reformed blogging.

It’s difficult for me to say anything on this topic seeing that I’m still under my parents’ roof and have no monetary indepedence. I pray that by God’s grace I will live in such a way so as to glorify God with my money with what I have now, and with what I might have in the future:

[Christian people] have been taken in by the half-truth that says we glorify God with money by enjoying thankfully all luxuries He enables us to buy. The true half is this: we should give thanks for every good thing God gives us. That does glorify Him. The false half is the subtle implication that God can be glorified in this way by every decent purchase we make. - p.169, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals

God is not glorified when we keep for ourselves (no matter how thankfully) what we ought to be using to alleviate the misery of unevangelized and uneducated and unhoused and unfed millions. - p.169

We can only justify the exorbitance of our lifestyle by ignoring the lostness of the unreached and the misery of the poor. - p.170

In his “Studies in the Sermon on the Mount,” D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones takes a chapter to discuss false prophets. Upon reading this section (an exposition of Matthew 7:15,16a) the reader finds that much (if not all) of the Doctor’s analysis are still very much relevant.

First off, in identifying false prophets ML-J makes it clear that it is not one who is easily seen to be a hypocrite that is a false prophet, for Christ describes these men as wolves in sheep clothing. Thus, the falseness of their teaching “is to be detected by what it does not say rather than what it does say.” (p.500) Meaning, that simply judging what they do say, is not sufficient. The Doctor continues by saying that among these men, “the most dangerous person of all is the one who does not emphasize the right things.” This explains why so many are undetected, because they are able to use Scripture to support all that they preach, and yet they do not preach “the whole counsel of God.” With that stated here is a brief overview of what is contained in the exposition:

1. The false prophet is always a very comforting preacher. As you listen to him he always gives you the impressions that there is not very much wrong.
2. His teaching has an almost entire absence of doctrine as a whole in its message. It always talks vaguely and generally; it never gets down to particularizing about doctrine.
3. The false prophet very rarely tells you anything about the holiness, the righteousness, the justice and the wrath of God. He always preaches about the love of God, but those other things he does not mention… He does not say things that are obviously wrong, but he refrains from saying things that are obviously right and true
4. The false prophet never emphasizes the final judgment and the eternal destiny of the lost.
5. The false prophet does not emphasize the utter sinfulness of sin and the total inability of man to do anything about his own salvation.
6. His teaching does not emphasize repentance in any real sense. It has a wide gate leading to salvation and a very broad way leading to heaven.
7. The false prophet does not emphasize the absolute necessity of entering this strait gate and walking along this narrow way… They offer an easy salvation, and an easy type of life always… They tell you not to examine your own soul.

In conclusion ML-J points to false prophets as a primary reason for the state (”weak and ineffective”) of the Christian church.

That is the cause of the trouble. They still talked about God; they still talked about Jesus; they still talked about His death on the cross. They did not stand out as obvious heretics; but they did not say those other things that are vital to salvation. They gave this vague message that never upsets anybody. They were so pleasant and ‘modern’ and up-to-date. They suited the popular palate, and the result is not only the empty churches about which we are hearing so much at the present time, but, as we shall see, the poor quality of Christian living of which most of us are so guilty. - p. 505,6

While going through a season of what Pink referred to as “the worst ones spiritually I have passed through for many years,” a time when he considered his gratitude towards God as “mechanical and lifeless,” he wrote in his “Studies in the Scriptures”:

It is true that a gloomy disposition may affect the mind with doleful thoughts, that unpleasant surroundings are apt to dampen the natural spirits, that trying circumstances tend to harass, and that lack of fellowship with happy saints may sadden the heart. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit is not limited by such things as those, and when He takes the things of Christ and shows them unto us we cannot but rejoice. - p. 155-6, The Life of Arthur W. Pink - Iain H. Murray

During this time of his life, the following was a favorite verse:

Ill that He blesses is our good,
And unblest good is ill,
And all is right that seems most wrong
If it be His sweet will.

Before you enter into prayer, ask thy soul these questions–
To what end, O my soul, art thou retired into this place? Art thou not come to discourse with the Lord in prayer? Is he present; will he hear thee? Is he merciful; will he help thee? Is thy business slight; is it not concerning the welfare of thy soul? What words wilt thou use to move him to compassion?
To make thy preparation complete, consider that thou art but dust and ashes, and he the great God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that clothes himself with light as with a garment; that thou art a vile sinner, he a holy God; that thou art but a poor crawling worm, he the omnipotent Creator.
In all your prayers forget not to thank the Lord for His mercies.
When thou prayest, rather than let thy heart be without words, than thy words without a heart.
Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer.
The spirit of prayer is more precious than treasures of gold and silver.
Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan.