Pastor's Bookshelf: A Call to Prayer by J.C. Ryle

Bishop of Liverpool, J.C. Ryle (1816-1900), had a way of putting things and a way of teaching the Scriptures that really just made them snap home.  He held nothing back in his preaching but always laid out plain Scriptural truth with deep application.

That same boldness and passion for the Lord Jesus Christ comes across plain and clear in his tract, "A Call to Prayer".

At only 33 pages in length, this is one of the most powerful works on prayer that I've ever read.  He opens it up simply with one question that drives the rest of his thoughts.  "Do you pray?"

A simple question, yet is there anything that is more intimate in the life of a believer than their prayer life?  You can pick this up from Amazon.com and it is inexpensive as well!  At the time of this post, the book only costs $2.99!

Pastor's Bookshelf: Radical by David Platt

Radical is an insightful look at what Christianity is, as defined by Scripture, verses what Christianity has become, particularly in America.  Platt uses several texts to show that what God has called us to as believers is not always in line with the American version of Christianity.  For example, in America we tend to judge a church at face value... a big church with lots of people, programs, and buildings = strong and healthy and Biblical verses a small church with few people, little money, small building = weaker church with no hope

Now, let me say from the top.  None of the above conditions of either church have any bearing on its health or soundness of its doctrine.  There are large churches (though few in number) that are sound doctrinally and pursuing a life of obedience to Jesus Christ.  Likewise, there are small churches that are sound doctrinally and pursuing a life of obedience to Jesus Christ.  Size doesn't automatically indicate a particular feature, neither do lack or abundance of programs, funds and buildings indicate a particular feature.

Platt seeks to point out that the goal of the church is to take the Gospel to the world and also to serve others.  Using the resources (financial or otherwise) that God has given them for the purpose of the furtherance of the Gospel, NOT to acquire more and more wealth.  The goal of God blessing us with money for instance is not so that we can store it up and be mega-wealthy consumer driven people, but so that we are people who live according to what we need and find a way to use the rest to give Bibles, or tracts, or food, or clothing, or shelter, etc... to all who need it.

To say the least, I was heavily challenged by the Scripture that David brought to light in this book and it has brought about some very deep examination and convictions in my own life.  To avoid boasting in myself, I'll just leave it at that.

Lastly, there were a few things I didn't particularly like about the book.  David does a fantastic job of exegeting the Scriptures he uses to make his point, that is good!  Intermingled with that, however, he uses illustrations from real life.  People he knows, has encountered, or that are in his church, who have abandoned worldly things for the glory of Christ.  To hear of those people is encouraging and a great example set.  And that was his purpose in putting them in their too... however, I could have done with fewer of them and still gotten the point.

I believe he was going to the extreme to show the diversity that exists amongst the callings God places on our lives.  How one person's call may look a bit differently than another.  He made a point to say that very thing.  That this person's "thing" may not be another's "thing".  But the book would have made the point just as well with a more brief story on each of them or just fewer in general.  That's a preference of mine personally that when I read any book that is going to convey Scriptural truths, I'd rather hear more about the Scripture and less about a personal experience, but that's just me.

Read it, Bible open as always, pray about it... and see if God doesn't use this book to challenge you as well to evaluate what you do with what He's given you.  Are you using it to His glory, or your own?

Never lose hope!

I want to write to all those who have prayed for your unbelieving family members, friends, and acquaintances and yet it seems to have been to no avail because that person has still not repented and trusted in Christ.  I want to share with you a story of a mother in our church.  Her name is Jannette.  Jannette was raised Jewish and had been a practicing Jew until 20 years ago when God graciously saved her and her husband Ray. 

Since coming to Christ, Jannette and Ray have prayed for Jannette's daughter Gaye, (Ray's step-daughter), that God would save her as well.  After God saved Jannette, Gaye had become somewhat disillusioned and confused.  Her mother had now abandoned the Jewish practices that she had once held dear and Gaye did not understand how such a change could happen so quickly.  It would be fair to say that she even held a certain amount of anger about the whole situation.  In any case, she remained a Jew in belief and stopped practicing.

For 20 years Jannette has prayed and pleaded with God to save Gaye.  She has shared the Gospel innumerable times with her in hopes that she would be broken over her sin and cling to Christ.  Twenty years of trying, twenty years with no results.

Two months ago, Gaye came to see me in my office.  She was asking questions about Christ.  Coming from a Jewish background, whom she had been taught Christ was is not who the Bible teaches Him to be.  So I answered them as best I could and after we'd finished talking she left and I gave her a couple of materials to look over. 

I  heard nothing for 2 months.  She called me yesterday and told me that the previous night (Tuesday), as she sat in her apartment thinking about what I'd shared with her.  Considering the Law and how that is God's standard and how we've broken it.  And then also the good news of the Gospel.  

She said that God finally brought her to the end of herself and that she had confessed her sin to Him and begged God to forgive her!  She had trusted in Jesus Christ and as she shared with me about it through the tears she spoke of a joy unexplainable that she now had and how she could tell that a burden had been lifted from her. 

I'm choking back tears myself even recounting the story.  A couple of things I want to share with you, brethren, to encourage you in your witnessing be it to family, friends, or strangers.

1.) Don't be discouraged!  God is still God!  He does things in His own time according to His own will and in His own way!  Your job is NOT to convert someone, it's to share the Gospel.  The power of God converts sinful souls.  Your job is to faithfully proclaim it.

2.) The lack of response from the person you witness to does not necessarily mean that you've failed or that you are unsuccessful.  Gaye had been prayed for by many many people for many many years before God broke her heart and saved her. 

3.) No matter how hard someone's heart may appear to be to us, no one can sin so far that they are outside the saving reach of God's grace.  Ours is not to determine who we think 'might' or 'might not' be saved one day, ours is to simply trust the One who gave us the message that we proclaim.

Keep praying for the lost, keep seeking them out, and keep sharing the whole Gospel with them!  And trust that God will do what is good and right.  You may never know the impact you have on others.  Then again, God may grant you the unique blessing of being used by Him to bring someone to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria,

j

Family Bookshelf: The Priest with Dirty Clothes by R.C Sproul

Just finished reading this one with my children.  I found it absolutely fantastic!  It is a great explanation of the transaction that takes place at salvation where we receive Christ's imputed righteousness and He takes our sin.  It puts it in terms that children can understand.  At the end of the book it has several study questions for parents to discuss the book with the kids to help them see the truths of the Gospel and what Christ has done for us.  I read it to my 5 & 4 year old.  It was just a little too long to maintain my four year old's attention the entire time but he enjoyed it nonetheless.

Read as always with your Bible open.  In fact, the great thing about this book.  In the study section it outlines how to transition from talking to your children about the story to moving on the more important facts of the Gospel so that you raise your children in the truths of the Lord.  You can pick this book up from Ligonier.org.


** Please note that I received a review copy of this book from Reformation Trust but was in no way obligated to give a favorable review, just a fair one.

Pastor's Bookshelf: By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me by Sinclair Ferguson

We sing about it.  We recite it.  We are saved by it alone.  We know it.  But how often do we take it for granted?  I'm speaking of course about God's Grace.  A foundational and wonderful truth about the One True God of this world is that He has elected to make known His grace to us... us... unworthy sinful fallen people.  God owes us no mercy, no grace... no salvation; nothing but wrath and justice.  Yet by His grace we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ, God's Son.

Sinclair Ferguson takes you to the Bible to bring out what Scripture reveals about God's grace.  How amazing God's grace is in salvation and every day life.  How God's grace upholds the salvation of all believers and how God's grace is truly all sufficient. 

From beginning to end I loved this book.  It seemed to begin a bit slow, but by chapter two I was enthralled.  I know personally that I tend to take God's Grace for granted in my life.  Lord forgive me for ever presuming upon or forgetting the power of your grace extended to me through your Son, Jesus Christ.  If you don't own this, order it now.  You can pick it up at Ligonier.org or from Amazon.com.

Two of my favorite quotes from the book:  "No therapist, no psychiatrist can relieve you of guilt.  He or she may help you to resolve feelings of false guilt that can arise for a variety of reasons.  Prescription drugs may provide certain kinds of ease.  But no therapy, no course of drugs, can deliver you from real guilt.  Why?  Because being guilty is not a medical condition or a chemical disorder.  It is a spiritual reality.  It concerns your standing before God.  The psychiatrist cannot forgive you; the therapist cannot absolve you; the counselor cannot pardon you.  But the message of the Gospel is this: God can forgive you, and He is willing to do so." (pg. 57)

" Until we acknowledge our sin and guilt, we will never come to discover that it can be forgiven.  But when we do, actual forgiveness begins to give rise to an awareness of forgiveness psychologically, spiritually, mentally, inwardly.  With that comes an increasing sense that the bondage of guilt has been broken.  At last, we are set free.  Wonder of wonders, we discover that at the very heart of the Gospel is this fact:  God has taken our guilt upon Himself in His Son Jesus Christ." (pg. 58)

**I received a free copy of this book from Reformation Trust Publishing for review; but was in no way obligated to give a positive review.

Family Bookshelf: The Prince's Poison Cup by R.C Sproul

As I said in my last post, recently a friend of mine had recommended a couple of great books to me that have aided my wife and I in teaching our children the Gospel in ways they can understand and at the same time don't water down deep truth.  That second book is "The Prince's Poison Cup" by Dr. R.C Sproul.  The Prince in the story represents Christ and the story centers around explaining to children that the work of Christ was to take the cup of God's wrath for our sin.  

It paints a beautiful picture of Christ's death and resurrection for the ungodly against the staggering backdrop of our sin.  You can pick this up from Ligonier Ministries or Amazon.  Our children loved it and it really helped them understand and hopefully this will continue to lead them to a deeper love for Jesus.  Of course our hope, as is the hope of every parent, is that one day God will redeem our children and cover them in Christ's blood.

Hope this is helpful to you!

Family Bookshelf: The Church History ABC's

In addition to Scripture, which should always be first and foremost in our family discipleship, it can also be helpful and valuable to teach your children about "heroes" and "heroines" of the faith.  Teach them about those who have come before them and have given their lives (even unto death in some cases) for the glory of God and the defense of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  One such book aid for our family has been "The Church History ABC's".  It has been helpful in a three fold way for us.  It has helped us teach both our children some key facts about Christians gone before, it is written simply enough that my 5 year old daughter, who is learning to read, is easily able to read most words, and the alphabet structure has been helpful for my 4 year old son in helping him learn his alphabet.

You can pick this up from Amazon fairly reasonably.