“After reading Scripture, we must ask God for light to scrutinize our hearts and lives, then meditate upon the Word. Disciplined meditation on Scripture helps us focus on God. Meditation helps us view worship as a discipline. It involves our mind and understanding as well as our heart and affections. It works Scripture through the texture of the soul. Meditation helps prevent vain and sinful thoughts (Matt. 12:35), and provides inner resources on which to draw (Ps. 77:10-12), including direction for daily life (Prov. 6:21-22). Meditation fights temptation (Ps. 119:11, 15), provides relief in afflictions (Isa. 49:15-17), benefits others (Ps. 145:7), and glorifies God (Ps. 49:3).” (Joel Beeke, Feed My Sheep)
by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz
Feliz Friday! Another week closer to celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior! And another week or providing links that will hopefully draw you closer to Christ. So let’s jump right in!
- Denny Burk points us to a recent interview between Ryan Anderson and Mary Louise Kelly on gay rights as a civil liberty at The Atlantic’s inaugural LGBT forum, and the respect displayed by both sides in the interaction. Anderson continues to be a clear thinker on this issue, and hope to see his tribe increase in the public square.
- Bob Kellemen just finished blogging a series of posts related to how to counsel ourselves and others through anxiety. May God use you to bless others in providing a biblical perspective on this debilitating issue, to His glory. And don’t forget his list of top 15 biblical counseling books that appeared in 2015!
- Thanks to Veritas Domain, a recent chapel message from TMS covered the importance in maintaining humility while engaging others in defense of the Christian faith. Oh, how we need to hear this message today!
- John Piper has continued to provide slow gazes into passages of Scripture in his ‘Look at the Book’ labs, recently going over John 1:1-3, 14 to argue that God lived among us. A fitting theme for us to remember during this Christmas season. In part two, he hones in on Scripture’s emphasis that the glory of God in Christ is found in the Word of God.
- Ever wonder where we get the rate of divorce in the US from? Glenn Stanton breaks down the number, and also lays out the risks of a higher divorce rate, given certain factors. This can be a helpful guide in discussing how our beliefs affect marriage, and dispel the myth that those in the church have the same divorce rate as the general population.
- What are the benefits of systematic, long-term Scripture memorization? Pastor Chris Brauns lists seven, so you don’t want to miss this!
- Every Christmas, there’s always posts that focus on how to observe the holiday with Christ at the center, and also articles that denigrate the Christ of Christmas. First up, professor Michael Kruger gives a healthy dose of skepticism to an article that denies Jesus’ existence. Jonathan McIatchie argues for the historicity of Christmas, pastor Mark Jones reminds us of some truths of the incarnation to meditate on, Paul Tripp provides a number of resources on Advent (including a devotional, sermons, and videos), and Richard Phillips discusses the incarnation of Christ in this week’s Glory Books podcast. These are subjects worth pondering before Christmas.
- With the new release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Peter Jones writes on the worldview presented in the film that every believer should be aware of. May we continue to be discerning in what we watch.
That’s all for this week! Be in prayer this weekend for our Lumos Christmas Party / Lock-In! See you all on Sunday!
Soli Deo Gloria