Archives for April 2020

What an amazing Zoom world we live in! Minutes ago I just finished with a Zoom meeting in which I “preached” for 30 minutes on Hebrews 12:1-2 to several dozen theological students from the SRL seminaries scattered throughout Latin America—with 22 sites from Mexico to Chile—in order to encourage them to keep running the race by looking unto Jesus. This morning we had a Zoom conference prayer time for dozens of PRTS and RHB employees—and we plan to continue this every day, M-F, at our normal 9:45 a.m. meeting time.  Wednesday evening we had a Zoom conference prayer time for our church with about 80 of our church members participating from 50 different homes. Tuesday evening we had a consistory meeting with 24 men on Zoom. We are doing our entire full semester seminary program of teaching through Zoom with dozens of students on the screen as we lecture, as well as nearly all of our denominational committee meetings. And every Zoom call and meeting has been flawless in terms of the quality of Zoom. It nearly feels like a new world. Though we long to see each other in person again in every ministry, let us in the interim thank God, together with us, for the gift of Zoom so that all of these ministries may continue unabated!

How do you press on in our discouraging times when you have lost your job or been adversely impacted in other ways by the coronavirus? In this 11-minute devotional meditation on enduring while running the best race ever (Heb. 12:1-2), I aim to show Christian believers what our mission in this race is, the manner in which we are to run, and how we ought to be motivated to persevere in our running to the end.

A new printing of 3000 more copies of “A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life,” by Mark Jones and me, arrived today (7^th printing; first printed in 2012). I’m grateful that it is available again. The book aims to serve as a kind of systematic theology of Puritan teachings, expounding 51 major doctrines in which the Puritans excelled (chapters 1-51), and then showing how the Puritans brought doctrine into practice into their homes, their prayer life, their meditation, and their consciences to arouse zeal and practical Christian living in every area of their lives (chapters 52-60). Since each chapter is a stand-alone chapter, you can read this book any way you desire. I recommend beginning with the last nine chapters so as to whet your appetite for the rich truths the Puritans so beautifully and richly expounded.

You can purchase your copy here: https://bit.ly/2wzWAhJ 

I wish you and your loved ones a blessed resurrection Sabbath tomorrow. Here are some edifying quotations to meditate on as we reflect on the empty tomb and commemorate the living Immanuel:

“Christ did not rise from the dead as a private person, but as the public Head of the church. Therefore, we are more sure to arise out of our graves than out of our beds.” – Thomas Watson

“God fits our souls here to possess a glorious body after; and he will fit the body for a glorious soul.” – Richard Sibbes

“The resurrection of Christ, as the evidence of the sacrifice of His death being accepted, and of the validity of all His claims, is a much more decisive proof of the security of all who trust in Him than His death could be.” –Charles Hodge

I wish you and your loved ones a blessed resurrection Sabbath tomorrow. Here are some edifying quotations to meditate on as we reflect on the empty tomb and commemorate the living Immanuel:

“Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.” – Martin Luther

“Everything antecedent in the incarnate life of our Lord moves towards the resurrection and everything subsequent rests upon it and is conditioned by it.”  – John Murray

“In an age of abounding unbelief and skepticism, we shall find that the resurrection of Christ will bear any weight that we can lay upon it.”  – J. C. Ryle

Great news! This afternoon we received two more new RHB titles: “The Sum and Substance of the Gospel: The Christ-centered Piety of Charles Haddon Spurgeon” (in our Profiles in Reformed Spirituality series)—which makes for an excellent daily devotional — https://bit.ly/34te1Nt; and “The Cure for Unjust Anger” by the Puritan John Downame (in our Puritan Treasures for Today series)—ably edited by Brian Hedges. This is an outstanding book on a much-needed subject. Every sentence in this series is edited so it reads like these books were written in 2020, without sacrificing any content! https://bit.ly/2JP4LKe 

A great new RHB paperback in our Profiles in Reformed Spirituality arrived today: “The Wholesome Doctrine of the Gospel: Faith and Love in the Writings of William Perkins,” edited and introduced by Andrew Ballitch and J. Stephen Yuille. A lot of edifying material is packed into this 140-page paperback—perfect for your next daily devotional! https://bit.ly/2y1SOOr 

In this short, 3-minute answer about how the Puritans lived, I aim to show that they got it right when they focused on God, scriptural meditation, and eternity. This is the way to live and die in our coronavirus age.

https://ncfic.org/resources/10207

http://www.joelbeeke22.org/2020/04/3148/