Blogs

How to Take Responsibility after a Major Mistake – Michael Hyatt
What does it mean to take responsibility after a major mistake? Here are four steps anyone can follow to get things back on track.

When You Feel Dead On The Inside
10 excellent diagnostic questions here:

“So what do you do when you feel dead on the inside? What do you say to your loved ones when they feel this way? I’ve found that people who reflect on the following 10 diagnostic questions find the life and energy they’ve been missing more quickly and deeply than those that don’t. The way you answer these questions will determine what steps you need to take next.

A Cancer Within Evangelical Christianity
Phil continues his series on spiritual abuse:

There is a serious problem within protestant evangelical Christianity. We love right preaching and teaching more than we love right living. We love power and authority more than sacrifice and submission. We love honor over humility. We love being led by popular leaders who make us feel good more than following the despised and rejected One—who has no “beauty or majesty to attract us to him.” (Isa 53) We want King Saul over young David.

6 Types of “Dangerous Charisma”
Good follow-up to previous article:

Charisma is often defined as “compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others.” But that type of charisma can be dangerous. We have seen leaders known for their charisma lead people in horrific directions or crumble because their own inner health was woefully inconsistent with their external persona. Here are six types of dangerous charisma:”

Times of Stress, Times of Opportunity
This review of Thomas Friedman’s new book, Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations accomplishes what few book reviews do — it makes the book irresistible.

Let’s Stay: A Prayer for Suicidal Young Men
According to the most recent large-scale study by the Center for Disease Control, 78% of Americans who kill themselves are male. (It is also noteworthy that suicide is the second leading cause of death among Millennials.) Why are so many men killing themselves?

3 Simple Words That Can Help Your Sermons Stick
This perfect Monday morning read for pastors highlights a simple practice every pastor can do on Monday that can help yesterday’s message have the impact you want.

Striving to Escape the Fall
Nick Batzig challenges the common failing of making secondary issues primary.

Marathons, mud runs, CrossFit, Yoga, diets, non-GMO and gluten-free foods, Christian financial programs, anti-vaccination and homeschooling have–each in their own way–taken over the driver’s seat of the lives of so many in the church. While all of these things, in and of themselves, may be good things and have their proper place in a believer’s life, they often hold too prominent a place.

Kindle Books

You won’t find better value this week than these three books for $11.

Family Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God $3.99.

Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus $3.99.

The Shepherd Leader at Home: Knowing, Leading, Protecting, and Providing for Your Family $2.99.

As part of my Digital Detox series, I like to post testimonies from people who have been battling digital intoxication and how they are getting free of it. So if you’ve got a story you want to share or some tips you’ve found helpful, please click on the little blue envelope to the right of the main page and you’ll get my email address. Diane sent me her story in response to last week’s Facebook Live video.

I have  a couple thoughts regarding your video, which my husband and I watched on your blog. I loved that you pointed out that the root problem is that people are addicted to their phones/technology because I believe this is true.

Being an older person (65 yrs), I’ve marveled at this “seemingly new” phenomenon since I’ve struggled  with it myself. I  have given this much thought over the years and believe television was the precursor to this problem. Every techno-addict — young and old  alike — have grown up with television.

I was born in 1951 in the era of B&W TV and “party lines.” As new believers in the early 70’s my husband and I did not own a TV for more than decade of our marriage — our eldest  child was nine before we caved and got one.

I believe that one reason people are so vulnerable to social media addiction is because they have never learned how to be alone with their thoughts. Go to any nursing home today and most everyone will be sitting in front of the TV. People have been programed not to be bored and lonely. They do not know what to do with themselves and social media fills the gap and provides a connection with other people, even when they have plenty to do!

Last year my husband worked in South Africa for two months and I was unable to go because of health problems. I was basically housebound in an empty house and I turned to Facebook to keep me company. It was a lifeline. That accidental experiment  got me to thinking about how dependent I had become on it and how much I longed for “the good old days” before the invasion of TV and other electronics.

What DID we do back then? We read a lot. We played games, had people over, visited people who were lonely, served like crazy at church, worked…..you get the idea. I don’t ever remember being bored. Our children were never bored either!   Even though we lived in the city, they always found something to amuse themselves. Something to create. It’s funny how after we introduced the TV into our home they began to lose some of their creative energy and become more restless.

Thank you so much for writing these posts. They are very much needed. I have “retired” from blogging  in order to simplify my life again.

That’s the question I’ll be addressing on Facebook Live video session today at 1pm ET.

Have a read of 7 Ways Smartphones Can Enhance Your Spiritual Life and then watch this video that says “Turn of your phones and go deep with God.” Who’s right?

At 1pm just go to my Facebook page to watch the video live. Use the comments box to leave a question or comment that I will interact with during the video.

Blogs

How To (Finally) Quit Multitasking In These Five Daily Activities
The alternative to multitasking is called “monotasking” or “single-tasking.” Here are five situations in which to try it out, and why it might be the answer to helping you survive a jam-packed schedule—without sacrificing time, energy, or quality.”

Proverbs 8:23, the Eternal Generation of the Son and the History of Reformed Exegesis
Nick Batzig surveys reformed exegesis of Proverbs 8 and concludes that it is speaking of the Son of God.

Be a Parent Worthy of Honor
I usually find that those who most insist on their being honored are the least worthy of it:

Children do not bear the full responsibility of the fifth commandment. If children are to extend honor to their parents, parents are to make it easy for them by living honorable lives.

The Necessity of Prayer in Sermon Prep
“Do we give our study proportional prayer?” asks Erik Raymond.

Most preachers I know spend about 10 to 15 hours a week in sermon preparation in order to preach for 30 to 45 minutes. This means our preaching is about 5 percent of our preparation.

Simplicity in Preaching
Kevin DeYoung summarizes J. C. Ryle’s republished booklet on simplicity in preaching.

It’s short and so helpful that I think I can say without exaggeration that every preacher should try to read J.C. Ryle’s Simplicity in Preaching.

I’m Exhausted — How Do I Recharge My Body Without Neglecting My Soul?
John Piper answers a common question:

Hello Pastor John, I’m 41 years old and have been a pastor for nine years, leading a small but growing church of 120 people in Wales. As I have served as a pastor and leader over this time I have found that due to the spiritually, emotionally, and mentally draining nature of the work, whenever I have spare time (an evening off, a Saturday free) all I want to do is switch off and do trivial stuff like watch sports. I feel like I should be doing more personal reading or devotional, God-pursuing stuff, but I can’t find the energy or desire. Ministry is hard work, so when I have opportunity, I want to escape from things connected to it. How do you handle this tension between ministry as part of your work that you give your time and attention to for much of the day and then the need to have energy to pursue God personally outside of your formal ministry activities? Have you felt this tension and do you have any advice for a young, and already tired, pastor?

Kindle Books

Here’s a recap of the books offered for sale this week.

For your non-Kindle book buying needs please consider using Reformation Heritage Books in the USA and Reformed Book Services in Canada. Good value prices and shipping.

Against the Gods: The Polemical Theology of the Old Testament $1.99.

Searching for Jesus: New Discoveries in the Quest for Jesus of Nazareth—and How They Confirm the Gospel Accounts $1.99.

Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture by James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary ($5.99)

Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better by Brant Hansen ($0.99)

Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books by Michael J. Kruger ($5.99)

Perspectives Series on sale, $2.99-$9.99

Your New Money Mindset: Create a Healthy Relationship with Money by Brad Hewitt and James Moline ($3.99)

Grief Undone: A Journey with God and Cancer by Elizabeth W. D. Groves ($2.99)

Boring: Finding an Extraordinary God in an Ordinary Life by Michael Kelley ($0.99)

Finding Truth: 5 Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes $2.99.

A History of Christianity: An Introductory Survey $2.99.

Rediscovering Holiness: Know the Fullness of Life with God by J I Packer $1.99

Thanks to everyone who tuned in to Facebook Live event on Digital Detox last week or who watched the video later. I’ll be doing another tomorrow (Friday) at 1pm. Hopefully this time the comments feature will be working so that I can interact with your questions and comments during the live broadcast.

The topic I’d like to address this tomorrow is the use of Technology in our Christian lives. Have a read of 7 Ways Smartphones Can Enhance Your Spiritual Life and then watch this video that says “Turn of your phones and go deep with God.” Who’s right?

Here are the latest links and resources to help us in our battle to make digital technology a servant rather than a master. For all digital detox resources go here.

5 Insights From Pew Research’s 2016 Social Media Update
Here are three of them

1. Sixty-eight percent of ALL U.S. adults use Facebook

2. Fifty-six percent of 18-29-year-olds use auto-deleting apps (mostly Snapchat).

3. Fifty-nine percent of 18-29-year-olds use Instagram.

Why Are Our Children So Anxious?
6 million American teens grapple with an anxiety disorder of some kind. That;s probably an underestimate because it doesn’t take into account children under 12, whom therapists say are also increasingly facing anxiety that exceeds normal childhood fears and worries. The three main reasons given are “more pressure, more stimulus, and more trickle-down stress.”

They feel pressure to create and manage a digital identity. And they have endless information at their technological fingertips which has the potential to emotionally overwhelm them.

“They’re in a cauldron of stimulus they can’t get away from, or don’t want to get away from, or don’t know how to get away from.”

Even young children can experience a prolonged sense of neurological agitation that comes from screen-time associated with activities such as video games. “The brain becomes overstimulated and doesn’t have a way to calm itself back down,” Goff says. “So kids stay in an anxious frame of mind.”

For this reason, a growing number of parents are beginning to realize that firmer boundaries are necessary when it comes to their child’s need to have a daily segment of time when they separate from their phones or screens entirely—even if this means facing push-back.

And here’s one on how technology is making parents more anxious too!

3 Reasons I Returned My New MacBook Pro with Touch Bar for a Refund
To prove that the newest and latest does not always mean the best, Apple addict, Michael Hyatt, returned his new Macbook pro because it was needlessly complicated and resulted in less productivity.

‘She’d gone from a happy teenager to a wreck’: The day my daughter was caught sexting
Almost a third of teenagers have shared explicit pictures of themselves online and regularly share naked photos with each other via their smart phones, seemingly blissfully unaware – or in denial - of the pitfalls. Read Kate’s painfully common story.

7 Reasons I Refuse to Quit Facebook
Increasing numbers of people are leaving Facebook. Before you do so, you may want to consider these reasons to stay. Digital Detox is not about eliminating all digital media but about reducing it to manageable and beneficial proportions.

Book Review: ‘The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter’
This book argues for less digital and more analog in our lives. Or, to put it simply, for more of the tangible and visible and less of the digital and invisible.

No one, including myself, advocated a return to the predigital lives we once knew. No one was flinging their phones into lakes, or exclusively living off the grid. An entirely analog existence was unattainable and unattractive, but so was an exclusively digital one. What was ideal, and what lay behind the Revenge of Analog, was striking a balance between the two.

Smartphones and How They Change Us: An Interview with Alastair Roberts
Here’s an extensive and detailed discussion between two men who have thought deeply about the role of technology in our lives. Look out for Tony’s excellent upcoming book: 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You.

Time to Shut off our Phones and Go Deep with the Lord
Here’s one to show. Although the opening image is in Dutch, the video is in English. Maybe one for your Youth Group. Transcript below.

You know what, we can run to a thousand things. You can quickly call somebody on your phone. Just, every one of you just about, you have a phone right in your pocket, right in your purse. You can…

You know, it’s difficult to mourn when all of a sudden you get a text message, and then you respond to it. I mean, right at such a time where you’ve sinned and you’re actually beginning to feel something, and have some deep and real dealings with the Lord, and suddenly you hear a phone beep, and you actually respond to it!

I’ll tell you, one of the reasons we don’t go so deep and we don’t mourn so deeply and we don’t weep so bitterly and we don’t contemplate things like David did is because we’re so caught up in the trivialities of our – you know what, there’s a time to turn off your computer, turn off your phone…

Guys, when I was a teenager, phones had cords that went to the wall. We didn’t even have phones you could walk around the house with. There were no phones in cars, yet. Cell phones weren’t even… that was on Star Trek! I’m saying this because people actually have for a long time lived without these things.  There’s a time to shut ‘em off and get alone with the Lord. If you can’t do that, you’re not gonna know the victories of the men and women who have gone really deep with the Lord. That’s just, that’s just a truth.

If you’ve gotta take a 12-gauge shot gun and put a slug hole through the front of your television in order to get alone with the Lord, then do it.

Blogs

Why is Genesis 1:1 So Controversial?
Good to see this on PJ Media

Here are twenty-six reasons why Genesis 1:1 is the most offensive, enraging verse in the Bible to the modern mind.

In the Valley of Postpartum Depression
Did you know that Postpartum depression is the number one complication of childbirth?

The CDC reports that it affects one in eight women. PPD differs from the “baby blues” that affect 80 percent of mothers because it lasts longer and is more severe. The National Institute of Mental Health describes postpartum depression as “a mood disorder that can affect women after childbirth,” explaining, “Mothers with postpartum depression experience feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion that may make it difficult for them to complete daily care activities for themselves or for others.”

Stop Saying “Yes” So Quickly
Find it difficult to say “No” to ministry opportunities?

I have a problem with overcommitment. I used to say “yes” to almost every ministry opportunity that came my way for these reasons: I love God and want to use the gifts he gave me. I love his bride and enjoy helping her leaders thrive. I need to be needed and thrive on appreciation. That last one was hard to write. I would prefer to have only godly motives to blame for my ministry addiction.

Set An Example: The Booklet
Tim Challies offers a free booklet for young Christians

I recently wrote a whole series of articles on this verse and its implications for young Christians. I’ve now collected those articles, had them edited, and compiled them into a booklet that is free to download. I hope it will prove helpful to young believers and perhaps serve as a resource for individuals and groups. Set An Example is available as a PDF in 3 formats. You are free to print and distribute it as you see fit.

My nightmare on the pill – BBC News
Very rarely acknowledged or reported. Good on the BBC for breaking ranks.

It takes an average of 12 years to recoup the cost of getting your Bachelor’s degree, according to a new report from The College Board. In other words, you will have earned enough money to repay the cost of your degree and make up for your time out of the workforce by the age of 34.

Kindle Books

Finding Truth: 5 Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes $2.99.

A History of Christianity: An Introductory Survey $2.99.

Rediscovering Holiness: Know the Fullness of Life with God by J I Packer $1.99