As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“If I was working on … some theological topic like the Sabbath—I’m sure my cancer would have been a distraction. But this book was on death and resurrection. So every time I wrote it was like having a wrestling-with-God prayer session. It was hard and great—but I always felt God dealing with me and helping me as I wrote.” - Tim Keller
“For many of us, 2020 has proven a tiring year. And when we’re exhausted, the last thing we want to do is open our eyes.” - TGC
“While Halloween has largely been overtaken by inflatable witches and gory masks, the holiday’s roots in Christian belief and practice offer easy opportunities to engage my children in conversations about death and grief and Christian hope.” - TGC
While attending seminary, my wife and I rented a tiny apartment in the inner city. In three short years, we witnessed more crime and violence than one might see in a month of TV police shows. Within a block of our home, we saw street fights, guns, prostitution, drug activity, car thefts, stalking and more.
What is the Nature of Our Hope? Is it not the redemption of our sick dying bodies and our wicked natures? And is not that hope found in Christ’s accomplished work on our behalf?
In Prayer and Spiritual Warfare (Saved in Hope), Charles Spurgeon wrote,
“…the Christian should be a source of hope for those we work with. Our hopefulness is a gift from God that we are born into as a result of our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Pet. 1:3–5) But its scope goes well beyond our personal salvation to the renewal of all of creation.” - IFWE
“Laughing at the Days to Come is a book about embracing and enduring life’s trials with divine joy. It is about gaining the kind of vision of that Proverbs 31 woman who can look into an unknown future and a long path of suffering and still rejoice. I think it’s fair to say that it’s written primarily for women, but there is no reason a man can’t read it and benefit just as much.” - Challies
Reposted from The Cripplegate.
According to Greek mythology, all evil is the fault of one woman: a young lady named Pandora. When the gods created Pandora, they each bestowed her with a gift. Among her birthday presents was a beautifully crafted treasure chest. But inside this box was a host of all the world’s evils.
When Pandora opened the box, the evils flew out like bats and immediately began plaguing mankind. Slander, greed, jealousy, hate, and every other degeneracy were forever at large.
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (KJV, Ephesians 6:4)
A while ago I went to visit a man whose wife had died. It was a cold winter day in Maine as I drove up to the ancient farmhouse overlooking a frozen lake in a largely unknown small town in rural Maine. For anyone reading this who is not from Maine, let me tell you that he fit the quintessential image of a Mainer. He sported a thick white beard and his skin was leathered and toughened by the harsh Maine winters and years of working outside.
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