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When the Narcissist will not Weep, Part 4

The Cure: Seeking Sight Here are some steps that you can take to see. Realize the reality of suffering in the world. Take note of the current atrocities in the world. Suffering is global. This will aid in the dissolution of the narcissism. There is a whole world of suffering. Cultivate relationships. Work to strengthen your friendships. Strive to know your friends better. Share your own suffering with them. Repent and pray for sight. Ask God to open your eyes to the world of suffering and the suffering around you. Pray that he gives you compassion. Be hospitable. Open your home to others to develop relationships. Invite them over for a meal. Spending time with them will cultivate a genuine and deep love for them. It may also be the best way to comfort the suffering. Pray for the suffering and read your bible. Prayer and the reading of the Scriptures can unite our hearts to the purposes of God. We should pray and read strategically. As we communicate with Go

When the Narcissist will not Weep, Part 3

The Arrogance of Blindness We can look at the friends of Job. Notice that they are said to be his friends. This is meaningful to us because they have a past with Job. They know him well. We so often identify Job when it may behoove us to realize we could easily identify with his friends. When our brother is in pain, we are likely to break the silence with a word out of season (cf. Proverbs 15:23). Why would we do such a thing? We think our answers are the balm needed. We have the solution, and we know the right time to give it. We refuse to take time in the situation to learn from the one who is suffering. We arrogantly proclaim that we must know the situation better. We know the pain better. We presume to be wise. We are fools. It is as though a question is being asked in suffering that the one suffering needs to answer. However, unless we are astute in our listening to the question, we answer too quickly. We share the guilt of the one in the proverb who “gives an an

When the Narcissist will not Weep, Part 2

The Nature of the Blindness The clear teaching of Scripture is that we are to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15b). However, many of us have become blind to the pain of our fellow man. We must be able to perceive pain people before we weep with them. We are not to be superficial in our communion. We are to weep with them. We are to come alongside them, suffering with them. We are one in Christ, and the body should respond when part of it is hurting. I have remarked that many of us have become blind to the pain of our fellow man. What has blinded us? What would make us unable to see others? We might say sin. What is the nature of that sin? Diagnosing something as sinful does not tell you how to defeat it. Be specific. When we are in a war, it is not enough to say, “These are the enemies!” We must know the enemy well. We must know the enemy’s location, its strongholds, and its weaknesses. Why are we blind? Why do we lack compassion? We are numb to each other

When the Narcissist will not Weep, Part 1

The Diagnosis: Blindness Take a look around your group of friends. I think we can agree that most of us do not know what pains exist in each individual. Not only do we not know what pains exist, but we also do not know at what depths they reside. A clear illustration is the dim-sighted Eli’s encounter with Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:9b-16. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord . She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” As she continued praying before the Lord , Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman.

Christ-centered Hip Hop

Christ, the Only Way - R.C. Sproul

Piper on taking the Lord's Supper

I found this latest Ask Pastor John episode to be encouraging.  One thing that struck me was: Now, after you've appropriated afresh the work of Christ and are enjoying that forgiveness, you eat. And you eat worthily, not because you had a good week, but because you have a great Savior and are united with him by faith and are renouncing all those sins. That is something worth carrying with you throughout the day:  "[Y]ou eat worthily, not because you had a good week, but because you have a great savior...".  That's wisdom.

The New Atheism - Mohler at DTS

Here are some helpful videos to help understand the new breed of atheism, i.e. a militant atheism. As always, Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary provides a helpful analysis. Session 1: The New Atheism and the Endgame of Secularism Session 2: The New Atheism and the Assault on Theism Session 3: The New Atheism and the Defense of Theism Session 4: The New Atheism and the Future of Christianity

Song for the Suffering Sons

All creation heaves and groans, Travailing with no repose.  A single desire deeply moans  In these sons' turbid souls. O, come forth, My faithful child, And behold your great reward: My Son, your Brother, mild— A body like His—triumphant and scarred. Joyfully bear the weight of glory whole!  A dangerous delight, in Me, to embrace— Now! The absence of sinful flesh's control For Terror turned to gladness by Holy grace. Oh, what hope of blissful day Upon our tired hearts descend. Stand firm! bruised heels of clay For soon He comes, the skies to rend.

Ignorance is the New Science: The Arrogance of Man in Contemplating Male Nipples

I happened upon the article Top 10 Useless Body Parts . Fairly certain that I would disagree with it, I debated reading it. I read it and was annoyed. Now, I am a huge proponent of science. After all, I have a degree in mathematics, and my thesis was entitled Analysis of Optimal Controls for Single and Multiple Agent Models in Treatments of Leukemia . (In other words, I am not ignorant with regard to science.) Interestingly enough, the word "science" has its roots in "to know" (see here ). Thus, when I got to this part of the article, I was indignant: "When you're sick you may feel that certain body parts are more trouble than they're worth. And in some cases, you'd be right...[A] few biological traces of our prehistoric ancestors still remain with us in the form of freeloading body parts we lug around with us, but have no use for." It seems that ignorance has become knowledge and speculation has become science. Let us look past the evolution i

My God! O Let Me Call Thee Mine!

a poem by Anne Brönte My God! O let me call Thee mine! Weak wretched sinner though I be, My trembling soul would fain be Thine, My feeble faith still clings to Thee, My feeble faith still clings to Thee. Not only for the past I grieve, The future fills me with dismay; Unless Thou hasten to relieve, I know my heart will fall away, I know my heart will fall away. I cannot say my faith is strong, I dare not hope my love is great; But strength and love to Thee belong, O, do not leave me desolate! O, do not leave me desolate! I know I owe my all to Thee, O, take this heart I cannot give. Do Thou my Strength my Saviour be; And make me to Thy glory live! And make me to Thy glory live!

Rejoice With Trembling: The Proper Response to the Anointed of the LORD

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Psalm 2:11-12 God has His people. In the Old Testament, He redeemed a people, bringing them out of bondage in Egypt. In doing so, He created a nation. This nation was to have a king. This was not to be a king like other nations, but a king of God’s appointing. The king of Israel is anointed of God. He is God’s representative, His servant. For someone to come against the king was, in essence, to oppose God. The king was not someone with whom to trifle. Israel longed for the Messiah. We sometimes forget that Messiah and Christ are interchangeable, both meaning “Anointed One”. Therefore, when we speak of Jesus Christ, we speak of the King. Jesus is the fulfillment of the longing of Israel for a proper king. When we read

Does Genuine Love Mandate Free Will?

An insightful and short commentary on free will and love.  Here Greg Koukl from Stand to Reason probes the statement, "Free will must exist so that love may be genuine."  How does our understanding of free will influence our understanding of God?  

Pray for Zimbabwe: Election on March 29th

In a previous post , I relayed the horrible situation dealing with  Zimbabwe's economy.  The presidential election will be held tomorrow, and anything could happen.  The hope is that a civil war will not break out.  We put our trust wholly in the Sovereignty of God, and we affirm the words of Daniel: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings ; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding."   (Dan 2:20b-21) This recent article from the BBC may be helpful as you pray over the Sovereign Lord's appointment tomorrow.  Yes, He is sovereign, yet we are still responsible for our action/non-action!   It is a sad thing when the bride of Christ is numb to the suffering in the world.  May she weep over the terror in the world, but may the tears shed not be shallow.  They must be tears of action and compassion.

Interview with Tim Keller

I came upon this interview that Monergism.com held with Tim Keller and felt it to be very interesting and useful. Tim Keller is author of The Reason for God: Belief in the Age of Skepticism . He is also pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York. In the interview, he addresses: His method of evangelism in preaching. His view of sanctification Books to help train people in apologetics. How he approaches the skeptics questions. Various ways to approach specific questions from skeptics. This one is particularly useful. The interview can be found here .

"Good at Math": What Counts?

Recently, I was asked “What does it mean to be ‘good at math’?” I thought it through, and here is an edited response. Even if you don't like mathematics, it is a good exercise to go through for anyone. What does it mean for someone to be good at what you do? There are a few points that I would address in being “good at math”: The proficiency of the student in the narrowest sense of mathematics , The student’s reasoning ability in dealing with philosophical arguments , and The religious motivation behind the student’s study. At the most superficial (disregard the negative connotation) level, being “good at math” is about knowing the language of mathematics. The student who is good at math will begin to have both a competency with the tools of mathematics and an intuitive understanding (a “gut feeling” if you prefer) of what will work. These appeal to those situations where the student sees a theoretical result developing from the material and where the student models mathematic

Why the Father loves the Son: The Ground of Our Salvation

"For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." John 10:17-18 _____________________________________________________ We have approached Easter this year. We will gather in congregations to remember the ground of our salvation. The New Testament resounds with importance of the resurrection. It is unavoidable: if you want to understand the depth of your salvation, you must have a theology of the resurrection . Paul states, "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us" (Romans 8:34). "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished

Holiness and Incarnation

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. John 1:1-5,14,17 The Holiness of God Moses asks God for His name (Exodus 3:13). The name God gives Moses will speak to the very character of God. I am sure Moses was very curious as to what God would say. And what does God say? “I AM WHO I AM.” Well, that’s odd. You and I would never say that. And that is exactly right. God cannot say, “I am like ___________.” There is no point of reference outside of Himself to which God can point and say, “There, look at that, I’m

Reason for God: Tim Keller addresses Google

I have been waiting to watch this video! Thanks to Reformissionary for posting it.

Easter, Too Much for Children?

Russell Moore draws our attention to a perplexing situation arising between a church and the publisher of the Sunday school curriculum. I encourage you to read the letter that the publisher sent to try to explain the removal of the crucifixion and the resurrection from their preschool lessons.

Feeling the Divine: Holy Jealousy

“I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.” 2 Corinthians 11:2-6 Reading Too Quickly The first thing we read here is that Paul feels a divine jealousy. We sometimes read too quickly through our Bibles and don’t linger. There is something mysterious in this first sentence. What does it mean to feel a divine jealousy? To know the answer to this qu

Resurrection Realities

For the Christian, a theology that exults over the resurrection of Christ is crucial. As we approach Easter, God has been building up my theology of the resurrection of Christ and its connection with the resurrection of the believer. It is with great joy that I can refer you to John Piper's newest Taste & See Article: Let These Results of the Resurrection of Jesus Revive Your Passion for His Supremacy Over All Things .

Zimbabwe & Prayer

A BBC News article from July 2007 states, "In Zimbabwe's case, the near-5,000% annual rate of inflation means that a loaf of bread bought today is about 50 times more expensive - in cash terms - than it was a year ago. And prices are continuing to accelerate, in some cases doubling in weeks - or even, on occasion, days. Wages, on the other hand, are nowhere near keeping up. One correspondent recently told the BBC News website that one candle can cost twice the daily official government wage for a farm worker, while the price tag for a single banana is 15 times what she paid seven years ago for a four-bedroom house. " A more recent article from CNN from March 5, 2008 observes that $1(US) = $25,000,000 (Zimbabwe) . That is absolute insanity. The article goes on to say, "Currency dealers said uncertainties ahead of elections scheduled March 29 and the world's highest inflation of 100,500 percent led holders of hard currency to hang on to their money at the same

The Consummation of All Things and a Memory

There are those memories that you hope God allows you to keep. You hope that they are held by His sovereign will in your heart to be cherished. For me, there is a collection of some of my most treasured memories, namely evening conversations with my momma. God provided Lois and Eunice for Timothy, and He blessed me with Sadie and Kathy. Through many evening conversations in my childhood, my momma taught me the beauty of Christ, the majesty of God, and the suffiency of the Scriptures. Our conversations were not the typical ones that mothers and sons have. We talked theology over a glass of tea or a Coke. My earliest memory of these conversations is of momma "reading to me about heaven." -- or should I say "weadin' to me about heaven"? I couldn't say my r's (among other things). As far as I can tell, it was what my momma read to me at this request that has been the most foundational. My momma read to me out of Revelation 20-22 in these instances. These p

By the Breath of God Ice is Given

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“At this also my heart trembles and leaps out of its place. Keep listening to the thunder of his voice and the rumbling that comes from his mouth. Under the whole heaven he lets it go, and his lightning to the corners of the earth. After it his voice roars; he thunders with his majestic voice, and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard. God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend. For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour. He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he made may know it. Then the beasts go into their lairs, and remain in their dens. From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds. By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast. He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. They turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of

Pray the Bible

Greg Gilbert has posted an amazing blog entry on praying the Scriptures

Together for the Gospel 2006 Videos

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I had long thought that it would be wonderful if the videos from the Together for the Gospel conference held in 2006 could be obtained. The audio has been available by Sovereign Grace Ministries for free here . Ligonier Ministries has made the videos available for viewing here or for purchase here .

Can it be? A Simple, Challenging, and Comforting Read

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In an era in which false conversions are common and truth is obfuscated or denied, John Blanchard has provided an amazingly clear text to help you examine if you are truly a regenerate Christian. The Bible is often seen as an antiquated text of checklists of to-do’s. In Blessed: The Beatitudes for Today , Blanchard expounds the opening section (called the Beatitudes) of the Sermon on the Mount , showing that the character of a Christian flows from a relationship with the Sovereign Lord. He notes that the Beatitudes as a whole is an evidence (singular) of one’s right relationship with God and not a checklist of things to do to get right with God. I have been challenged by Blanchard to lean upon Christ, to desire to look more like Him, and to herald the glory of the gospel. May God grant me more books to read like this one! I doubt that I have read such a simple, yet deep, text . One of the blurbs on the back of the book states, “John Blanchard’s fertile mined, wide reading and clar

A Heart for Evangelism

This coming weekend my church is holding a seminar to help people live with an evangelistic mindset. Evangelism is an amazing grace that God has given us. In it, we let the overflow of joy that we have for God extend outward to proclaim His goodness to others that they may know the same joy. It is a privelige! I commend this sermon by John Blanchard to you for your encouragement. In it, he relays this humbling exhortation from Richard Baxter: Oh, if you have the hearts of Christians, or of men in you, let them yearn towards your poor, ignorant, ungodly neighbours. Alas! There is but a step betwixt them and death and hell….Have you hearts of rock, that you cannot pity men in such a case as this? If you believe not the word of God, and the danger of sinners, why are you Christians yourselves? If you do believe it, why do you not bestir you to the helping of others? Do you not care who is damned, so you be saved?

Can You Even Ask the Question, or Will You Get Expelled?

“ There are no stupid questions. ” When teachers state this at the beginning of the semester, they are usually trying to create a certain type of learning environment. We want students to ask the hard questions . We want them to become passionate about learning. Asking questions is vital to learning! It is an exhilarating rush to ask a question, study diligently, and see the solution appear. It is like a boat on a voyage through uncharted waters. It crosses over the immeasurable distances, and through the fog, something happens: LAND! Here is an interesting thought: What if you were never allowed to get on the boat? Interestingly, a culture that purports free thought may have stifled it. Our academic institutions are to challenge us, but do they? Sure, they may say there are no stupid questions, but what happens when you ask it? Can you even ask the question? Expelled: No Intelligent Design Allowed features Ben Stein probing this question in the context of the Darwin vs. Intelligent

The Believer's Good Portion

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (ESV) When we sit down to eat (especially in America), we find ourselves at a table with large portions. We can go to a buffet style restaurant and choose from many different salad toppings, entrees, and side items. We can go up as often as we would like, eating much…too much. We can start out well, eating a small salad with a low-fat dressing. Then we get to the main course, and the options begin to weigh on us,