Monthly Archives: July 2011

Editor’s Note: July 2011

by Stephen Rodgers

It occurred to me that we hadn’t done one of these for a while.  On one hand, I hope that you enjoyed your break from my ramblings, but on the other hand, I probably should have done a better job of keeping everyone informed of the going-ons behind the scenes here at the Beacon.  If you have a moment, I’d ask that you indulge me and read the following announcements.

  • Hiatus: first and foremost, I just wanted to let you know that the Beacon is going on a planned hiatus for the month of July.  There are a number of factors that contribute to this: a number of our writers will be out on the missions field, I won’t be available to do updates for part of the time, and quite frankly, a number of folks (myself included) could use a little break.  Normally we only take two weeks off in July, but this time, it will be for the remainder of the month.  There’s just a LOT going on.
  • Can I Haz Article?: need something to read?  Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.  Through the miracle of modern technology, I’ve enabled a “Random Posts” widget (just look over at the right column…there it is) that will suggest three random articles every time you visit this page.  I’ve excluded posts from the Lighthouse News and Editor’s Notes categories since those tend to have a bit of an expiration date on them.  My sincere hope is that you will discover a number of great articles and series this way.  PLEASE avail yourself to it.  And of course, you’re welcome to simply explore the various categories and series in a more systematic fashion if you prefer.
  • Plans for the future: when we return in August, we’ll have a number of new articles for you, along with the continuation of some of the more established series.  And in the near future we’re going to be starting up a new series, so keep your eyes peeled for that.  And if you were considering being a staff writer for the Beacon, please let me know since we’re already starting to set the article schedule for the fall.
  • Apology: I also just want to briefly take the opportunity to apologize for the somewhat haphazard article schedule lately.  For those of you who don’t know, I manage most of the administrative functions myself, and the recent employment issues threw me for a bit of a loop.  But that is all settled, I’ve learned to hand off some of the responsibility to others, and when we start up again, we should be much more timely with the regularly-scheduled updates.  So thank you for your patience, and I will do my very best not to let that happen again.

That’s all for now.  I’m very excited about what the future has in store, and looking forward to sharing it with you when we get back.

See you in August!

Pro Rege

In Whom Also We Have Obtained an Inheritance

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Ephesians 1:11

When Jesus gave Himself for us, He gave us all the rights and privileges which went with Himself; so that now, although as eternal God, He has essential rights to which no creature may venture to pretend, yet as Jesus, the Mediator, the federal Head of the covenant of grace, He has no heritage apart from us. All the glorious consequences of His obedience unto death are the joint riches of all who are in Him, and on whose behalf He accomplished the divine will.

See, He enters into glory, but not for Himself alone, for it is written, ‘Whither the Forerunner is for us entered.’ Heb. 6:20. Does He stand in the presence of God?-‘He appears in the presence of God for us.’ Heb. 9:24. Consider this, believer. You have no right to heaven in yourself: your right lies in Christ. If you are pardoned, it is through His blood; if you are justified, it is through His righteousness; if you are sanctified, it is because He is made of God unto you sanctification; if you shall be kept from falling, it will be because you are preserved in Christ Jesus; and if you are perfected at the last, it will be because you are complete in Him.

Thus Jesus is magnified-for all is in Him and by Him; thus the inheritance is made certain to us-for it is obtained in Him; thus each blessing is the sweeter, and even heaven itself the brighter, because it is Jesus our Beloved ‘in whom’ we have obtained all. Where is the man who shall estimate our divine portion? Weigh the riches of Christ in scales, and His treasure in balances, and then think to count the treasures which belong to the saints. Reach the bottom of Christ’s sea of joy, and then hope to understand the bliss which God hath prepared for them that love Him. Overleap the boundaries of Christ’s possessions, and then dream of a limit to the fair inheritance of the elect. ‘All things are yours, for ye are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.’

1.30p

Weekly Links (7/1/2011)

The worst thing about idols, as the Hebrew scriptures so tirelessly point out, is that they are utterly useless when you need them most (Jer. 2:28).” (Christopher J. H. Wright, “Editorial: ‘All Our Gods Have Failed,’ Themelios 18, no. 3 (1993)). HT: Andy Naselli

by Stephen Rodgers

I suppose this would be a good time to mention that you can find past issues of Themelios here.

Actually, this is a great week for journals in general:

  • The 9Marks eJournal has a new issue out, entitled The Pastor and his Staff.  I’ve also updated our 9Marks eJournal topical index.
  • The July edition of Tabletalk is out, and it focuses on Fraternity: The Bonds of Brotherhood.  Again, you can peruse the archive here. I really should create a topical index for that as well, one of these days.
  • Also, I recently discovered the that The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) has a Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (JBMW). And you can view the archive of those issues here.  I’ve also added it to the list of journals on the Recommended Resources page.

And that brings us to the links this week; I tried to select a few from some sources we don’t see as often.

  • From CREDENDAagenda we have a great article on family worship.  My favorite quote: “There is a reason kids loved to be around Jesus, and it wasn’t because he was lecturing at length about the Torah or the Five Points of Calvinism.”
  • Frontline Missions International has an article about the dangers of a missionary not raising up or supporting local leadership.
  • Ray Ortland reproduces five vows that his father made before God.
  • Skye Jethani has some words of caution regarding the current trend of investing a church too heavily into a single celebrity pastor in his article Blessed Redundancy.

That’s it for this week.  See you Sunday!

Pro Rege