peculiar calling, cruelty to animals would be most strikingly laid upon his conscience, but the pastor had to say to him, “Yes, quite so; but the great sin in your fault is, that the cows are God’s creatures, and that he is angry if we treat his creatures unmercifully.?’
Spurgeon (May 16, 1868)
Christians should be all over the Manhattan Declaration; it’s anti-abortion with traditional views of marriage and in defense of religious liberty. So why did one of our beloved Christian leaders decline to sign it?! Well, read on and be encouraged. Sproul is yet again a living example of standing firm for the faith of the gospel (Phil 1:27): The Manhattan Declaration: Why didn’t you sign it, R.C.?
I’ve long had a desire to learn the original language of the Bible. There was a crash course that came into town; it would have cost $250. I signed up for it, but they canceled it due to lack of students. I could learn on my own, but it seems very difficult, and who will correct me! I could enroll at Cornerstone seminary, they provide several years of Greek and Hebrew to train their students; but I would have to drive 2 hours every week and stay at a hotel. On the other hand, I’ll have a master’s degree and will be ready for full-time ministry; I just don’t feel at the moment that in God’s providence He wants me to do that. He certainly has arranged for me to be in a house with a mortgage that takes an engineer’s salary to pay.
Today Logos announced 15 hours of videos for learning how to study the Greek and Hebrew using Logos software tools. I looked at the intro video and this would sound strange if I didn’t give you a little background, but I got a little choked up. I really want to learn the original languages, and this looks good to me.
I’m planning to create a seperate website from my LombardiSpot blog that would be more focused on Christian content. Tell me, what name sounds better to you, “Holy Aware” or “Today’s Reformer”? Holy Aware is a bit of a play on words, I would be writing on topics that are intended to build on an awareness of our Holy God and all thing Holy towards the end that we are wholy aware of all things holy; get it? 
And then “Today’s Reformer” would suggest more of a focus on communicating thoughts, ideas, and teachings that bring reformation to our lives for the glory of God, with a bit of a harcking back to the days of the reformers; I’ve heard the sentiment echoed that American Evangelicism is in the midst of another reformation, thus Today’s Reformer would identify with that.
So, which do you like? “Holy Aware” or “Today’s Reformer”. Please comment.
I’ve been a long time supporter of Ligonier ministries and they now have an incredible new website redesign that they are letting people test-drive (Click Here). They also have an archive of past TableTalk articles; Jenn and I have been saving TableTalk magazines for years and I have often wondered when they’ll be available in electronic format. Now all the articles are available online (Click Here for Table Talk Archive)
Will the next generation of children be characterized as undisciplined, selfish, unloving people as they grow into adults? There are many parents out there who have grasped hold of today’s popular methods of parenting which promote themselves as progressive intelligence, and evolutions in parenting. Some of these parents are only a short ways into their parenting journey and are already seeing the warning signs. Instead of a child growing in wisdom and good character qualities, they grow in foolishness and selfishness. The child is quickly learning how to manipulate their parents and become the rulers of their family. The parents are dumbfounded as to how they arrived in such a place, and as a result, they do not enjoy their children as they aught, and some, perhaps openly or secretly, begin to hate having children.
Jenn and I consider the Bible to be divine wisdom, the Words of God, perfect for teaching parents (2 Tim 3:16-17) to deal properly with their children. Consider the qualities of God: good qualities, perfect in every way (Ps 18:30). So it is natural to expect that His instruction for parents is going to be perfect in every way. Now consider the qualities of the average psychologist; they have a finite understanding of the subject and their authority on the subject is not tried and tested—it is common to discover that their methods were completely wrong and disastrous. So, who’s advice would you rather follow? The answer is obvious, trust God, not man. God instructs parents to take discipline seriously (Prov 29:15, Prov 22:15, Prov 23:13-14, Prov 13:24), and it is for the good of the child; but again, the important question is, who’s advice do you have your faith in: God or man?
The results of parenting gone bad seems to have made it’s way into cartoons and books. Parents are depicted as frazzled and with little control over the children; the children rule the household. Daniel Zalewski wrote an article in the New Yorker titled, “The Defiant Ones”, where he makes very astute observations of this very thing. Albert Mohler further discusses it in an article on his blog.
Parents would do well to buck the cultural trends in parenting; trends that tout themselves as evolutionary, advanced, and modern. Rather, parents should embrace methods that go deeper into our spiritual being; methods that are godly, holy, and divine; methods whos source is not from the mind of man, but from the mind of God.
