Brent has a great post, "Personal Preference and Churches ." An excerpt: If you’ve been involved in “church life” for any extended period of time, you surely know that people are not casual about their preferences. We’ve all heard the horror stories of churches splitting over the color of carpet. Some of you may have actually lived through that. Yet most of us are willing to overlook matters like the color of the carpet, but don’t you dare sing too many “contemporary” songs, or “traditional hymns,” depending on which side of the argument you come from. One of the things...

Humility. “Take every word as spoken to yourselves. When the word thunders against sin, think thus: ‘God means my sins;’ when it presseth any duty, ‘God intends me in this.’ Many put off Scripture from themselves, as if it only concerned those who lived in the time when it was written; but if you intend to profit by the word, bring it home to yourselves: a medicine will do no good, unless it be applied.” (From a sermon by Thomas Watson entitled “How We May Read the Scriptures with Most Spiritual Profit”) SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "The only appropriate posture for Bible reading...

"Let me never forget that the heinousness of sin lies not so much in the nature of the sin committed, as in the greatness of the Person sinned against." – Prayer entitled "Humiliation" in The Valley of Vision , ed. Arthur Bennet (Banner of Truth, 2002 edition). Quoted by Jonathan Leeman in "Individualism’s Not the Problem–Community’s Not the Solution ," Modern Reformation , July/Aug 2008. An excellent essay ! SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Let me never forget", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2008/07/26/let-me-never-forget/" });

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness! Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases. – Psalm 115:1-3 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Not to us", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2008/07/09/not-to-us/" });

Keep in mind: most people we come into contact with each day are having a worse day that we are Let’s show others grace, for everyone is carrying burdens. Also keep in perspective that we all are having a better day than we deserve. Let’s take the time to listen to other’s stories. (Ideas formed today during our communication skills for ministry class) SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Happy tensions: listening + showing grace", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2008/06/10/happy-tensions-listening-showing-grace/" });

“Transcendent living is Christ-centered living. Living for Christ is the only way you will ever be liberated from your bondage to the overwhelming tendency to shrink the size of your life to the size of your life. The only way to spin free of the narrow confines of your little cubicle kingdom is to live in the big sky country of Christ-centered living. You will never win the battle with yourself simply by saying ‘no’ to yourself. The battle only begins to be won when you say ‘yes’ to the call of your King, the Lord Jesus Christ.” - Paul David Tripp, A Quest for More (Greensboro, NC:...

I’ve recently come to see how un-humble I am (read: prideful), and am desperately in need of the Gospel, and being specifically humble before my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Humility is a reoccurring theme, and truly the answer for all my problems in this two-second earthly life. A right assessment of self (humility), and a proper view of circumstances, as in contentment (see here ). On this theme, there seems to be a strange paradox at work in my life. Why is it that sometimes I am more authentic with people I know are not Christian than with fellow believers and leaders in the...

"Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal of every condition." - Jeremiah Burroughs , The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (listen to a discussion of the book here , highly recommended) "…I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." -...

"Humility is the most essential thing in true religion . . . the great Christian duty is self-denial. This duty consists of two things: first, in denying worldly inclinations and its enjoyments and second, in denying self-exaltation and renouncing one’s self-significance by being empty of self. . . . The humble Christian is more apt to find fault with his own pride than with that of other men. . . . A truly humble person who has a low view of his own righteousness and holiness is poor in spirit and modest in speech. . . . He is apt to put the best construction on others’ words...

“God created both soul and body, and the resurrection of Jesus shows that he is going to redeem both the spiritual and the material. Therefore God is concerned not only for the salvation of souls but also for the relief of poverty, hunger, and injustice. The gospel opens our eyes to the fact that all our wealth (even wealth for which we worked hard) is ultimately an unmerited gift from God. Therefore the person who does not generously give away his or her wealth to others is not merely lacking in compassion, but is unjust. Christ wins our salvation through losing, achieves power through weakness...