Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Crossway Flood: Damage & Ministry Impact

Posted on May 14th, 2013 by David Burnette
If you’ve benefited from the biblical resources produced by Crossway, not least of which is the ESV Study Bible, see the following from Lane Dennis, Crossway’s President, regarding the recent flood which significantly damaged their facilities:

Some of the priority projects affected include:
- Translation costs for the ESV Chinese Study Bible, to be published in Mainland China
- Printing costs for 60,000 copies of the Chinese-English ESV bilingual Bible, also for publication and distribution in Mainland China
- Completion and global distribution of the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible this fall
- Development of the Knowing the Bible studies, to be offered free digitally worldwide
To support Crossway or learn more, go here.
Suffering Like Christ

Posted on February 6th, 2013 by Jonathan Lenning
The following post was originally posted on the Secret Church blog. The Secret Church blog is a good resource for those who want continual encouragement to specifically pray for the persecuted.

As many of you now know, Pastor Saeed Abedini was sentenced to eight years in prison for his faith in Christ. This could prove to be far worse than a normal eight-year sentence, though that in itself would be unjust and difficult. Evin Prison, where Pastor Saeed is supposed to serve his time, is one of the most brutal prisons in the world. According to reports from survivors, time spent in Evin is comprised of regular beatings, malnutrition, horrible living conditions, torturous interrogations, and Islamic propaganda. Full reports can be found on ACLJ andFOX News websites.
This leaves us with clear marching orders. We must pray. Pastor Saeed needs it, his family needs it, and all the other prisoners of Evin need it. And like Pastor Saeed, we ought to also be concerned about his fellow prisoners. He “made it clear he wants to be a voice for the many others who are with him in prison—suffering the same fate—imprisoned because of their religious beliefs” (ACLJ).

So let’s not exclusively relegate our prayers to Pastor Saeed’s situation. Instead, let his story remind us and drive us to pray for all of our brothers and sisters who are imprisoned for their belief in Jesus. The fact is that there are many prisoners—some in Evin with Pastor Saeed, but many others in different jails and prisons around the world—who are suffering for desiring to “live a godly life in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 3:12). Most of these stories don’t make the headlines.

Similarly, let’s not pray only for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. Their persecutors, whether oblivious to this fact or not, are in an even worse predicament. They are enemies of the Almighty God, and they desperately need our prayers. As Pastor Saeed “suffer[s] for righteousness’ sake” (1 Pet 3:14), he is following the example of Christ, who suffered for His straying sheep (1 Pet 2:19-25). Let us pray that God would open the eyes of these poor lost sheep to see the loving pursuit of their heavenly Shepherd in the suffering of their Christian prisoners. And as they watch these Christians suffer well, may they see a faith in God that is too strong to be human.

Pray for…
- …the persecuted.
- …the persecutors.
- …the suffering unbeliever. This includes Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, also in Evin, who was the attorney that helped free Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani in the fall of last year.
- …the families of those suffering.
ACLJ, FOX News
Through the Word in 2013

Posted on December 31st, 2012 by David Burnette

Of the many things you could do in 2013, it’s hard to think of anything more spiritually beneficial than reading God’s Word and being changed by it. With that goal, a Bible Reading Plan for the year can be extremely helpful to give some structure for this critical spiritual discipline.

In terms of Bible Reading Plans, it’s tough to improve on the comprehensive list provided by Justin Taylor. You can check that out here. Of the many short summaries of these excellent plans, here’s one worth highlighting:

“George Guthrie’s “Read the Bible for Life Chronological Bible Reading Plan” is takes you through the whole Bible in the basic order of events, with a reading each day. There’s also a 4 + 1 plan (similar to the others, in that you read from four different places each day plus the Psalms). But it’s a semi-chronological plan, placing the prophets and the NT letters in basic chronological order.”

For those going through the Multiply Material (or considering going through it), there’s a 24-week reading plan that accompanies the material. The Multiply Reading Plan is available here on YouVersion.
Attaining Contentment

Posted on July 11th, 2012 by David Burnette

Godly advice on attaining contentment:

“We should consider, in all our wants and inclinations to discontent, the greatness of the mercies that we have, and the meanness of the things that we lack. The things we lack, if we are godly, are things of very small moment in comparison to the things we have, and the things we have are things of very great moment. For the most part, the things for the want of which people are discontented and murmur are such things as reprobates have, or may have. Why should you be troubled so much for the want of something which a man or woman may have and yet be a reprobate?”

Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646), The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 207
What Happened After Easter?

Posted on May 17th, 2012 by David Burnette

Now that Good Friday has come and gone, and Easter is forty days behind us, we’ve moved past the days set aside to celebrate Christ’s saving work. The next Christian holiday on most of our radars is likely Christmas.

But could we be missing something? Is the resurrection really the end of the story? If not, then what happened after Easter? Good question. Perhaps I’m the first person to wish you a happy Ascension Day.

Like Jesus’ disciples in Acts 1, many of us are left gazing into heaven, wondering what Jesus’ ascension might mean. That is, if we think about it at all. This is one reason why Robert Peterson’s book, Salvation Accomplished by the Son: The Work of Christ, is so helpful.

Peterson points out several neglected aspects in terms of our thinking about Christ’s salvation. About the ascension, he says the following:

“Unfortunately, many Christians today neglect the doctrine of the ascension. Perhaps this is due to the fact that although Christians confess belief in the ascension of Christ, they do not understand the ascension’s place in the work of Christ or its effect on their lives. The Bible, however, teaches that the ascension is a saving event.” (152).

Referring to Jesus’ ascension as a “saving event” in no way implies that his death and resurrection were insufficient for our salvation. Rather, as Peterson notes, the ascension is closely connected to those saving events as the bridge between Christ’s earthly and heavenly ministries (152). Reflecting on the ascension expands our understanding of God’s saving work and gives us yet another reason to rely on Him. As new layers of His grace are discovered, our faith should be strengthened and our hearts should be even more grateful.

In Acts 5:31 Peter says that God has exalted Christ “to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” In other words, Christ’s ascension to God’s right hand was necessary in order for you and I to turn from our sins and have our guilt removed. Peterson points out a number of other ways the ascension relates to our salvation and God’s overall plan of redemption. Among other things, the ascension sets the stage for Jesus to:

Continue Reading
The Story of Ian & Larissa

Posted on May 9th, 2012 by Cory Varden

If you haven’t seen it yet, Desiring God recently posted this video in connection with John Piper’s book This Momentary Marriage (which DG is offering for free as a downloadable PDF right here). This story paints a vivid picture of how Christ’s selfless love for his church should characterize our own marriages. You’ll be humbled and encouraged.

BTW: Westminster Bookstore has worked together with Crossway, and the book is now being offered for only $8.00. For this deal, click here.

HT: Desiring God