-
Ajith on being “FRUITFUL FAILURES”
Blessed yet again by an email from missionary/theologian Ajith Fernando– Chuckling at his comment that, “Today is my off day. On my off day I like to indulge by doing pleasurable things–usually that means eating sweet things which are now not good for me! So I indulged by writing the attached piece that emerged from my devotions when I read about Stephen!”– And seeing all sorts of opportunities to apply his wisdom (especially on LEADERSHIP) to our families, ministries, businesses, and churches– I received his permission to reprint it below. Hope you enjoy! God bless, Tara B. BEING FRUITFUL FAILURES Ajith Fernando What a challenge Stephen is to us! His…
-
John Piper on the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
With thanks to Carol Ruvolo for bringing this to my attention, I urge you to take a few moments to read Pastor John Piper’s thoughts on the recent Minneapolis bridge collapse. In it, he retells the evening he spent with his family, and in particular his eleven year-old daughter, as they processed the terribly sad events of the day. My sister actually just called me from Minneapolis. She drove there yesterday for business and, as you might imagine, has had quite a different day than their companies has originally planned. Praying for the families affected! And trusting in the everlasting goodness of God– Yours, Tara B.
-
I love stories like this!
(I know. I know. I’m such a softie. I really am.) But I really think you might enjoy this too! (And HT to Barbara Curtis at mommylife.net for posting the story and link too.) “Herman Rosenblat survived the Holocaust thanks in part to a young girl who tossed him apples and bread from outside the concentration camp. Twelve years later, destiny brought them together again. . .” Read the whole story here and enjoy the video too! God bless, Tara B.
-
Crime. Debt. Enmity.
Many thanks to Challies.com for quoting Sproul and setting my heart on Christ on this blazingly-hot (100+ degrees here in Montana), much-to-do (tempted to feel overwhelmed/hide/run away/do nothing OR run around accomplishing too much and miss out on PEOPLE and RELATIONSHIPS), is it really almost August-Monday morning: “Christ, then, is the One Who made satisfaction. By His work on the cross, He satisfied the demands of God’s justice with regard to our debt, our state of enmity, and our crime. In light of the facts of God’s justice and our sinfulness, it is not difficult to see the absolute necessity of the atonement.” Yes. Yes. I do see the absolute…
-
John Piper on the “Prosperity Gospel”
HT to Mark Moore (found him via Pastor JollyBlogger) for posting this video of John Piper on the evil of the “prosperity gospel.” I hope you’ll take two minutes and watch it! Oh, that Christ would be lifted up and we would all be drawn to HIM this very day and every day. Much love to all and blessed Sabbath to you! Yours, Tara B.
-
Grace Cannot Coexist with Bitterness
(From 2005) Grace Cannot Coexist with Bitterness Our family loves, prays for, and supports a Youth for Christ missionary by the name of Ajith Fernando. To us, Ajith and his family members are heroes of the faith. Their sacrifice and service would be impossible to measure outside of eternity. I love his writings and it is a joy to serve him even in some small way. Today, his letter to his supporters included an essay on pain, anger, and grace. In it, he wrote: ‘Grace must soften our hearts so that more grace can enter in, making us gracious and taking away that destructive attitude of anger that looks…
-
What if my husband were unrepentant?
(From 2006) What would I do if my husband were unrepentant? I was looking for an old email this morning and I came across this letter that I had written in response to a dear, precious, godly, wise woman who was struggling in an unhappy Christian marriage. Since I’ve already posted some blogs on ‘Miserable Christian Marriages’, I thought it might be helpful to share this letter with you. Hope so! (Please note that OF COURSE, all identifying information has been changed to protect her confidentiality. I’ve also deleted some of the letter because it was not directly relevant to this topic and I’ve also taken the editorial liberty of…
-
What if my husband were unrepentant?
(From 2006) What would I do if my husband were unrepentant? I was looking for an old email this morning and I came across this letter that I had written in response to a dear, precious, godly, wise woman who was struggling in an unhappy Christian marriage. Since I’ve already posted some blogs on ‘Miserable Christian Marriages’, I thought it might be helpful to share this letter with you. Hope so! (Please note that OF COURSE, all identifying information has been changed to protect her confidentiality. I’ve also deleted some of the letter because it was not directly relevant to this topic and I’ve also taken the editorial liberty of…
-
We can ignore it–but it’ll still kill us!
(From 2006) Another AMAZING point that the speaker made last night had to do with the nature of SIN. She mentioned how she had actually felt the ‘lump’ or ‘ridge’ in her breast for weeks before she did anything about it. She told herself: ‘It’s just tissue.’ “It’s just cystic.” But of course it was the most aggressive, deadly breast cancer known to Man. Left untreated it would kill her for sure. She (again) regaled us as she described her tendency to minimize her sin: ‘I guess I have some issues with anger management.’ And to make excuses and shift blame: ‘Yes, I raised my voice to you and I…
-
We can ignore it–but it’ll still kill us!
(From 2006) Another AMAZING point that the speaker made last night had to do with the nature of SIN. She mentioned how she had actually felt the ‘lump’ or ‘ridge’ in her breast for weeks before she did anything about it. She told herself: ‘It’s just tissue.’ “It’s just cystic.” But of course it was the most aggressive, deadly breast cancer known to Man. Left untreated it would kill her for sure. She (again) regaled us as she described her tendency to minimize her sin: ‘I guess I have some issues with anger management.’ And to make excuses and shift blame: ‘Yes, I raised my voice to you and I…
