Freeeeeeeeedom! (its hard to impersonate William Wallace in a title)

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

(Galatians 5:1).

Sounds fair enough, right? Jesus set us free so we shouldn't submit ourselves to sin again!
One problem, while the Bible is clear about that truth elsewhere, here Paul isn't referring to sin as the slave master. Rather we find this verse surrounded by discussion about the law.

Check it out - even a light scan of chapters 3&4 will reveal that Paul is talking O.T. law and in ch 5 he continues to declare that if we accept one part, we are obligated to keep the whole law. (The example Paul uses is circumcision, the issue of the day, but there aren't too many Churches who want this part of the law in 2012).

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery."

(Galatians 5:1)

Christian: Ever Feel Chained To Sin?

"I testify unto you, that we be always sinners, though not of purpose and malice after the nature of damned devils, but of infirmity and frailty of our flesh; which . . . through manifold occasions and temptations carrieth us clean out of the right way, spite our hearts.

Howbeit (I say) if, when the rage is past we turn unto the right way again, and confess our sins unto our Father with a repenting heart, he hath promised us mercy . . .

. . . for we have an advocate and an intercessor with the Father, even Jesus Christ that is righteous."

William Tyndale [The Works pg 152]

A 'Must Read' Book

"A plea to all Christian book reviewers. Only the Bible is a "must read". Really. Let's drop this phrase forever. Seriously."

 John Piper

Opening My Bible To See & Know Jesus: Study, Meditation & Prayer

Whenever i open my Bible the main motivating factor is a desire to see, know & love Christ more as a result. Regardless of whether it's personal devotions, preaching to a crowd, speaking one-to-one or teaching my children the open Bible, seeing Christ in the passage so that i/we/others can be deeply affected by Him is the reason.

A lot of things formed this view in my mind, but perhaps standing out among these as a monumental moment was when i listened to 'Adoring Christ: Communion with God' by Tim Keller. It was part of a series taught by him & Edmund Clowney - Preaching Christ in a Postmodern World.

I haven't talked much about it before because it takes me back to a really difficult time in which we'd lost a 2nd baby and we were at the hospital. As my wife went for the 'procedure' i went for a walk & flicked on my ipod and saw the title "Communion with God". I figured i need some of that!
I sat outside on a bench for the duration of the message, just staring ahead and took a lesson in the midst of that difficulty.

This is Christ-centered, devotion changing, joyful Bible opening stuff.

Just because i used them as an example of how i take notes in a previous post, here are a couple of pics of my notes from this. (click for larger image)

Tim links Study and prayer with meditation as a means of moving from one into the other in a connected and relevant way. it is a great message and a great way to open Scripture.

What 5 Things Would You Not Bend On

To the Christian there are many things that we can be flexible on. There are also some things that we should refuse to bend on. What 5 things would you refuse to bend on in your faith?

Praying for Children To Be Unhindered In Approaching Jesus

One of the constant prayers i pray for my children is rooted in Luke 18:16 where Jesus says:

"Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them . . ."

I pray that Jacob & Faith would come to Jesus and that nothing would hinder them.

1. That the world would not hinder them.
2. That the flesh would not hinder them.
3. That the evil one would not hinder them.
4. That i would not hinder them.

Yeh, i tend to get a bit more detailed and pray against the grips of alcohol, lust, girls, boys, food, money-lust, pride . . . you get the picture.
Primarily everything (sinful or not) that could become a hinderance fall into the first 3 groups. The 4th you may think is strange, but my worst fear is that i as their dad would be a hinderance to their approach to Christ.

70 Lessons In Preaching & Teaching Christ by George Goodman - Revival Publications

When i think of Revival Publishing (a branch of Revival Movement Association) i think of this title. I first mentioned it on the blog in 2008, and it is just finished it's second print run.
I know the title gives the impression this is a book for leaders & preachers, but it ought to have a far wider readership base than that.

Goodman originally wanted to title it:

"Setting Forth The LORD Jesus Christ in the Beauty and Dignity of His Person, Offices, Work And Teaching"

This is a far better title and description of the book. It is solely and unashamedly about Jesus. We generally talk a lot about the teachings and commandments from the Bible, about what work we're involved with or steps to spiritual maturity. But rarely do you hear a conversation dwell solely and delightfully upon Jesus Christ. And it is for that reason i believe this book to be one of, if not 'the' most important republishing work we have done. 


I was excited to load thousands of copies onto a container for Nigeria last week and pray that many more people there increase in their love & knowledge of Jesus as a result.