I ran across this interesting article by Beth Spraul (read it here), regarding the nature and potential dangers of “chick flicks.” Anyone who knows me well knows that I enjoy a good one, even sitting tirelessly with a satisfied grin on my face while watching the five-hour BBC version of Pride and Prejudice numerous times. How’s that for true confessions.

Regardless of my own tastes, I have often reflected on the ways these films can shape our views of romance and marriage in a way that is unbiblical, and therefore potentially harmful.

Read on for all of my comments, or click on her article above to read it first.

This is a summary of a sermon I preached recently from Psalm 4, which I titled “How to Sleep in Distress.” Every Christian at some point or other, whether due to their faith, or simply due to the sins of others, has suffered at the hands of distressing and unjust slander and ill-treatment. We even lose sleep over it.

But in psalm 4, King David teaches us that we don’t have to!

While David knew his share of deceptive, worthless and unjust treatment by others, by God’s grace he was able to maintain a proper perspective of the situation. As a result, he could lie down and rest peacefully at night (Psa. 4:8). Psalm 4 explains how he was able to do it.

Read on to find out how you too can sleep deeply during your distress.

I get some ministry newsletters to keep myself encouraged and refreshed, and feel compelled to share some comments from a recent article I read by Jonathan Leeman. He is in charge of the web content on the 9marks website, a treasure trove of helpful information regarding ministry and the local church.

In this article, Leeman reminds us to love the people of the church, with all their warts, and wrinkles, and misunderstandings, and weaknesses, and idioscyncrasies.

Click here, or on the title, to read the whole article.

From time to time people ask me about Beth Moore. So, I decided to read one of her books, Believing God (published in 2004).

My overall impression: While there are many good things about the book, I would never recommend it. In fact, the weaknesses of the book are so significant that I would go so far as to discourage people from reading it - if they…click here to read more.

I recently preached on Psalm 4 , and mentioned in my sermon that the emotion of anger is not always sinful (see Psalm 4:4 and Eph. 4:26; this was certainly Paul’s view of the issue). Anger itself is simply a strong feeling or emotion of displeasure brought about by a real or perceived unfulfilled desire (see James 4 for a description).

While it isn’t always sinful, our flesh very often turns the emotion into a sinful response. This is the danger with anger.

In an article on anger in The Journal of Biblical Counseling David Powlison provides an excellent list of tests to ask and apply in order to discern if your anger is righteous from beginning to end, according to biblical guidelines.

Click here to find out what they are!

One of my favorite authors, Dr. Jay Adams, has started a new blog where he is giving short, helpful comments on topics and passages of Scripture. In a recent post he discusses the topic of “Promptings of the Spirit” as they relate to assurance of salvation, and gives a helpful discussion of the biblical passage almost everyone uses to describe this experience.

Here is the complete text of what Dr. Adams said.

This is an extended quote from Puritan author Thomas Brooks, which is appropriately themed for the holiday season. I found it at the site of an old friend of mine, who now pastors a church in London.

The quote encourages to think highly and clearly about the reign of the great King, Jesus Christ, and of our soon entrance into His holy, heavenly Kingdom. And it encourages us to follow the example of the wise men, who humbly bow in homage and worship to the King of kings.

Are you following the guidance of the star of Bethlehem through the dark wilderness of life? If you are, you will be led to the Sun of Righteousness; you will find Jesus; and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man can take from you. And in a little while, your eyes shall behold the King of Zion, your exalted Savior, in the heavenly mansions, where his glory will be no more veiled as it was on earth. This blessed vision may be very near.

The sight of your Father’s house above, may be ready to open upon your enraptured view. Angels may be waiting to conduct your happy soul to the glorious presence of King Jesus, who now reigns on heaven’s highest, brightest throne. You may be about to sit down among that ransomed throng, who are now beholding the glory of Him, who was born in Bethlehem, and crucified on Calvary. You may be about to gaze upon that countenance which now shines as the sun; to see those hands which were for you nailed to the cross; to hear that voice, which alone can speak pardon and peace to the guilty, troubled soul. Oh, let us be thankful for that spiritual light which points us to such untold blessedness. And let our joy increase more and more, as by faith we see the Star of Morning, guiding us to glory and immortality. ‘Exult in his holy name; O worshipers of the Lord, rejoice!’

When the wise men find the Savior they fall down, and worship Him. Notwithstanding the low and unhonored condition in which they see Him, they at once prostrate themselves in His presence with grateful hearts, paying homage to His name, and presenting unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. What a noble example is here presented to us! When we find the blessed Jesus, we should acknowledge His majesty, worship Him as our divine Savior, while, at the same time, we should give Him the strongest affections of our hearts, and the best services of our lives. We should present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Him, which is our reasonable service. We should honor Him with our substance, and with the first-fruits of all our increase. Counting nothing too valuable to be withheld from Him, we should be ready, if necessary, to part with life itself for the sake of Him who, in His incomparable mercy, laid down His own precious life for us, that we might never experience the second death–that we might be crowned with a blissful immortality.

Thomas Brooks, The Star of Bethlehem

If you would like to listen to a Christmas themed sermon, here is one I preached a couple of years ago, which others have mentioned they enjoyed. I’ll take the opportunity for a cheap form of free advertising for our church’s website and our sermon audio.

At times it is simply unavoidable to engage in discussions about issues that are difficult to understand and controversial in nature. Because we are part of Christ’s one true church we should expect Satan and his blinded servants to attack and seek to confuse and distract God’s children. We’ve discussed in past posts why it is important to be vigilant about truth, and how to go about exposing error while maintaining Christlike character (clearly, our Lord did not shy away from controversy and “feather ruffling”).

I was encouraged by this quote from Martin Luther, who initially began the Protestant reformation as an objection to abuses within the Roman Catholic Church and by many of its priests. The real battle quickly exposed itself, as a battle that struck to the heart of the gospel, and the doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone. Luther quickly took up that fight, because it was indeed the doctrine that “the world and the devil [were] at that moment attacking.”

Here is his strengthening encouragement.

“If I profess, with the loudest voice and clearest exposition, every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battle fields besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point” — Martin Luther

Stand strong for truth. Be steady and loyal. A battle for truth is indeed raging today on many fronts, primarily regarding the very meaning of the term Christian (and the gospel), the sufficiency of Scripture, and the certainty and absolute nature of truth itself.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 - Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

The book series turned blockbuster movie, “Twilight” raked in over 70 million dollars it’s first weekend, and mostly on it’s appeal to young teenaged girls.

I haven’t read the books myself, but I know those who have, and it’s popularity and appeal to young ladies certainly has made me wonder what they’re all about. I was glad to see a careful, discerning and balanced review by Tim Challies on his website. I thought it would be helpful to let you know it was available in case you, your kids, or your friends are looking for reliable information about the book from a Christian perspective.

Here is a basic summary of his conclusions from the end of the review.

I just don’t know that young girls will derive any benefit from spending hours reading and thinking about such an unrealistic, unobtainable, perverse kind of love. It glories in love that is forbidden, dangerous and just plain weird. The fact that the story involves vampires may be beside the point. My primary concern with Twilight, as I consider handing it to a girl of thirteen or fifteen or seventeen, is its sensuous quality. The lack of overt sexuality means that it is not an erotic book, but it is very nearly so. It oozes sensuality even without an act of consummation.

I hope you’re helped by the information

Here is an encouraging devotional thought from Stephen Altrogge on his blog The Blazing Center. I copied it completely here, but you can view the post here at his site if you want.

He quotes from the English Standard Version of Judges 10:16. I actually prefer the way the NIV puts it — God “could bear Israel’s misery no longer.” When you are suffering and in misery, even as a result of your sinful choices, God’s mercy and grace is still in operation.

Here are Altrogge’s comments.

God is patient and longsuffering when it comes to our sins, but impatient over our suffering.

The book of Judges recounts how Israel rejected God repeatedly, and after much patience with their idolatries, would send foreign nations to oppress them, to turn them back to himself. And every time, after chafing under their oppressors’ yokes for years, Israel would cry out to God. Then, filled with pity, despite all their past rebuffs, God would rescue them. But as soon as things were going well again…poof – Israel’s love would evaporate, and they’d be back sleazing with their idols.

You’d think God would have just dumped them. That after so many slaps in the face, he’d say, “Hey, you made your bed, now sleep in it.” But he was patient with their sins and amazingly anxious to end their well-deserved suffering.

So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel. Judges 10.16

Isn’t that incredible? God was “impatient” over their distress. When I’m impatient it’s sinful, but God’s impatience in the above verse is seen by many scholars “as a reference to God’s great mercy and his capacity to be moved by Israel’s misery and repentance” (ESV Study Bible).

If God pitied unfaithful Israel in their affliction, how much more is he moved by the suffering of his blood-bought children. God has a holy impatience with our suffering. He’s not deaf to our cries or unmoved by our sighs, but quick to listen, quick to send grace. He has pity and compassion as vast and deep as the ocean.

What an incredible God – he’s patient with our sins and offenses, but he’s impatient over our misery, and anxious to end it.