Sin & Repentance
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Self-Strength & Self-Invention
“Mortification (of sin) from a self-strength, carried on by ways of self-invention, unto the end of a self-righteousness,
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The First Pangs of Conscience (or Is It Remorse?)
I think it has only been within the last two weeks that our three year-old has expressed her first pangs of conscience. Both times, she did not merely express anger and frustration at the painful consequences for her choices; she went deeper. She began to wail in grief over what she had done and how she (herself) had a “bad,” a sinful, heart. It was for me simultaneously heart-breaking (it is hard to be around any person who is despairing, more or less our precious little love bug!) and hope-producing (ahhhh! evidence of that for which I have prayed for every single day of her life—the Holy Spirit at work in her heart). Both times, I…
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Marring the Landscape with the Grand-Scale Deceit of a Marital Affair
I very much appreciated Challies‘ link to this sobering, but extremely well-written, honest article on the allure and devastation of marital unfaithfulness: A Roomful of Yearning and Regret (And from the New York Times, too! I was quite surprised.) The author speaks from her own experience of having cheated on her husband and having been cheated on by her husband. She has many beautifully phrased illustrations that help us to picture and experience what she is describing, but here are just a few of my (tragic) favorites: “I’m not saying these feelings aren’t legitimate, just that they don’t legitimize what you’re doing. If you believed they did, your stomach wouldn’t drop on your way…
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In Your Anger Do Not Sin
A great post by Dave over at our Redeeming ChurchConflicts blog: In Your Anger Do Not Sin In it, he mentions one of my favorite books on anger: Robert D. Jones’, Uprooting Anger: Biblical Help for a Common Problem
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God’s story makes you just the right size …
I’m not an avid Twitter reader, but CCEF tweets like these David Powlison gems keep me coming back: “…….you become joyously sane. The universe is no longer about you. God’s story makes you just the right size.” “Christ-less, grace-less attempts at change conclude either with the praise of your own glory or with your shame.” “Good theology interprets psychological phenomenon, and good pastoral practice addresses psychological and interpersonal problems.”
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Girls’ Guide to Understanding Guys and P*rn
Many thanks to Challies for linking to this article. I must admit that it is a hard read for me. Having been exposed to such things as a young child (so I personally know more of this evil than I wish I knew), and knowing too many marriages that have been utterly decimated by sexual sin, I simply cannot read this with any level of emotional detachment. But it is surely one of the main issues facing young men and women today; and I absolutely agree with the author’s list of recommended resources at the end. So I hope it is a help (and warning and encouragement) to some of…
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Never Succumb to the Temptation of Bitterness
Sophia and I had an interesting conversation tonight that meandered from famous people I have met (Maestro Barenboim, Hal Holbrook, and Vice-President Dan Quayle being on my list) to the United Stated Presidential Line of Succession (after her “what is a Vice-President?” question) … to the assassination of John F. Kennedy (and Lyndon Johnson being sworn in as President aboard Air Force One) … to other “where were you when …” defining moments in U.S. History (Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, President Reagan being shot, the Challenger exploding, 9/11). The final arc brought me to this quote by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and I thought I’d share it with you:…
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Making a Career of Nothing
My notes from Cornelius Plantinga’s Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin: To what extent are we making a career of Nothing (wandering through malls, killing time, making small talk, watching tv until we know the characters better than our own children)? This sin robs the community of our gifts and energies and shapes our lives into a yawn at the God and Savior of the world. “The person who will not bestir herself, the person who hands herself over to Nothing, in effect says to God: you have made nothing of interest and redeemed no one of consequence, including me.”
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Trust is shattered when a pastor is caught in deception and overt sin.
Oh. So much more we could have said on this topic over at our RedeemingChurchConflicts blog. But here’s a start: Trust is shattered when a pastor is caught in deception and overt sin.
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How Do You Handle Pain?
As God has graciously led me to turn and face some bad patterns in my life—habits related to relationships, spiritual disciplines (the most important relationship), life and work duties, health choices—many Scriptures, teachings, and quotes keep coming to my mind at apt moments: If you starve your cravings, they will lessen. Sin separates, the Cross unites. That which is done in secret, with guilt, is never loving of God or neighbor. Wisdom is learning to love what is good for you. Real life is life that is Coram Deo. But the one phrase that is currently helping me the most is this: How do you handle pain, Tara? You…