Asahel Nettleton relates the following anecdote regarding the proper response when receiving commendation or condemnation:
A man once said to an aged clergyman, ‘My neighbors are slandering me, and what shall I do?’ ‘Do your duty,’ said the clergyman, ‘and think nothing about it. If they are disposed to throw mud, let them throw mud; but [...]
Archive for August, 2007
Do Your Duty
Posted in Christian Living, Nettleton, Asahel on August 29, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Am I Elect?
Posted in Election, Watts, Isaac, Whitefield, George on August 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Good counsel from George Whitefield concerning ascertaining whether one is of the elect–
That great man, Dr. Isaac Watts, who was called the sweet singer of Israel, says, ‘We should go first to the grammar school of faith and repentance, before we go to the university of predestination.’ Whereas the devil would have them go first [...]
Whitefield the…Arminian? Say It Isn’t So!
Posted in Evangelism, Kingdom of God, Regeneration, Whitefield, George on August 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Preeminent evangelist of the first Great Awakening, George Whitefield (1714-1770), has grown to be a “hero” of sorts for me over the last decade. His life has challenged me to be more active in the Lord’s harvest field, especially since my family gave me Dallimore’s two volume biography of the great orator.
In the past [...]
Feelings or Faith?
Posted in Psalms, Trials on August 19, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Psalms 42 and 43 have always provided encouragement and challenge for me.
The situations, experiences, and feelings expressed by the psalmist find parallels in the believer’s life today:
feeling far from and longing for God
grief and remembrance of better times
a soul that is in despair and disturbed
mourning
feeling that God has forgotten me
oppressed and broken
seemingly rejected by [...]
The Place of Prayer in Public Worship
Posted in Pastoral Epistles, Prayer, Worship on August 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
1 Timothy 2 addresses some essential aspects of public worship in the proper order of the church. That public worship is the focal point of this chapter is clear from vv. 8-12.
God says that much prayer must occur when God’s people assemble, and that such prayer plays an essential role in the salvation of [...]
A Fitting Start
Posted in Pastoral Epistles, The Church on August 13, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
God’s intended purposes (“administration,” oijkonomian, v. 5) are never accomplished by “strange doctrines” (eJterodidaskalevw, 1 Tim 1:3). God’s intended purposes involve a heart that produces genuine love, a correctly guided conscience, and genuine faith (v. 5). It is only by biblical instruction (paraggeliva, vv. 5, 18) that one may “fight the good fight” (v. 18). [...]
Invitations
Posted in Baptist, Evangelism, Finney, Charles G., Whitefield, George on August 9, 2007 | 3 Comments »
Today I spent some time studying church covenants. In the process I came across a totally unrelated but interesting little tidbit from Leon McBeth’s The Baptist Heritage. While relating the beliefs and practices of the Sandy Creek Church, McBeth notes some differences between General and Separate Baptists. The distinctions between these two revolved around their [...]
Diligence
Posted in 1 & 2 Peter, Christian Living on August 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Three times in his second epistle Peter exhorts believers thus:
applying all diligence, in your faith supply…(1:5)
be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you (1:10)
be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless, blameless (3:14)
Diligence is to be an essential aspect of my life, having reference to my past [...]
Prayer Meeting
Posted in Christian Living, Prayer Meeting on August 2, 2007 | 1 Comment »
They suffered countless ailments on each prayer meeting night,From whooping cough to measles, to deafness and poor sight;But strange to say their ailments come not at other times,For minstrel shows and movies, they have both health and time.The Bible Union Baptist, January 1928, p. 7
