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Archive for February, 2010

The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment on Trackback Thursday

9781581349092In The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, author and blogger Tim Challies urges readers to learn to discern truth from error, good from bad, better from best. There is great value in acquiring discernment and a great cost in ignoring it.

Challies writes:

Mature Christians have learned to differentiate between what is pleasing to God and what is not, between what is consistent with Scripture and what is not. The Bible places great emphasis on spiritual maturity because, like children, immature believers are prone to sample anything. They are attracted to what looks good to their untrained eyes. Only as they grow in maturity are they able to differentiate between what pleases God and what does not. Because of this there can be no growth without discernment . . .

This is the bad news. Scripture portrays those who lack spiritual discernment in three ways: they are spiritually immature, they are backslidden, and they are dead. Those who lack discernment or do not care for it will fit into one of these three categories. These are the dangers of ignoring discernment.

But there is good news, too. The Bible declares that there are many benefits stored up for those who desire discernment, those who seek after it and practice it.

A reminder of how Trackback Thursday works: Simply link to the blog post from your blog, leave a comment on Crossway’s Facebook Page, or re-tweet Trackback Thursday on Twitter @Crosswaybooks. Winners are picked on Friday morning.

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February 18, 2010 | Posted in: Author,Books,Pursuit of Holiness | Author: Crossway Staff @ 9:11 am | (6) Comments »

Posted in Author, Books, Pursuit of Holiness | 6 Comments »

Pre-Order Special: Doctrine by Driscoll and Breshears

big_doctrinePre-order your copy of Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe and get a free Resurgence T-Shirt (as well as an advance PDF copy of the book). Promotion ends March 3rd, 2010.

You can also view chapter summaries and link to related sermons from Mars Hill at the above link.

While there are many churches, networks, and denominations with their own doctrinal statements and points of disagreements, Driscoll and Breshears present 13 key elements that should be held by anyone claiming to be a follower of Jesus. This is a substantial yet readable overview of basic doctrine will help Christians clarify and articulate their beliefs in accordance with the Bible.

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February 17, 2010 | Posted in: Books,Theology | Author: Crossway Staff @ 9:05 am | 0 Comments »

Posted in Books, Theology | No Comments »

Marriage trouble? A Means of Grace

Pre-order your copy of What Did You Expect? here to receive a 35% discount, an autographed copy of the book, and a free e-book!

God Wants You to Give Up
Original post from Between Two Worlds

[God's] grace purposes to expose and free you from your bondage to you. His grace is meant to bring you to the end of yourself so that you willing finally begin to place your identity, your meaning and purpose, and your inner sense of well-being in him.

So he places you in a comprehensive relationship with another flawed person, and he places that relationship right in the middle of a very broken world.

To add to this, he designs circumstances for you that you would have never designed for yourself.

All this is meant to bring you to the end of yourself, because that is where true righteousness begins.

He wants you to give up.

He wants you to abandon your dream.

He wants you to face the futility of trying to manipulate the other person into your service.

He knows there is no life to be found in these things.

What does this practically mean?

It means the trouble that you face in your marriage is not an evidence of the failure of grace.

No, these troubles are grace.

They are tools God uses to pry us out of the stultifying confines of the kingdom of self so that we can be free to luxuriate in the big-sky glories of the kingdom of God.

This means that you and I will never understand our marriages and never be satisfied with them until we understand that marriage is not an end to itself.

No, the reality is that marriage has been designed by God to be a means to an end.

When you make it the end, bad things happen.

But when you begin to understand that it is a means to an end, then you begin to enjoy and see the value in things that you would not have been able to enjoy before.

(What Did You Expect pp 51-52).

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February 16, 2010 | Posted in: Marriage,The Grace of God | Author: Crossway Staff @ 10:14 am | 0 Comments »

Posted in Marriage, The Grace of God | No Comments »

It’s More About Grace Than Race

An Interview with Anthony Carter and Richard Doster from By Faith Magazine.

Anthony Carter is lead pastor of a new church plant, East Point Church, just outside of Atlanta, Ga. Carter earned his M.A. in biblical studies from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Fla. And he has authored and edited several books, including On Being Black and Reformed and Experiencing the Truth.

Carter’s newest book is Glory Road: The Journeys of 10 African-Americans into Reformed Christianity. We spoke with him about the differences between “black” and “white” Christianity, and how Reformed theology is viewed in African-American churches.

Why is it important that we know how these 10 black men came to the Reformed faith?

I think it’s important to know how God’s work of grace has occurred in the lives of those who are outside our normal sphere of influence. It is encouraging to know that God’s grace and salvation are being marvelously and wonderfully experienced outside our normal circles. A lot of us have a myopic view of Christianity and our own faith. To be encouraged, to know that God is at work in the hearts of men and women whose lives may not look exactly like ours—and yet whose faith and confession is the same—that should offer a sense of encouragement. And it should offer a challenge to get involved in what God is doing, even outside our normal areas of operation.

For Further Discussion

In your church, are people concerned about how God is working in the lives of people who are different? Should they be more concerned? What can you do to spark that kind of encouragement?

Continue reading full article here.

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February 12, 2010 | Posted in: Books,Interviews,Race,The Grace of God | Author: Crossway Staff @ 6:50 am | 1 Comment »

Posted in Books, Interviews, Race, The Grace of God | 1 Comment »

The Great Exchange on Trackback Thursday

9781581349276This week’s trackback title is all about the gospel. The Great Exchange: My Sin for His Righteousness will help readers to more deeply meditate on the gospel and the implications of the atonement.

“This book is for every Christian, regardless of one’s level of spiritual maturity, explain Bridges and Bevington.”Many believers view the gospel only as a message to be shared with unbelievers but not personally applicable to themselves . . . but we need to be reminded that our day-to-day standing with God is based on Christ’s righteousness and not our performance. We need the gospel to motivate us to strive in our daily experience to be what we are in our standing before God. We need it to produce joy in our lives when we encounter the inevitable trials of living in a fallen and sin-cursed world.”

A reminder of how Trackback Thursday works: Simply link to the blog post from your blog, leave a comment on Crossway’s Facebook Page, or re-tweet Trackback Thursday on Twitter @Crosswaybooks. Winners are picked on Friday morning.

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February 11, 2010 | Posted in: Books,The Gospel | Author: Crossway Staff @ 7:53 am | (7) Comments »

Posted in Books, The Gospel | 7 Comments »