Daily Reads - 6/28/17

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Love Suffers Long
"A love that never ends is a love that suffers long."


A Spiritual Barometer Check
"If I love God I will love His people."


What Your Kids Really Need
"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you set at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 11:18-19



Why You Should Listen to Millennials in Your Church
"Churches must take seriously Paul's admonition to train and instruct the next generation. If you don't know about Millennials' aspirations, concerns, and common struggles, you probably won't be adept at instruction them in the ways of the Lord. And you should be instructing them - to walk with the Lord, read Scripture, pray, evangelize, serve the poor, work their jobs, and more. That's just the task of discipleship."


Seven Discoveries to Define and Ignite Passion for Missions
A summary of the missions vision of Bethlehem Baptist Church.

Daily Reads - 6/22/17

How to Distinguish True Zeal From False Zeal
"While zeal is a noble trait, it must be properly directed, for not all zeal is good. Here are some pointers on distinguishing true from false zeal."

What is a Worldview?
"Christians surveying the cultural landscape in the West have a clear sense that things are headed in a destructive direction. While most believers can easily identify the symptoms of decline, few feel competent to diagnose and address the root causes. There are many complex factors behind these developments, but one invaluable tool for better understanding and engaging with our culture is the concept of worldview."

Teens Who Choose Life in Unplanned Pregnancies Need Support and Respect, Not Shame
"May God's people reach out in love and compassion to both unborn children and their moms. And may we demonstrate to teens that abortion really is never the answer."

A Christian Witness Older Than Canada
"In Canada, June 21st is National Aboriginal Day, a time to reflect on the heritage of the First Nations who live across Canada. What can come as surprise to some is the example of Christian witness exhibited among the First Nations in the early days of Canada, even predating Confederation in 1867."

Mary Slessor's Courageous Compassion
Inspiring pioneer missionary who served in one of the most violent regions of Africa.

Destination Wally World: How to Not Lose Sight of the Gospel on your Family Vacation
"Pursuing my own agenda causes me to miss what Jesus is doing."

5 Principles for University Evangelism
"There's no greater mission field than the university today. Student evangelism has never been more challenged - or more needed."

The Spurgeon Center
Your home for all things Spurgeon!

Daily Reads - 6/21/17

I Am the Center of the Universe
"Where were you when I established the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding." (Job 38:4)

3 New Goals For Pursuing My Wife
"I'm realizing that my ability to love my wife well greatly depends on my intentional, ongoing pursuit of who she is and what she's feeling. That's the essence of romance: intentional pursuit."

4 Promising Opportunities in University Evangelism
"Student evangelism has always stressed the importance of relationship but, in our time, love will be as important as argument for showing people the plausibility of the gospel"

6 Things to Do with Your Anxiety

Never Read the Bible Simply to Know
"I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord." (George Muller)

Daily Reads - 6/20/17

10 Things You Should Know About Fatherhood


Motherhood is a Calling


Six Attitudes That Kill Evangelism in the Church


7 Tips for Sharing the Gospel with Teens


The Challenge of University Evangelism
"Students are becoming highly sensitive, traumatized, and outraged by opposing viewpoints."

Every Christian Ought to be a Good Historian
"Many in the modern world, sadly even Christians, see the past as little more than this: a tiresome account of a few big names with little wisdom to impart for life today."


What Global Terrorism Means for a Sending Church
"Perhaps considering this question is part of the church's task of counting the cost. Realizing and acknowledging the nature of sending - the kind the Bible describes - will lead churches to prepare for the best and the worst. May they do so with inexpressible and glorious joy because death - even its threat - does not have the final word."


The Number One Reason Missionaries Go Home


What Do You Pray for ISIS?

Daily Reads - 6/6/17

The Gospel Was Given For a Time Like This
"Is evil winning? I don't believe it. I can't believe it. Not when I break from the bad news to focus on the good news. The despair retreats in the face of truth. The truth I preach to myself again and again is this: The gospel was given for a time like this."

The Bible's Three Big Lessons on Debt
"Debt is not always wrong, but in most cases it is inadvisable. It is the better part of wisdom to avoid debt whenever possible, to enter it with only the utmost caution, and to discharge it at the earliest opportunity."

Sunday School Syndrome
Some interesting thoughts on how successful Sunday School has been in raising godly children. This article really is a call to parents to step it up in being the primary teacher and trainer for their children.

Can a Person Choose Their Own Race? The Inevitable Hypocrisy of Relativism
"This hypocrisy - which is inherent to postmodernity - tells us something very important. It tells us that we humans make lousy gods. That's what postmodernity is, after all. It is the human attempt to be god. It is the human attempt to control our own reality and determine our own truth... but in the end, we fail miserably."

5 Facts About D-Day

Daily Reads - 6/5/17

What We Miss
"I wonder how many beautiful moments we miss because we are afraid we will miss them."

This is What Makes a Vacation Restorative
"Here's how to make sure you return to work fully recharged after your vacation."

What Makes Killing Christians Appealing
A difficult read, but Dr. Ibrahim writes about an important concept to understand as we survey both history and our contemporary world.

Prisoners of Self: Incessant Autobiography in the Smartphone Age

Desecration and Titillation
"When you look at pornography you are watching the violation of what God considers more valuable than anything else He has created."

9 Ways to Raise Up Leaders In Your Church
"I want to promote and equip men who look like they can help advance Christianity into the place I'll never go: the future beyond my passing."

Study: Phone-Obsessed Parents Have Naughtier Kids
"Researchers warn moms and dads against constantly checking their devices."

The Question Churches Can No Longer Ignore
"The American Culture & Faith Institute recently conducted a nationwide study of spiritually active Christians, partly to discover what social issues parishioners want their pastors to cover. Ninety-one percent of respondents wanted more information from their pastor on abortion and topics related to 'the beginning of life, right to life, contraception, adoption, and unwed mothers.'"

Daily Reads - 6/2/17

A 93-million Mile Love
"As whole congregations love other whole congregations, we will be proving that the love within our churches is too strong to contain, too intense to remain within its four walls."

Bed Sheets, Calendars and Prayer
"Wednesday evenings remind us that we are all American people with comfortable bed sheets and full calendars. Prayer, by the looks of it, doesn't seem to be a priority."

The Pastor's Personal Life: A Source of Power in the Pulpit
"Take it as a general rule: the day you lose your godliness is the day you lose your power in pastoral preaching."

3 Priorities for Christian Parents

Learning Contentment Through Repetition
"When we remember that our ultimate and most pressing need is fully met in God, it is difficult to complain."

Daily Reads - 6/1/17

10 Unforgettable Lessons on Fatherhood
This is an excellent read! I couldn't help but think about and thank God for my own dad... how he so often did these 10 things for me.

Google Knows Who You Really Are
"The human heart often thinks it can cover its paths before God, saying 'The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive' (Ps. 94:7). The truth is, we can't even hide from Google. How can we hide from God?"

Solomon's Twitter Guidelines
25 guidelines from the Proverbs to consider before I post on Twitter. Applies to any other social media outlet and conversation...

9 Things You Should Know About Ramadan
"Because Muslims account for 1.6 billion of our global neighbors, Christians need to become more aware of Ramadan and Islamic practices. Here are nine things you should know about Islam's holiest month."

The Church in Ukraine: Crisis, Celebration, and Hope
Whenever I can, I like to post an update of what is happening in the Church around the world. We need to be mindful and in prayer for our brothers and sisters wherever they live.

Four Ways a Short Term Mission Trip Can Change Your Perspective

When the Ku Klux Klan Tried to Shut Down Religious Schools
This day in history... 1925.