This changes everything!

Biblical counselor and author Bob Kellemen:

I’ve often said that there’s one passage of Scripture that if I consistently applied it to my life—then everything about how I live would change.

I’ve frequently written that I think the same passage is a primary reason many people find it difficult to follow Jesus—because this passage is so convicting and calls for such radical sacrifice.

I’ve often thought that this same passage summarizes my prayer for the ultimate result of my parenting—that my children would choose to live out this one passage.

What’s the passage?

Keep reading here and then ask yourself, How could this one passage–change how you live your life and relate to others?

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An exhortation for fathers!

Nathan Bingham writes a strong exhortation to fathers. I need this reminder regularly.  Probably all dads do:

There’s a crime wave going on in your neighborhood—possibly even in your own home. It’s a crime wave that won’t make it to the nightly news, but not because it isn’t serious, for it scars generations and teaches them to commit the same crime.

Who are the criminals? Absent fathers.

I’m not talking about full-time absent fathers, those never home at all. I hope that’s a rarity. I’m talking about your average dad, the one who commits this crime most mornings, during dinner, and especially during the hour before little ones go to bed.

It’s a crime wave, and I’ve been an offender. You might be one too.

You’re guilty when you skip breakfast with the family to prepare for that early morning meeting, when you’re distant at the dinner table because you’re resolving an issue at work in a long email conversation on your smartphone, and when you forfeit a healthy family night-time ritual because you’ve got something important to do—like write a blog post.

I’ve succumb. Have you?

Keep reading “Fathers, Stop Stealing from Your Children” for more help and hope. Then prioritize your life and spend some time with your children, fathers!

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Watch MacArthur, Lawson, Sproul from Ligonier

On June 8–9, more than 3,000 saints gathered in Seattle to stand firm for the central doctrines of the Christian faith. Drs. Steven Lawson, John MacArthur, and R.C. Sproul boldly proclaimed the authority of the Bible, the Trinity, the resurrection of Jesus, the exclusivity of Christ, justification by faith alone, the mortification of sin, and the existence of God.

All of the messages from this conference—including a very special time of questions and answers with Drs. Lawson, MacArthur, and Sproul—are available for you to stream for free.

By making these messages free to watch, our prayer is that the thunder of God’s Word would continue to echo through the body of Christ for His glory and our good.

Watch the 2012 West Coast Conference

• For the Authority of Scripture by John MacArthur
• For the Resurrection of Christ by Steven Lawson
• For the Doctrine of the Trinity by R.C. Sproul
• Against the Claims of Atheism by Steven Lawson
• Questions and Answers
• Against Our Own Sin by Steven Lawson
• For the Exclusive Claims of Christ by John MacArthur
• For Justification By Faith Alone by R.C. Sproul

The 2012 West Coast Conference is also available for pre-order on DVD and CD.

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Will you press on?

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14, ESV)

What is your spiritual goal? Do you really want to get the prize? Do you want to grow to be the man or woman God wants you to be? Do you want to pay the price of the spiritual disciplines you need to practice in order to grow? Or will you be content to sort of muddle through your Christian life and, at the end, have to sum it all up as no more meaningful than a trip to the corner store for a loaf of bread? The choice is yours. What will it be?

Jerry Bridges. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey Devotional (p. 31). Kindle Edition.

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Everything. . . through faith

Every good gift the Father gives—every richness from Christ, every blessing from the Spirit—flows from the gospel and is received through faith.

• We receive righteousness through faith (Rom. 3:22).
• We are justified through faith (Rom. 3:30; Gal. 2:16).
• We stand fast through faith (Rom. 11:20).
• We are sons of God through faith (Gal. 3:26).
• We are indwelled by Christ through faith (Eph. 3:17).
• We are raised with Christ through faith (Col. 2:12).
• We inherit the promises through faith (Heb. 6:12).
• We conquer kingdoms, enforce justice, and stop the mouths of lions through faith (Heb. 11:33).
• We are guarded through faith (1 Pet. 1:5).

We live through faith, and we die through faith. Everything else is garbage.

— Matt ChandlerThe Explicit Gospel(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 85 via FI

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