Praying Biblically

I just found an article by David Powlison, a well-known Biblical Counselor.  The article deals with introducing Biblical Counseling in the local church.  He says he comes at it by adjusting how we take prayer requests in the church.  Though this article is about Counseling, I felt that the comments made about Biblical prayer were worth reading and sharing.

Here is a snippet of that blog post:

... the Bible’s prayers are rarely about health, travel mercies, finances, doing well on a test, finding a job, or the salvation of unsaved relatives. Of course, these are legitimate things to pray for, but they are a minor emphasis in Scripture. Even so, these topics typically dominate most church and small group prayer requests. They easily miss the real action of God’s dealings with his beloved people. 

In contrast, the driving focus of biblical prayer asks God to show himself, asks that we will know him, asks that we will love others. It names our troubles. It names our troublesome reactions and temptations. It names our holy desires. It names our God, his promises, and his will. When someone asks you, “How may I pray for you?,” imagine the impact of responding in a manner such as this: “I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, and have been inattentive and irritable to those nearest and dearest to me. Please pray for me, that I will awaken and turn from my preoccupation with work pressures, recreations, health problems, or money. God promises to help me pay attention to him. Ask him to help me remember and focus. Ask him to help me to take my family and other people to heart. Pray that I will take refuge in him when the pressure is on. The Lord is my refuge, but I’ve been taking refuge in TV and food.” This kind of prayer gets things that matter on the table—things that matter both immediately and eternally.

How true these thoughts are!  Most of my own requests are for people and things, and they aren't prayers for God to show Himself and make Himself real in my life.

Tonight at our mid-week prayer meeting at Edgewood, I will introduce some of these ideas.  Our church has shown some growth in numbers, but it is important that we remember that this is God's church and His work.  You can pray for us at Edgewood, that we will see God clearly, and that His Spirit will be poured out on the people who come to this small local Church.

The rest of the article is worth reading.  You can find it here: Prayer is a Great Place to Begin Biblical Counseling

Free Music from Page CXVI

Page CXVI Hymns is giving away their entire music catalog... 74 songs... for free!

According to their website:

To celebrate our 7-year anniversary of making music, we're giving away our entire catalog of music for the month of March, including our original music from The Autumn Film!

They are celebrating their own "Jubilee" for 7 years of making music.

I have listened to most of their music over the past couple of years.  What I have listened to, I have really enjoyed.  As far as I can tell, they work hard at creating God-honoring, Christ-exalting music.

If you would like to download this music, just head on over to their website:

http://www.pagecxvi.com/jubilee/

If you download it, let me know in the comments.  I would like to hear what you think about their music.

My New Favorite Sandwich!

My new favorite thing to eat... Peanut Butter / Biscoff sandwiches!

I first tried this with a product called Speculoos Cookie Butter. My wife bought a jar of it at Trader Joe's.  Since she hadn't been back, I've been doing without... until I found the original at Wal-Mart!  It is called Lotus Biscoff Spread.  I am sure it is not all that healthy.  It is made from cookies, but it has no nuts in it (for those with allergies).

If you check out the official website, you will see it's history and they will also point out that it is Vegan.  :)

Minder - Book Review

I don't read nearly as much fiction as I used to, but occasionally I will see a book on Amazon for free that I think to myself, "hmm.  That sounds interesting."  Minder was one of those books.

I was drawn into this book for a few reasons:  One, it was free.  It is no longer free, but it was listed with the free books for a short time.  That can easily draw me in.

A second reason I was drawn into this book was the basic premise, as shared through the book's description on Amazon.  It reads:

Oh, Parents. If you knew what was inside that security blanket, you'd never throw it away. Childhood is governed from a sacred place within the trees, lit by fireflies, and overseen by ancient souls devoted to the sanctity of youth. Some kids are lucky enough to visit this place, but mortal danger arises for Sophia, who arrives uninvited. Readers are carried through a whimsical, often nail-biting adventure as brother and sister confront every parent's worst nightmare. Dragons and fairies are alive and well in this old-world tale, where scary things happen to children who ignore their Minders.
P.S. Childhood ends at 30. And this book proves it.

Parallel worlds and children travelling there is one of my favorite story ideas.  I don't think that it was C.S. Lewis who originally thought of the idea, but it was definitely through his storytelling in the Chronicles of Narnia that opened up my mind to the wonderful idea of another place. Minder follows this basic idea through to a whole world of creatures and personalities that only children can get to.

Third, this book pulled me in because of the positive reviews.  I always check some reviews on Amazon before purchasing a book.  (Even if it is free.)  This book had great reviews.  I don't believe that there was one negative review, at least when I was checking it out.  Many times on Amazon, books get negative reviews simply because of poor spelling and bad grammar, most likely one of the pitfalls of self-publishing.  This book seemed quite well written.  In fact, that idea is related to my final point that I would like to make.

Finally, this book captured my attention because of the author's writing ability.  I found myself not wanting to put this book down.  It captured my attention right at the very beginning and held it throughout the rest of the book.  It had a nice pace and a good rhythm to the storytelling.

I must say that the overall story wasn't quite the Chronicles of Narnia Caliber, but it was still enjoyable.

Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart - Book Review

I just finished listening to the Christian Audio version of Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart by J.D. Greear.

I grew up in a home and church that held to the belief that "once saved, always saved..."  As I have gotten older, it isn't that I have rejected eternal security, but I knew, even when I was young, that the application of that wonderful truth wasn't being accurately applied.

Like J.D. Greear, I have also "asked Jesus into my heart" on multiple occasions. And also, like this author, I have been baptized more than once.  Reading the Bible for myself and finding so many scriptures dealing with genuine salvation radically changed my life.  But this new-found knowledge left me wondering about my assurance.  I mean, if you could, "call Lord, Lord..." but not enter into heaven (cf. Matthew 7:21-23), then how could one know for sure.  My whole life I had learned that knowing was about remembering a time and place where I "accepted Jesus" into my life, and when I doubted my salvation, the method of dealing with that doubt was to simply pray again, but this time I had to really mean it.  But then, how would you know if you really meant it? In this book, when J.D. Greear tells us to "stop asking Jesus into your heart," he is not attacking the phraseology, but is reconstructing a Biblical perspective on Salvation and the Assurance of that Salvation.

J.D. Greear is thoroughly Biblical in his approach to this topic. When you read, or listen to, this book, you are not going to get an ear-full of personal opinion on this topic.  It is a Biblical study on the topic.  Personally, this is my favorite type of book.  I don't want a bunch of personal thoughts on a topic, just tell me what the Bible says.  At the same time that I was able to enjoy the Biblical foundation of this book and the thoughts behind each teaching, I found that I did not have a difficult time understanding what he was talking about.  He had a great blend of personal stories and revelations that made the Biblical Study aspect of the book remain in the foundation, while the end result was a thoroughly enjoyable book to listen to (or read).

The voice talent on this audio book was Tom Parks.  I believe that this might be the first time I have heard his work. He did a great job reading through this book.

Operation Screwtape - Book Review

Operation Screwtape: The Art of Spiritual War by Andrew Farley was awesome!

I absolutely enjoyed every minute of listening to this book.  It had me thinking, pondering, rewinding, and laughing.  David Cochran Heath did a fabulous job at narrating this book.  He included all of the proper inflections, and the best-timed chuckles, to capture the deviousness of the devil's work.

Knowing a little bit about C.S. Lewis' book, the Screwtape Letters will help in understanding the idea behind this book.  But that work should not be considered a prerequisite to enjoying and understanding this book.

Here is the basic premise:  This is a manual on spiritual warfare against the Christian.  It is written, as if, from an "older" and more experienced demon to "young" demons in training.  It outlines various effective and efficient attacks on the Christian.  Attacks that, though they cannot remove the Christian from the love of God, they will render the Christian ineffective and unproductive for the cause of Christ.  Obviously, this is a very fictitious premise, but it is anchored in a spiritual reality that is very imminent.

Not knowing much about Andrew Farley, I found that I was hesitant and cautious as I was listening to this book.  I didn't know which direction he was headed on several different occasions.  But I found his points to be well-grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I laughed at myself in nearly every chapter, as I realized that I had fallen prey to this attack or that maneuver that Farley was outlining from the perspective of a tempter.

Because of Andrew Farley's insightful points on our spiritual battles and David Cochran Heath's abilities at narration, I found myself reeling at the utter weakness of Satan in comparison to the Power of Jesus Christ.  As Christians, our focus needs to be in the cleansing reality of the Blood of Christ and we need to walk in that forgiveness that was bought by such a dear price.

I absolutely want to encourage you to pick up this book, and without a doubt, the version you pick up should be the audio version.  You can click through to Amazon to get the Christian Audio version, or go directly to the Christian Audio site to download it today.

Risk is Right - Book Review

I didn't know what to expect when I started listening to Christian Audio's version of Risk Is Right: Better to Lose Your Life Than to Waste It by John Piper. I hadn't heard of this book before I downloaded it. I am writing this review to tell you that I really liked this book.

Before I begin, here is Christian Audio's description of the book:

As social justice, environmental causes, and not-for-profit ministries rise in popularity, more and more people are looking for a life of adventure, to live for something greater than themselves. Helping Christians put their faith into action for the glory of God, popular pastor John Piper is releasing this stand-alone edition of chapter 5 from his best-selling book Don’t Waste Your Life. Piper teaches that risk is an action that opens us up to the possibility of loss or injury, but that living for Christ necessarily involves taking risks in faith, a road that ultimately leads to fullness of joy, the glory of God, and the good of others.

First of all, as with all of John Piper's books that I've read, there is a significant emphasis on scripture.  I love this about his books.  They feel more like an expository breakdown of different passages, than they do an opening up of John Piper.  Sure, it is just a book, and we are going to get the author's opinion when we read (or listen) to it, but it is so saturated with the Word of God that it feels like the personal opinion is filtered out and the opinion of the inspired text reigns supreme. Because of this emphasis, this book, like so many others that Piper has written, can easily be read over and over again, feeling like there is always something else to get out of it.  This also paves the way for this book to become more of a study resource, than simply a light read.

Secondly, this book drilled into an issue that is close to my heart.  I have always loved the aspect of excitement and adventure in following Jesus.  This book really honed in on this part of my heart in a way that made me think a bit more realistically and at the same time it made me dream big when it comes to risking it all for the sake of Christ.

Finally, on the audio version specifically, David Cochran Heath is one of my favorite voice talents.  I had heard his voice in audio Bibles before, but have just recently been hearing his voice in a few audio books. He really brings life to the book and his emphasis always seems properly placed.

This wasn't a very long book, but you can pick it up for an affordable price right now.  It is worth it.