The Bible says nothing about New Year’s resolutions. It does, however, say a lot about resolutions in general—about the determination and resolve to improve our character, to sharpen our habits, and to live better in the future than we did in the past. In other words, the determination and resolve to be more like Christ.
This week the blog is sponsored by Moody Publishers. Parents have a biblical responsibility to protect their children not only from physical harm but also from spiritual harm. It is entirely appropriate and right for a parent to wrestle with whether they want to allow their child to continue to have a friendship with a…
A La Carte: Don’t regret your past—redeem it / Parents, are you raising angry partisans? / You’re gonna lose everything / My husband and I keep fighting over the same thing / What are the “all things” I can do in Christ? / How are we handling generational differences? / Kindle deals / and more.
Users of Logos will want to take a look at this month’s deals. You will find a Christmas Sale and also the usual series of free and nearly-free books. You can also get a good discount on the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries and the Bible Speaks Today series. And then there’s a flash sale on the Focus on the Bible commentaries which are…
A number of weeks ago I shared an article titled 40 Random Pieces of Advice for the Christian Life. This isn’t something I intend to do often but did want to follow up at least once with a sequel of sorts. I hope there is something here you find helpful. Be appropriately skeptical about new…
I enjoy John Piper’s “Ask Pastor John” feature and often benefit from hearing (or reading) his answers to the more than 1200 questions he has taken on so far. It reflects a lifetime of studying Scripture and applying its principles. He recently answered a question on whether premarital pregnancy nullifies the principle of “unequally yoked”…
It may not be the key New Testament passage on parenting, but it’s definitely one of the most important: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” In this video I talk about it and warn how we, as parents, can provoke our…
There are few roles in which we feel deeper inadequacy than our role as fathers. What suits us to the task of raising little people? What assurance can we have that we are doing it well? What will our children someday say of us? These are big and perplexing questions, so it is little wonder…
Some facets of life in our modern world are made more difficult than they really need to be. They have been debated and written about to such a degree that they’ve become almost impossibly complicated. I’m convinced that one such area is leadership, and especially leadership in the home and family. What should be clear…
There is something almost absurd about inheritances in a world of financial abundance and increased lifespans. The Baby Boomer generation has worked hard and saved diligently, stuffing away untold billions in savings and retirement accounts, with the hope of leaving their children in a comfortable financial position. Meanwhile, in the West, lifespans are increasing, and…
Today’s Kindle deals include just a couple of interesting titles. You Already Bugged Your Own House Years Ago It’s nerve-wracking to hear of all the ways companies and governments can listen in to us. But, the fact is, most of us bugged our homes years ago. In Defense of Educational Administrators Carl Trueman: “They are…
“Doctrine divides,” the young man explained. “Of course it’s important, but God cares far more for our deeds than our creeds. Doctrine divides, but love unites.” Could he be right? Is doctrine a force for division meant to bow before the primacy of love? “I find doctrine boring,” the husband confessed. “I don’t have any…
Today’s Kindle deals include : Unseen Realities by R.C. Sproul; NIV Zondervan Study Bible edited by D.A. Carson; MacArthur Study Bible NKJV or NASB; NIV Archaeological Study Bible; Four Views of the End Times by Timothy Paul Jones; The History of Protestantism by J.A. Wylie. Westminster Books is having a clearance sale to clear out…
It’s a word, it’s an idea, that I have wanted to explore for some time. Within the New Testament there are two clear instructions to parents and this word features prominently in both of them. It is the word provoke. Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up…
Today we continue our series on the character of the Christian. We are exploring how the various character qualifications of elders are actually God’s calling on all Christians. While elders are meant to exemplify these traits, all Christians are to exhibit them. I want us to consider whether we are displaying these traits and to…
Today I’ve got another batch of books that I didn’t review. Life is such that there are lots of great books that I just cannot find the time to read and many other books I’m simply not qualified to review. These books tend to find their way into these round-ups of the ones I received…
This week’s sponsor of Free Stuff Fridays is Generations with Vision. Now I often preface this giveaways by saying something like “This is a ministry you know.” That’s probably not the case with Generations with Vision. Nevertheless, the books they are offering today will prove quite useful to you, I think. They are giving away…
This is the third article in a series dealing with leadership in the home. As we saw yesterday, a husband is called to lead his wife. Though this is an unpopular statement in this day and in this culture, it is one that Christians must affirm. Male headship is taught so clearly in Scripture that…
I will probably regret writing this article. It is an article about homeschooling and is posted in a place where thousands of people are going to read it and have the ability to comment on it. You do the math! But I feel compelled to post on a subject that I feel is of great…