Posts by Spencer DeBurgh (Page 11)

 A prayer about my sin and my savior —    When my heart is unsavoury with sin, sorrow, darkness, hell, only thy free grace can help me act with deep abasement under a sense of unworthiness.   Let me lament for forgetting daily to come to thee.   Grant that I may be salted with suffering, with every exactment tempered to my soul, every rod excellently…

Do you ever have doubts about your relationship with Jesus? Have you ever tried to help someone who does? Pastor Samuel Rutherford gives some surprising counsel in this letter.   Aberdeen, 1637 Dear Brother, Ye complain that ye want a mark of the sound work of grace and love in your soul. For answer, consider for your satisfaction (till God send more) I John 3.14.…

This interview is filled with sober truths about pornography. It also offers hope and wisdom about dealing with this sin. http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/porn-pride-and-praise     A short summary of advice C.S. Lewis gives on conquering distractions and getting to work. http://blog.tifwe.org/c-s-lewis-and-the-three-enemies-of-work/     A…

Lust has the worst credit rating in the universe. It always defaults on its promises. It never delivers as advertised. It always takes more than it gives. Read the whole thing here — http://www.theblazingcenter.com/2013/07/lust-credit-rating.html      

Consider all that Romans chapter 8 teaches us about having the Spirit: Verse 2- the Spirit sets us free Verse 4-we walk according to the Spirit Verse 5- we set our minds on the things of the Spirit Verse 9- we are in the Spirit if the Spirit dwells in us Verses 10&11- we live in the Spirit, the very same Spirit that gave Christ life from the dead Verse 13- we put to…

  Rick Phillips has some very wise pastoral counsel for the church in a changed America —    We must joyfully love our neighbors and serve our communities, including those who vigorously oppose us in the culture war.  It will serve little for Christians to argue a biblical morality…

Sin makes us smaller. Grace makes us bigger. Sin leads to selfishness which shrinks us from what we were created to be. Grace leads to love which grows us into what we were created to be. This is the sermon introduction to a sermon preached by Jonathan Edwards on 1 Corinthians 13:5 “love does not…

The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. The paradox of the higher serving the lower enshrines a great truth, for the spirit of service is the mark of worthy selfhood. It bespeaks an awareness of the needs of others and the desire to meet those needs. This gives a personality…

  Two important decisions were announced by the Supreme Court of the United States yesterday in relation to marriage.   Here are a couple of articles which may help to provide some wisdom and perspective.   Russell Moore writing at Christianity Today gives a good word to the church about our gospel witness. His editorial can be found here.   Albert…

Suffering is our servant because it makes us more like Christ.   CS Lewis  Of course we never wanted, and never asked, to be made into the sort of creatures He is going to make us into. But the question is not what we intended ourselves to be, but what He intended us to be when He made us. He…