Do you have a dead mentor?

Aaron Armstrong, in this guest post,  writes of his discovery of  the value of dead mentors!  What a gift they are!

There are many very good and God-honoring books being published today, but the newest works are not always the ones we need. And my fear is that if we, pastors and laity alike, neglect the works of the past—if we take for granted Calvin, Spurgeon, Luther, Ryle, Augustine and so many others—we will become spiritually anemic. We might have emotional experiences, but even the best experiences will leave us feeling empty. We might gain some knowledge, but it may not go beyond our heads.

That’s why we need the insights and experiences of the saints who have come before us. Their experiences and insights offer us opportunities for deep, heart-felt, mind-renewing, life-transforming worship. From their lives, we can see how the gospel at work in and through them to the glory and praise of God. That their writings continue to stand the test of time is itself a gift from God. Let’s gratefully accept the gift.

To help you get started, here are a few books I’d recommend:

All of Grace by CH Spurgeon

Holiness by J.C. Ryle

Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray

Spurgeon: A New Biography by Arnold Dallimore

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What ever happened to rest?

“About this time of year, eleven years ago, I wrote an article entitled, “Has Rest Become a Four Letter Word?”  It was printed in the “In My Opinion” part of the Oregonian, and it was intriguing enough that I was soon interviewed on a radio station. “Rest” is something of an oddity in our culture. . . .

“Eleven years ago, I wrote about an observed hurry, in which we have lost our bearings, our sense of proportion. “Unavailable” seems a word from the past, going the way of cursive writing. But of course, with the aid of technology, it is more severe. We have the capacity to always be on, and if we let technology and social networks continue to influence our lives, we might forget how to shut down. And all of this is leaving us rather thin. As D.T. Niles describes us—we are a culture in which we “gather impressions but have no experiences, collect acquaintances but have no friends.”

John Johnson in “Rest: A Four-Letter Word?”  Worth 5 minutes of your time!

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Wise words regarding our relationships

Do you have a harvest mentality in regards to your relationships? How about an investment mentality? Or a grace mentality in your earthly relationships?  Or all three? Paul Tripp explains with some words on our relationships.

 ”I encounter people everywhere I go who are discouraged and confused about their relationships. I want you to think about your own relationships and look at them through three perspectives derived from biblical wisdom. These mentalities are essential in creating and sustaining a healthy relational lifestyle.”

Worth reading and remembering.

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Have you met the newest nation to evangelize?

A nation was born last week!  A people longing to be free. They face a lot of struggles.  Let’s pray for this nation but most importantly that the gospel would spread through its people so they might be free indeed! Welcome South Sudan.

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Constant contemplation

“Let us live in the constant contemplation of the glory of Christ, and virtue will proceed from him to repair all our decays, to renew a right spirit within us, and to cause us to abound in all duties of obedience . . . The most of our spiritual decays and barrenness arise from an inordinate admission of other things into our minds; for these are they that weaken grace in all its operations. But when the mind is filled with thoughts of Christ and his glory, when the soul thereon cleaves unto him with intense affections, they will cast out, or not give admittance unto, those causes of spiritual weakness and indisposition.” (John Owen, Works, Vol. 1, p. 460-461)

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