Covid didn’t divide the church, it revealed her. Covid didn’t victimize pastors, it tested their mettle. Were they company men or God’s men?Some passed the test and reaped unity. Some passed the test and were fired. Both will receive their reward.
If you're a Christian with an online platform of any kind, be prepared to lose it for Christ. Not eager, but prepared. When it happens it will likely mean being called immoral and reprehensible, even (perhaps mainly) by others who claim Christ. Prepare now to rejoice in that day.
The thing is, it’s the opposite of funny or cute to act like disdaining young children is funny or cute. This type of joking is acceptable poison. Women, you can opt out. You can be appalled when others talk like this in your presence. You can stand up for the dignity of the fam.
@scott_m_coley
Being a woman of elderly discernment, please allow me to translate the look in her eye toward her husband: Sweetie, if I get pregnant one more time, I’m leaving you with all these children and checking into a monastery.
Just a reminder to be fervent in prayer as SCOTUS hears the Dobbs case. May our mighty Lord and Savior bring an end to this calamity of baby killing in our nation. May the Dobbs ruling be the first domino in extinguishing abortion from sea to shining sea. Have mercy on us, Lord!
It’s a gracious and powerful thing when, in the midst of great trial, a wife can quietly and confidently say to her husband, “You were made to bear this. God made you to do hard things. His Son went before you, his Spirit is in you, and I am with you to the end.”
Men are remarkable. Today I drove on roads, over bridges, in a machine that runs on liquid. I passed a giant water tower as well as some giant cell towers. Who put them there?
Christians absolutely know what to do when they're told there is something big wrong with their child: they love their child. They pray for their child. They do everything they can to care for, nurture, and protect their child. They don't kill their child and call it mercy.
This thinking is so self-absorbed and devoid of love I could vomit. It's ignorant and arrogant. At our 20 w ultrasound we were told part of our baby's brain wasn't big enough. This set us on a course of dr appts, monitoring, etc
If you know exactly what you would do if a scan revealed your baby was missing his kidneys & much of his brain & doctors said terminating would spare him prolonged suffering in the few hours of life he might get after birth, congratulations. Because I don’t.
It’s nigh impossible to call Christians to risk their lives in foreign lands or nearby neighborhoods to bring Good News to those in need, when we won’t tell them it’s worth a health risk to assemble as God commands to hear the Word, sing praise to God, and love the brethren.
What makes marriage so distinctly beautiful is the joining of man and woman. It is the asymmetry, the joining of two different, yet fitting parts that can bring forth life. And that asymmetry pictures a much greater one—Christ and his church-bride, the most fruitful union of all.
You know what’s a threat to young Christian women and their understanding of how God wants them to live as women? The promotion of:
sorority girl culture
girl boss culture
bff culture
disney culture
activist culture
Teach your daughters a better way.
I started reading this yesterday—of note in the intro:
1- RB repents for 4 lies she believed and promulgated *after* becoming a Christian. This is potent gospel on display and a lesson for everyone w a public platform on what must be done when we are publicly in error.
I don’t know any women who grow strong, secure, and stable in the Lord by staring at the wrongs done to them or pondering their own worth. Redemption comes by looking to Jesus’s worth. Healing is found in his wounds, not ours.
Feminism catechized women to believe that their greatest blessings are actually terrible burdens. Feminism lied. The big blessings, like family & children, require work & sacrifice.True. But that’s because they’re so important & meaningful. Everything worth anything does.
What if forgiving one another actually meant fully and freely forgiving one another--relinquishing the debt entirely just as God did for us through his Son? What if forgiveness really meant something? It does.
Christians are not in the business of redeeming godless ideologies. We are at war with them.
"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" 2 Cor 10:5
Abortion is deeply personal. To support it requires a rending of soul in which you must invalidate the existence of other humans with your own unearned existence. It is the strong hating the weak & denying they were ever so vulnerable. It is first blindness about oneself.
Among Christians, I don't think this is should be too controversial, but here goes. I'm a thick complementarian, meaning I believe our design as men and women is more than skin deep. I believe there is something intrinsic to being male and female, an "ought-ness"...
Freaking out isn't going to fix the President's overreach. It's going to take mature adults who act calmly, firmly, and creatively for the protection of others' jobs, freedoms, & conscience. We need more than keyboard warriors, caps locks, and !!!!!. Trust God. Gird your loins.
Do you know what I am thankful for? God’s Word. Everyday I’m fed and kept by it. Even on the days when I come with no sense of hunger or need. The Lord has never not nourished me with his word. Aren’t you eager for tomorrow, just so you can receive it once again?
The Christian family is a very happy place, not because it’s immune to sadness, but because Christ is the stability in trouble, the joy in work, the love between members, the forgiveness for sin. It is our best and worst selves together encountering the transforming Christ.
Today I received this first copy of my new book, Bread of Life, from
@crossway
. It’s a book of real life baking and real life believing in Jesus. He really is the bread of life!
The best way to cultivate a culture of trust is to (and follow me closely here) be trustworthy. Don't lie, cheat, or steal your sermons. Say what the Bible says, don't sandpaper it. If you're "borrowing," don't pass it off as your own, which gets us back to the "don't lie" part.
Right now is a very good time to get your house in order. I don’t mean to clean it up (but that’s included)—I mean to realize that the most important place for Christian life (the home) is the one you have influence and responsibility for. Tend! Cultivate! Build! In Jesus’ name!
Reminder: God’s commands are not burdensome! Even the ones directed to women! They are for our good, & when we obey them we are better off in every way. When folks treat God’s commands as burdensome for women, they either don’t know the Command Giver or have never tried obeying.
I’m not a member of SBC, but I want to say this one thing: complementarian women being “alienated” by all the attn to this issue is not the danger. The danger is the many women (and many men) who will be led to sin if the SBC thumbs its nose at Scripture and God’s design.
Why speak hard words to women about their sin? Because if you believe women can be co-heirs, then you also believe they are fallen in Adam and in need of the salvation found in Christ. Their sin must be atoned for--repentance, faith, and conformity to Christ are the only way.
I can't help but notice the# of Christian women w platforms that don't touch the issues that would put them out of step w the world (e.g. gender). Some just join the world, but there are lots who turn their writing into uber personal sharing that's disconnected from any "issues."
When
@RevKevDeYoung
says, "Have more children and disciple them like crazy" I don't hear him calling for an unspiritual strategy outside of the Great Commission. Discipling children in the Lord has always been and always will be a Spirit-enabled work.
The Holy Spirit ≠ the American spirit
Fixing our eyes on Jesus ≠ fixing our eyes on the flag
This is why Christians have hope. God is infinitely better than our best attempts at glory.
One thing I hope this quarantine does for Christian families is to remind us that children are contributors, not mere consumers who need to be entertained when not at school. They aren't ornaments or achievements. They're people who can do and handle more than we might think.
We don't have a beautiful family picture to share, but we have a risen Savior, and he's our hope today and everyday--even in the ICU. Please pray for our son, Titus.
Turns out the culture war is about actually rescuing the dying—both physically and spiritually. But we’ve known it. We’ve lived it. Which is why we know that the unwillingness to fight is its own form of deadly rebellion.
Above all guard your heart. Don’t let it grow cold or bitter or suspicious. Stay soft, stay humble, stay true before God’s face. Tremble at his word. Trust Him. Only then can we say, “What can man do to me?”
Any Christian who has recommended the Covid vaccine or confidently referred to it as "safe" ought to be required to listen to this. Of all people, Christians should be cautious in telling others that they *should* or *ought* to participate in experimental medicine.
I'm pleased to finally announce that
@BretWeinstein
has released a new episode of the Dark Horse podcast with my mother, Lydia, in which they discuss her vaccine injury. It is now live on Spotify and will follow soon on YouTube.
Taking offense is a powerful drug. It’s a powerful drug precisely because it gives us power.
“A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city.” Prov 18:19
No matter what the cost, agree with God. Agree w his Word. No matter what the mobs say, no matter what folks whisper about you or shout from the rooftops, agree w Him about every last thing. Not begrudgingly--but with our whole hearts say, "You are right about everything, Lord."
One of the things women are absolutely essential for in the life of the church is event planning &celebrations. The average cost of having a big event like a wedding is wild. In response to this some Christians take an ascetic approach to weddings (no meal, barely any decor, etc)
On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand!
Aren't you thankful for the solid rock of Christ? We have every reason to sing with joy and faith tonight, saints.
Women are created by God to nurture life. It is a fragile thing--the health and well-being of women who bear children and the health and well-being of those children. Wars are fought to protect women, they should not be fought *by* women.
He's seen babies live that they thought would die and babies die that they assumed would live. To act like we can predict the future of another person's life before they're born is arrogance. And to take steps to prematurely end the life based on our arrogant prediction is evil.
When God mercifully relents of disaster on our nation thru the overturning of a wicked, murderous ruling, *not* to give thanks and rejoice is sin. To witness his protection of babies from hands that shed innocent blood and to mourn or withhold thanks rather than celebrate is sin.
The idea that I read the Bible a certain way because I read it as a woman––*and that that somehow adds value and unique understanding to my reading*––fundamentally misses what the Bible is. It is God speaking to us.
One great lie told to women is that their deepest loyalty must be to women—that women’s interests are in conflict with the interests of men and children.
Here’s a loving corrective: a woman’s loyalty is to her Maker and Savior. Every other loyalty flows from that.
I’m not part of the SBC, but I’m praying for the saints who are. May they be marked by the fear of God, may they tremble before Him. May He instruct them in the way.
Who is the man who fears the LORD?
Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. Ps 25:12
Was told (by a man) that progress for women in the church looks like women not being expected to stay home w the kids. And here I thought progress was passing the faith on to the next generation. I thought progress was the freedom to obey God w gladness. But what do I know?!
🎯 🎯 🎯
And “right wing” is the only moral, God-fearing way for Christians in 2023. If you try to avoid being political you will end up avoiding being virtuous and will prove a coward in the process. The rightful death of the institution will follow. 🙏🏼
If a Christian college wants to attract students and make an impact for the future, it should be:
(1) explicitly right wing theologically & culturally.
(2) academically rigorous with competitive admissions.
(3) strong in liberal arts (classics, theology, history).
Christian moms and dads must love their kids enough to tell them "no." And not just, "No, you can't do that right now," but also, "No, you're wrong about that. Let me tell you why and help you see what God says about it."
A conversation today had me remembering in depth what marriage and motherhood was like 10 years ago, when I was 29 and the youngest of our four children was 6 months old, our oldest was 6 years old. I don’t regret giving myself away to them. I don’t regret forsaking other things.
Luther’s three rules for studying theology:
1. Prayer
2. Meditation
3. Trials
Oh how the trials bring our prayer and meditation into focus. And what do we see? Him.
We are in grave danger if we set out to solve the problem of injustice in this world, believing the solution to be in front of us. It isn't. Turn back! It's Christ's life, death, and resurrection. Sent by God, crushed for our sake, and raised by His hand forever. No other way.
It’s a self-centered insecurity that makes us freak out over someone else’s differing viewpoint as though when someone else merely expresses another view it means they are judging us. Mature people don’t freak out, they bring better ideas and arguments to the table.
What if the “culture war” is really just Christians actually living and acting and speaking as Christians w the boldness Christ says we will have? What if being afraid of the culture war is just compartmentalizing your Christianity in a way the Lord despises?
June is LIFE MONTH!
Here are 5 practical ways to celebrate and spread the word:
1- Have a party! Invite lots of people! Make some noise! Let people know in person and online what you’re doing and why you’re doing it!
#lifemonth
When women choose to kill their children it should be a crime and they should be held accountable by law. Women sin, women commit crimes. Preborn children need protection from the women and doctors who would conspire to murder them.
Have men done bad things? Yes. Women, too. Do women do great things? Yes. So many wonderful things. But it's a nod to reality to say that men build big amazing things for mankind. They do hard jobs. I'm grateful. And, like grandma, I want to work like crazy to help.
I’ll take the Moscow Mood over the Mutinous Nashville Mood any day and twice on Sundays.
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.” Matthew 12:33
If the only way you can evaluate or speak about the morality of a group’s action is by comparing it to another group’s immorality, you’ve lost your compass. Open the Word and find true north before the equivocating hardens your soul. Consistency is honorable, equivocation is not.
All the sudden, the last several decades of homeschoolers fighting for parental rights to educate their children with minimal gov't interference looks pretty sane. Because it was and is. Children are commanded to obey their *parents*, not the "community."
An Open Response to J.D. Greear.
As Greear is the first major figure in my book to publicly object to my depiction of his statements and actions over the last few years, I’ll deal with his objections one by one.
Prayer points for Dobbs v Jackson:
-Oral arguments begin Wed at 10am ET
-Scott Stewart goes 1st for Dobbs (to overturn Roe), followed by Julie Rikelman for Jackson, then Elizabeth Prelogar also for Jackson, then Stewart gets the last word.
-Pray for each person and Justice
If one's conception of "culture war" means leaving the Gospel behind while we muck around in worldly politics, then we should reject it, but that conception is based on a false separation of political from spiritual. The culture war is spiritual--a war of words, logos, truth.
D.A. Carson: "Taking over another sermon and preaching it as if it were yours is always and unequivocally wrong, and if you do it you should resign or be fired immediately. The wickedness is along at least three axes:"
Article from 2010 by
@between2worlds
If you think it’s a sin for men and women to go to a doctor to have their bodies mutilated to supposedly change their gender (which it is), but are fine sending a husband in to have his normally functioning male anatomy ruined w a vasectomy, you’ve got some reflecting to do.
To act like childbirth makes women needless of the protection of men is getting it backwards. The vulnerability of childbirth and the ensuing years of intense care for a vulnerable human is a Big Reason to give thanks that God planned for committed husbands to sacrifice for wives
If our self-proclaimed "gifts"/"calling" are warring against daily death to self or warring against the Spirit-breathed Scripture, then we have reason to suspect our "gifts"/"calling" are fleshly, not spiritual. The Spirit's gifts are not our inclinations or personality profiles.
We love young women when we help them know they have the ability &responsibility to refuse sinful influences. But if you tell young women they are victims when they go along w sin & have no agency to say ‘no’ to ungodly pressure whether from peers or authorities, that’s not love.
I really believe we live in a golden age of homemaking/home renewal and productivity. The number of things I can do (and learn to do very well) at home is breathtaking. Many skills that were left behind in the previous 2 generations are now accessible to all thru the Web.
Vagueness is the enemy of unity. Vagueness shelters a thousand cracks in the foundation. Vagueness allows divisive people to hide in plain sight under cover of smooth speech, nice platitudes, and unspecific accusations w/o evidence. Don't be like that.
I'm not saying that the length of his life now proves his life was worth is at 20 weeks. It's worth it no matter what. But I am saying that drs are not God. Mothers are not God. They cannot predict the future. My dad is a pro-life OB of 35+yrs...
If Christ is all to you, you ought to be unwilling to indulge/share an article from a wayward Christian publication by a wayward man responsible for atrocities performed on *children* and *dead babies* no matter the subject. Juvenile reaction? Lord, have mercy.
@CBT_91
@megbasham
I get the point. I disagree with the point. It is a juvenile reaction from hyper-online people who hide behind faith, when it's really their politics impacting their views.
My 10yo daughter wrote out her testimony of God's saving grace. She talks vividly of her awareness of sin at 3 years old. She talks about her "year of woe" (2nd grade) where she was in real agony over the chasm between a truly good God and herself.
Older women...are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. -Titus 2:3–5
Is it too small a thing?
The trope about how strong/independent women are due to childbirth is barely 1/4 true. Yes, women show strength in childbirth. But a significant % died in childbirth before modern medicine. They are *very* vulnerable. I’ve had 5 babies w hemorrhages, blood transfusions, surgery.
So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves” (Matt 27:24).
Pilate's 1st error: trying to win the mob. His 2nd: caving.
When I think on the Pharisees who despised Jesus, I know apart from grace I would have been them. I would have missed the forest for the trees. I would have been blind. Which is why I weep at the forgiveness and faith given to me through Christ. Amazing love—how can it be?!
@William_E_Wolfe
Over and over I heard in poli-sci classes, “you can’t legislate morality.” Well, you can—both immorality and morality. What you can’t legislate is heart change. But you can prevent a lot of pain and evil w moral, God-honoring laws.
The federal gov’t cannot forgive student debt, because the cost of forgiveness will be borne by citizens who will be injured by it. In order to forgive one must also be able to absorb the cost. The fed gov’t can only oppress and rob people w its so-called “forgiveness.”
Last Easter our son was in the ICU in a coma. This year we were all together enjoying the good gifts of today. We are ever thankful that the Ancient of Days spent three days in the grave, then rose from the dead, so that whether we live or whether we die, we belong to him.
My 18 yr old son is writing his senior thesis paper on contraception—he’s been working on it all yr. I read his first draft. We are gonna make it.
May the based Christian zoomer tribe increase and be blessed to a 1000 generations.
This is an answer to prayer. More of this—more children leaving the gov’t system of indoctrination and finding their way to Christian schools and home schools. Help us be faithful, Lord!
“Where did those kids go?” Public school systems are starting to feel the pinch from enrollment losses tied to the pandemic. School funding, partially driven by headcounts, is down sharply because families are opting for homeschooling and private schools.
I turned 39 today in quarantine––less than a week after the sudden death of a dear friend. It's quite different than any other birthday. The tears spill, but it's as though they water the soil of faith. Hope in God is in full flower. He really will raise us from the dead.
This is not a formal ministry of the church, but it is real ministry--and, in my opinion, it is the most fun ministry. Ladies, you have so much to give! Dream big about how you can bless people! Brainstorm with others! Then get to work and enjoy.
To promote and commend uncertainty about things God has certainly said is not humility, it is pride. It is not “soft” toward God to wobble on things He has made sure, it is soft toward sin—the one thing we must be hardened against.
🧵I think the Begg situation is one in which using a simplistic 3 tier theological triage simply doesn’t work. Not only does it not work, it will lead you to misunderstand God’s priorities, and, if you’re a dad or mom, you could really handicap your kids’ discernment/wisdom.
Major church leaders used their positions to become mouthpieces for government’s Covid propaganda and helped NIH director Francis Collins suppress news about the lab-leak theory that would have been damaging to him.
My
@realDailyWire
story 👇
Christians who tap out of the war for our culture are Christians who have forgotten what they are for. We are called to bear witness to Christ’s goodness and supremacy in this culture, to this people, at this God-ordained time. Every square inch is His.
I've read Corrie ten Boom's The Hiding Place countless times--tonight I watched a doc on it. Again, the massive impact of having a true Christian family w real love & courage pouring from Bible-soaked lives overwhelms me. Home is the place God is made what he really is––our life.
What if some folks are legitimately loving their neighbors and families and friends by not wearing a mask or not social distancing?
What if “loving others” has more than one expression? How does that change your judgment of those who are behaving differently than you?