The Best Life Possible

I am currently reading “Running With Joy” by marathoner Ryan Hall and I love this quote about unrelenting trust in God’s goodness:

I need to continue to practice an unrelenting trust in God’s goodness. I know that God is a good God. Good things might not always happen to me or around me, but I know I can trust that God is always good, His grace is always sufficient, and He is all I need to have the best life possible. A lot of my worry, anxiety and uncertainty about the future comes me not fully trusting my heavenly Father. If I fully trust Him, I can let of all my burdens and just run with joy, and that is m heart’s deepest desire for the Boston marathon. The joy of the Lord is my strength.

Soul Mate Myth

Tim Keller has a new book out that I am hoping to read this year called, “The Meaning of Marriage.” Here is an excellent from it that I copied from an article on the Relevant Magazine website.

The Gospel is—we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared to believe, and at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. This is the only kind of relationship that will really transform us. Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God’s saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us. The merciful commitment strengthens us to see the truth about ourselves and repent. The conviction and repentance moves us to cling to and rest in God’s mercy and grace.

Spurgeon on Blessedness

First, we are chosen of God, according to the good pleasure of his will, and this alone is blessedness. Then, since we cannot and will not come to God of ourselves, he works graciously in us, and attracts us powerfully; he subdues our unwillingness, and removes our inability by the almighty working of his transforming grace. This also is no slight blessedness. Furthermore, we, by his divine drawings, are made nigh by the blood of his Son, and brought near by His Spirit, into intimate fellowship; so that we have access with boldness, and are no longer as those who are afar off by wicked works: here also is unrivalled blessedness. – Charles Spurgeon

John Piper on Living the Most Significant Life Imaginable

“As individual Christians with many hard things in front of you, let’s not miss either of these—the hard and the glorious. If we only see the hard part, we will miss the power and the freedom. If we only see the glorious part, we will minimize the sacrifice…Remember this: the glory Jesus’ promises compensates for the hardness of it all. In fact, the glory turns the hardness into the most significant life imaginable.”

From “If a Grain of When Dies it Bears Much Fruit” By John Piper © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

The Source of A Thankful Spirit

“Let us pray for a deeper sense of our own sinfulness, guilt and undeserving. This, after all, is the true secret of a thankful spirit.  Iy is the man who daily feel his debt to grace, and daily remembers that in reality he deserves nothing but hell, – this is the man who will be daily blessing and praising God. Thankfulness is a flower which will never bloom well excepting upon a root of deep humility.”

-J.C. Ryle

Wise Words on Joe Paterno and the Gospel

My friend Caleb Southerland posted these helpful lessons from Joe Paterno and the scandal at Penn State

• What you don’t do is often louder and than what you do.
• How you finish is much more important than how you start.
• One of the worst decisions to make is to decide to do nothing or little.
• I never want to end with the phrase “I wish I had done more”
• He was informed of a grave wickedness and did little; I see wickedness daily and do little…we both need grace.
• My identity is found in Jesus alone, my righteous is by Him alone; never my job no matter how good or bad I am at it.
• Redemption comes from Jesus alone, not apologies or ‘right doing’

You can read his blog here.

Praising the Immutable God

Complete and perfect in himself from eternity to eternity, God has no potential that is not already fully realized. God cannot be more infinite, loving or holy tomorrow than today. If God alone is necessary and independent of all external conditions, fully realized in all of his perfection, then there is literally nothing for God to become. For us, change might be for better or worse, but for a perfect God, change can only yield imperfection. – Michael Horton

The Goal of Christian Parenting

“The goal for the Christian parent is to be faithful to God’s Word by His grace and for His glory. You see, in Christ we have the great hope that we can be faithful whether our children are faithful or not…

If we are to be faithful parents we will be steadfast, trustworthy, and true concerning our commitment to God and His Word. We will also be like God, reliable in our parental care and in our commitment to our children’s good.” Stuart Scott and Martha Peace in “The Faithful Parent”

Cast All Your Cares Upon God Because He Cares For You

“Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.” (1 Pet. 5:7) what a perfect rest do we get when on coming to the Lord Jesus we take His yoke upon us, the yoke which He Himself ever wore, and which He now lovingly imposes upon all His people. O, it is an easy yoke and a light burden. Love joyfully accepts what infinite love imposes. We then are satisfied in knowing that every interest of ours is unspeakably precious to Him: that every hair is counted: every tear is put into His bottle, and that every sigh is noted. Nothing can harm those whom He keeps as the apple of His eye. Our one and only danger is that we begin to plan for ourselves and thus virtually take ourselves out of His hands. He will bring us at whatever cost of suffering to us, to commit ourselves absolutely to His loving and perfectly trusted hands.

- A.W. Pink

Spurgeon on the Relationship Between Prayer and Hope

I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I hope in your words.
(Psalm 119:147 ESV)

“He who is diligent in prayer will never be destitute of hope. Observe that as the early bird gets the worm, so the early prayer is soon refreshed with hope.” Charles Spurgeon