International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Post-Election Reflections

Denny Burk @ http://www.dennyburk.com has some interesting post-election reflections as well as some summaries on the US election.

• “Hail to the Chief” and “The Decency of George W. Bush.”
• “America Has Chosen a President.”

He covers:

1. The Sovereignty of God.

2. Common Grace.

3. The Kingdom of Christ.

My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man

Jared Nelson @ http://crmafia.blogspot.com makes an interesting observation in light of the recent US election. He quotes Derek Webb who he saysoffers a welcome relief from the Christian Right and Christian Left that both confuse the state, kingdom and church.

He notes:

To those who believe the kingdom advances only by electing pro-life candidates, and those that believe the kingdom job of helping the poor and the widow is voting Democratic once every four years, know you do nothing to advance the kingdom. Your allegiances are divided. Repent.:

A King & A Kingdom by Derek Webb (MP3 remix here)

Who's your brother, who's your sister?
You just walked passed him
i think you missed her.
As we're all migrating to the place where our father lives
'cause we married in to a family of immigrants.

My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man
My first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
It's to a King & a Kingdom

There are two great lies that i’ve heard:
“The day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die”
and that Jesus Christ was a white, middle-class Republican
and if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him

My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man
My first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
It's to a King & a Kingdom

But nothing unifies like a common enemy
and we’ve got one, sure as hell
but he may be living in your house
he may be raising up your kids
he may be sleeping with your wife
oh no, he may not look like you think

:: Continue reading ::

:: Show Intro only ::

Free Audiobook: Calvin: Of Prayer and The Christian Life

In honor of Calvin's soon to be 500th birthday, christianaudio.com is pleased to offer two selections from his magnum opus, The Institutes as the November 2008 Free Audiobook of the Month. The two selections, Of Prayer, and On The Christian Life are wonderfully narrated by James Adams and a great introduction to the thoughts and writings of John Calvin.

Free Audiobook of the Month - Calvin: Of Prayer and The Christian Life Prayer as Calvin describes it is not giddy, and he goes on to give Scriptural definitions of proper thought, engagement, and attitude. What do the roles of patience and self-denial play in the role of the Christian life and what does Christian piety look like? What should our views be of the present life and the future life? These two sections of The Institutes guide us ever so thoughtfully and gracefully into his theology and practice of Christian living. Just use the coupon code NOV2008 during checkout. Add the download format of Calvin: Of Prayer and The Christian Life to your cart and then enter the coupon code NOV2008 when prompted during checkout.

The Shack and Universal Reconciliation

Pastor Larry DeBruyn has published a three-part series on the popular book, The Shack, and its teachings of universal reconciliation before God. These teachings underlie the whole emerging church heresy.

Here is:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Pastor DeBruyn writes:

Writing from the standpoint of being a one time “theological buddy” of Paul Young, author of The Shack, James De Young notes that the “the most serious error is Paul’s embrace of Universal Reconciliation which lies imbedded in the book.”[15] When applied to Christianity, Universal Reconciliation (UR) behaves like a computer virus that first invades, and then infects the whole body of biblical Truth. Contradicting distinctive Christian teachings, UR proposes a dialectic that changes biblical beliefs about God’s love and justice, Jesus’ atonement, heaven and hell, and the balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility.

Ingrid Schlueter @ http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com notes:

This hasn’t, of course, stopped evangelical pastors from buying this book by the crateload and handing it out to parishoners as though it were another scripture text. That’s because doctrine and theology don’t matter any longer. If a book makes you feel good, it must be Christian teaching, right

Debating Athiesm: Wilson vs. Hitchens on Video

Hitchens/Wilson sneak peak from LEVEL4 on Vimeo.


PatrolTV: Christopher Hitchens & Douglas Wilson from Patrol Magazine on Vimeo.

Total Church Conference

The Audio for The Total Church North America Conference 2008 has now been uploaded. Tim Chester and Steve Timmis recently published a book - "Total Church" with Re:Lit. This conference is the result of the ideas presented in the book.

Main Sessions

• A Community-centered Gospel – Steve Timmis (Q&A)
• A Gospel-centered Community – Steve Timmis (Q&A)
• Rethinking Attractional Church – Tim Chester (Q&A)
• Remodeling Attractional Church – Steve Timmis (Q&A)
• Making Disciples for Missional Church – Tim Chester (Q&A)
• Making Disciples in Missional Church – Tim Chester

Breakout Sessions

• Being Neighbors: a Gospel Strategy (Steve Timmis)
• Forming a Gospel Community (Jeff Vanderstelt)
• One-Anothering: A Communal Gospel (David Fairchild)
• Story & Rhythm of Soma Community (Caesar Kalinowski)
• Reading Cultural Texts (Mike Gunn)
• Out of the Frying Pan… (David Fairchild & Mark Moore)
• Beyond Total Church – Sowing the Seeds of a Movement (Tim Chester)
• Communication in a Post-Christian World (Drew Goodmanson & Caesar Kalinowski)
• The Everyday Rhythms of a Gospel Display People (Jeff Vanderstelt)
• True Gospel Community in a Truly Big Metroplex (Mark Moore)
• Reaching the Domains of Society (Drew Goodmanson & Caesar Kalinowski)
• Panel Q/A Session
• Wrapping up Total Church (Tim Chester)
• Developing Missional Leaders (Jeff Vanderstelt)
• Urban Discipleship (Mike Gunn)

Providence

Martin Downes@ http://against-heresies.blogspot.com covers the various theological statements on providence including:

Great providence of heaven--
What wonders shine
In its profound display
Of God's design:
It guards the dust of earth,
Commands the hosts above,
Fulfils the mighty plan
Of his great love

The kingdoms of this world
Lie in its hand;
See how they rise or fall
At its command
Through sorrow and distress,
Tempestuous storms that rage,
God's kingdom yet endures
From age to age

Its darkness dense is but
A radiant light;
Its oft-perplexing ways
Are ordered right.
Soon all its winding paths
Will end, and then the tale
Of wonder shall be told
Beyond the veil.

David Charles, 1762-1834;
Translated from the Welsh by Edmund Tudor Owen

Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Confession of Faith (1823)

Article 7, Of God's Providence in the Preservation and Government of the World

Belgic Confession

Article 13 About the Providence of God

Westminster Confession of Faith

Chapter 5: Of Providence

Westminster Shorter Catechism

Q. 11. What are God’s works of providence?


The Heidelberg Catechism

Q. 26. What do you believe when you say: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth?”

Q 27. What do you understand by the providence of God?

Q 28. What does it profit us to know that God created, and by His providence upholds, all things?

Archaeologists report finding oldest Hebrew text

Ari Rabinovitch from Reuters reports that Archaeologists in Israel said on Thursday they had unearthed the oldest Hebrew text ever found, while excavating a fortress city overlooking a valley where the Bible says David slew Goliath.

The Report:

The dig's uncovering of the past near the ancient battlefield in the Valley of Elah, now home to wineries and a satellite station, could have implications for the emotional debate over the future of Jerusalem, some 20 km (12 miles) away.

Archaeologists from the Hebrew University said they found five lines of text written in black ink on a shard of pottery dug up at a five-acre (two-hectare) site called Elah Fortress, or Khirbet Qeiyafa.

Experts have not yet been able to decipher the text fully, but carbon dating of artifacts found at the site indicates the Hebrew inscription was written about 3,000 years ago, predating the Dead Sea Scrolls by 1,000 years, the archaeologists said.

Several words, including "judge," "slave" and "king," could be identified and the experts said they hoped the text would shed light on how alphabetic scripts developed.

In a finding that could have symbolic value for Israel, the archaeologists said other items discovered at the fortress dig indicated there was most likely a strong king and central government in Jerusalem during the period scholars believe that David ruled the holy city and ancient Israel.

Modern-day Israel often cites a biblical connection through David to Jerusalem in supporting its claim, which has not won recognition internationally, to all of the city as its "eternal and indivisible capital."

Palestinians, saying biblical claims have been superseded by the long-standing Arab population in Jerusalem, want the eastern part of the city, captured by Israel in a 1967 war, to be the capital of the state they hope to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"The chronology and geography of Khirbet Qeiyafa create a unique meeting point between the mythology, history, historiography and archaeology of King David," said Yosef Garfinkel, the lead archaeologist at the fortress site.

The Bible is God's Special Revelation

Daryl Wingerd @ http://www.ccwblog.org presents an interesting article on Scripture. With permission, following is the complete text.

Mankind is dependent upon God for all things, even for the knowledge that God exists. Though God is under no obligation to reveal Himself, He chose to reveal Himself to mankind through creation. God reveals Himself as eternal, powerful, glorious, creative, orderly, loving, all-knowing, sovereign, and worthy of worship. By creating man in His own image, by giving him a soul, self-consciousness, the ability to reason, and a general knowledge of right and wrong, God reveals Himself as personal, holy, wise, righteous, and just. This is known as general revelation.

General revelation leaves every human being without excuse, since all are given enough knowledge to know that God exists and that He is to be loved and worshiped. In Romans 1:18-23, however, we are told that every person who has ever lived, despite their knowledge of God, has rejected Him. They refuse to acknowledge and worship Him. Instead their minds become darkened with sin and ignorance; they come up with their own ideas, turning to the foolishness of human wisdom and to idols made in the image of earthly creatures. Having rejected the knowledge of God, every person is justly condemned. To put it in simple terms, general revelation provides enough knowledge of God to get rebellious people like you and me into trouble, but not enough to get us out of it. We need something more.

This is where special revelation becomes important. Special revelation is what we have in the Bible. God was not obligated to save any of our rebellious race. He would have been perfectly just if He had decided to destroy all of us. But He did determine to save people, and the Bible tells us about His plan of salvation. From beginning to end—from Genesis through Revelation—the Bible reveals God's redemptive plan for His people.

The Bible is Perfect
Although we often see error resulting from the misuse of Scripture, we must never assign the blame to the Bible itself. To do this would be to blame God—to accuse Him of giving us a less-than-perfect source of truth (a clear contradiction in terms). When the study of Scripture results in wrong thinking, the source of the error is always human.

We do not possess the original writings of any biblical author. But modern translations of the Bible are taken from manuscripts that were carefully, meticulously copied from these flawless originals. When we find the near-perfect agreement between these thousands of preserved manuscripts, despite their being copied and re-copied over hundreds of years and in a variety of countries and languages, we can rest assured that what we have today is a faithful representation of the actual words of God.

The Bible is Inspired
The Bible was written by ordinary men. They had their own thoughts, ideas, and opinions which they recorded in both the Old and New Testaments. God did not reach down and take hold of their pens, causing them to write things which they would have never thought to write. And except for the instances where His audible words were recorded, God did not dictate the words of Scripture. Rather, He worked in these men, through their unique personalities, experiences, emotions, and intellects, causing them to record His words.

The Bible is the Final Authority
The Bible claims for itself a singular and final authority concerning all matters it addresses. No other instructions, written or verbal, represent a higher or even equal authority. This authority was not granted to God at one of the historical councils of the church; God does not need men to agree with Him or determine the extent of His authority. The Scriptures carry ultimate authority for one reason: They are the words of the sovereign Ruler of the universe.

The Bible is All We Need
The Bible is a sufficient source of truth and direction for salvation and for all significant aspects of life. A person should not search the Scriptures in hopes of learning the best way to poach an egg or repair an automobile. But when it comes to issues of sin, salvation, the church, the worship of God, evangelism, marriage, the education and discipline of children, relating to an immoral society, or any other aspect of Christian living, the Bible stands alone as sufficient. God's Word does not need to be supplemented by human wisdom, ingenuity, philosophy, or psychology.

Tedd Tripp on Parenting

Audio and video sessions are now available from the recent parenting conference at Mars Hill in Seattle, featuring Tedd Tripp.

Session 1: The Call to Formative Instruction

• Audio
• Video

Session 2: Giving Kids a Vision for God’s Glory

• Audio
• Video

Session 3: Helping Kids Understand Authority

• Audio
• Video

Session 4: Helping Kids Understand the Heart

• Audio
• Video

Session 5: Overview of Corrective Discipline

• Audio
• Video

Sermon Outline: Galatians 3:1-5. “Justification through the Gospel by the Triune God”.

1) The Believer’s Experience with Christ: Galatians 3:1

· 1 Timothy 6:9

· Titus 3:3

· Luke 24:25

· 1 John 1:9

2) The Believer’s Experience with the Holy Spirit Galatians 3:2-4

· Romans 8:16, 9

· Romans 10:17

· Philippians 1:6

· Hebrews 7:18-25

3) The Believer’s Experience with the Father Galatians 3:5

· 2 Corinthians 12:9

· Ephesians 3:20

Should We Celebrate Halloween?

Halloween is one of the strangest holidays mankind celebrates. It is an amazing paradox, an unusual mixture of Christian terms and ancient pagan religious rites.



Music by Randy Vild http://myspace.com/orchestrations
The Truth About Halloween: http://blowthetrumpet.org

Love, Sex, and Parenting...at Halloween

By Carl F.H. Henry @ http://henryinstitute.org/

As Linus Van Pelt waits for the Great Pumpkin (if you don't know what I'm talking about; good for you. Your parents more closely monitored television intake than did mine), two current articles seek to point out what Halloween reveals about contemporary attitudes toward sex and parenting.

The Los Angeles Times features the lament of a busy Mom who worries that the elaborate costumes of her neighbors' children just reminds her how inadequate she is as a parent. Brett Paesel, author of Mommies Who Drink: Sex, Drugs, and Other Distant Memories of an Ordinary Mom (On second thought, never mind the television. My Mom was just fine), writes this:

I suggested that my 6-year-old wear a shirt and a tie and go as a politician, but he wants to be a Komodo dragon. I told my 3-year-old that I could paint bruises on his arms and legs and he could go as a kid who falls down a lot. But he wants to be a red cat because a friend of ours works at the REDCAT Theater downtown, and he's been obsessed with the image ever since he heard of it. I'm figuring that we'll do red sweats and a few whiskers drawn on with a lip liner. The Komodo dragon is going to require some re-imagining of last year's T. rex costume.Things used to be a whole lot easier for underachieving moms. In addition to being one, I'm the daughter of one -- and she seemed to have more like-minded company in the '60s. One year, she and my dad couldn't be bothered to take us trick-or-treating. They gave my brother and me some crepe paper and newspapers to take upstairs and told us to make a different costume for each time we came back down into the living room. My parents then kicked back to discuss the day over martinis; every time we emerged in a new paper creation, they threw candy at us.The next day my mother told a neighbor about our evening. She was impressed and passed on her own timesaving tip: "I threw a black wig on Grace and told her to go as her evil twin." I long for those days when a mom could throw a sheet over a kid to make him a ghost without worrying that she's falling short of everyone's expectations. Or simply her own.

The Albany Times Union points out that the daughters of high-achieving parents have a growing theme in Halloween costume trends: sexiness. Reporter Kelly Smith writes:

The idea of sexy Halloween is not necessarily a new one. For years, Halloween parties have had their share of hot nurses and seductive pirates. But these are parties for adults, right? Not anymore. With names like "Transylvania Temptress,"..."Major Flirt," and "Red Velvet Devil Bride," there is no doubt that costumes marketed to children and teens have become more suggestive. Such costumes, which typically feature plunging necklines, fishnet stockings, knee-high boots and very short skirts, dominate the display at most costume shops and party supply stores, and parents are having a hard time avoiding them.

Thankfully there are "experts" who can help parents cope with whether or not their daughter should dress up as a sex huntress for Halloween. These tips include:

Use this as an opportunity to talk to your daughter about sexuality and appropriate ways of exploring and expressing it. Talk to girls about what they fear as well as hope for in terms of intimacy and teach them that there is more to sexuality than looking sexy for a guy. She said dressing up in sexy costumes is a way of presenting oneself as sexy, not of expressing oneself sexually.

and:

Add an element of power to the character she chooses. If she wants to be a fairy, let her imagine she's a fairy in charge of her whole kingdom. If she wants to express her sexuality, suggest that she be a toga-wearing goddess of wisdom. It's not that wanting to look pretty or sexy is bad, it's just that it's the only option girls are being presented with.

Whatever one's views on Halloween, the haze of confusion couldn't be more evident than it is in contemporary parenting, at Halloween or at any other time of the year. Why can't we see our poverty when we can afford to dress our children up in elaborate costumes, and our daughters wish to disguise themselves as sexual playthings for men?

It will take more than Linus's Great Pumpkin to get us out from this one. Thankfully, the young man also knows how to turn that blanket into a shepherd's gear just in time to speak of good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.

If you don't know about Linus's shepherd speech or what that has to do with a blanket, again, thank your Mom and Dad. If you don't know what the good tidings of great joy are, give me a call.

Trick or Trite?

http://www.christiancrafters.com probably goes too far:

“Pumpkin Prayer”

{cut off top of pumpkin}
Lord, open my mind so I can learn new things about you.

{remove innards}
Remove the things in my life that don’t please you.
Forgive the wrong things I do and help me to forgive others.

{cut open eyes}
Open my eyes to see the beauty you’ve made in the world around me.

{cut out nose}
I’m sorry for the times I’ve turned my nose at the good food you provide.

{cut out mouth}
Let everything I say please You.

{light the candle}
Lord, help me show your light to others through the things I do. Amen

from here

Osteen’s Prosperity Gospel

The Reformation-Part 1

The fine folks at Stand to Reason provide an interesting background to Luther's Coat of Arms as an excellent representation of the Gospel of God's mercy He gives to men. They note:

The Reformation began with the question Martin Luther asked, “How do I obtain a gracious God?” That good news is familiar to us today but it wasn't so in Luther's time, and that is the significance of the Reformation. We know we can be reconciled with God through Jesus.

Here's how Luther described the meaning of the seal in a letter July 8, 1530:

“There is first to be a cross, black [and placed] in a heart, which should be of its natural color, so that I myself would be reminded that faith in the Crucified saves us.… Even though it is a black cross, [which] mortifies and [which] also should hurt us, yet it leaves the heart in its [natural] color [and] does not ruin nature; that is, [the cross] does not kill but keeps [man] alive.… Such a heart is to be in the midst of a white rose, to symbolize that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace; in a word it places the believer into a white joyful rose; for [this faith] does not give peace and joy as the world gives and, therefore, the rose is to be white and not red, for white is the color of the spirits and of all the angels. Such a rose is to be in a sky-blue field, [symbolizing] that such joy in the Spirit and in faith is a beginning of the future heavenly joy; it is already a part [of faith], and is grasped through hope, even though not yet manifest. And around this field is a golden ring, [symbolizing] that in heaven such blessedness lasts forever and has no end, and in addition is precious beyond all joy and goods, just as gold is the most valuable and precious metal.”

Halloween Fast Approaches

John MacArthur @ www.gty.org was asked, "Is there anything wrong with children going out 'Trick or Treating', like Halloween, and if so, what specifically is bad in it, and what do the MacArthur kids do? And, should Grace get involved in any alternatives?" His response was as follows:

"I think, it's not a wise thing to have children go out trick or treating. I mean, I think it's kind of dumb for Christian kids to dress up like ghosts and witches and weird things, and devil suits, and trouble-makers, and all that. I think, for example, you know, the whole thing of All Saints Day or All Hallows Eve has connotations, first of all of Roman Catholic tradition. It has connotations of demons and spirits. Plus the fact that little kids are exposed to screwballs as well as to cars, and all kinds of other things...What we do in our family is we have an alternative. Like you said, we do an alternative thing. We do something fun for the whole family. It varies from year to year, and our church has always done that, too, for the kids. Have parties and socials and things."

He feels the day holds too many negative connotations and that Christians should find a more sacred alternative. Certain things must be acknowledged:

• This is an issue of conscience.
• Although the scriptures do not directly address this activity, there are principles that can guide us on the issue.

Tim Challies @ http://www.challies.com responded:

My conviction is that it is a very poor witness to have the house of believers blacked out on Halloween. Halloween presents a unique opportunity to interact with neighbors, to meet their children and to prove that Christians are part of the community and not merely people who want only to interact with Christian friends or to only interact in our own way and on our own terms. At the same time I despise how evil Halloween is.

A simple observation of your neighborhood would show:

Already our neighborhood has ghosts hanging from trees and evil plastic figurines stuck into lawns. One section of houses nearby always feels the need to go the extra step, playing recordings of scary music, dressing in occult costumes and generally glorying in evil.

What are some reasonable activities:

To this time we have allowed our children to go out trick-or-treating, provided they do not wear evil or occult costumes. It is a compromise, and admittedly not one I am entirely comfortable with. Over the past several years churches in our neighborhood have offered an alternative to Halloween with "harvest parties" or similar events. These tend to be parties in a nearby community center that allows children to dress up and get their fill of candy in a less-pagan environment. But there are other churches that encourage families to be present in their homes, to greet their neighbours and to look for opportunities to interact with them. A couple of the pastors in a nearby church are going so far as to hold neighbourhood barbecues before dark and inviting people to come and share a meal with them. I think this is a great idea.

Realize that evil is real and consider how you regard your own actions:

Perhaps the greatest fallacy Christians believe about Halloween is that by refusing to participate in the day we are somehow taking a stand against Satan. And second to that, is that participation in the day is an endorsement of Satan and his evil holidays. The truth is that Halloween is not much different from any other day in this world where, at least for the time being, every day is Satan's day and a celebration of him and his power. A member of the discussion discussion list wrote the following last year around this time: "Yeah... I've heard all of the 'pagan' reasons Christians should avoid Halloween. The question is whether we are actually participating in Samhain when we participate in Halloween? Who or what makes the 'Witch's League of Public Awareness' the definers of what Halloween is, either now or historically? Such a connection between Samhain and my daughter as a ladybug or my son as a Bengals Boy is highly dubious." And it is highly dubious at best.

I am guessing my neighbourhood is all-too-typical in that people typically arrive home from work and immediately drive their cars into the garage. More often than not they do not emerge again until the next morning when they leave for work once more. We are private, reclusive people who delight in our privacy. We rarely see our neighbors and rarely communicate with them. It would be a terrible breach of Canadian social etiquette for me to knock on a person's door and ask them for a small gift or even just to say "hello" to them. In the six years we have been living in this area, we have never once had a neighbor come to the door to ask for anything (except for this time). Yet on Halloween these barriers all come down. I have the opportunity to greet every person in the neighbourhood. I have the opportunity to introduce myself to the family who moved in just down the row a few weeks ago and to greet some other people I have not seen for weeks or months. At the same time, those people's children will come knocking on my door. We have two possible responses. We can turn the lights out and sit inside, seeking to shelter ourselves from the pagan influence of the little Harry Potters, Batmans and ballerinas, or we can greet them, gush over them, and make them feel welcome. We can prove ourselves to be the family who genuinely cares about our neighbours, or we can be the family who shows that we want to interact with them only on our terms. Most of our neighbors know of our faith and of our supposed concern for them. This is a chance to prove our love for them.

The same contributor to the email list concluded his defense of participating in Halloween with these words: "One night does not a neighbor make (and one night does not a pagan make), but Halloween is the one night of the year where the good neighborliness that flows from being in Christ is communicated and reinforced. We are citizens of another Kingdom where The Light is always on."

The truth is that I have several convictions regarding Halloween. I despise the pagan aspects of it. I am convicted that my children should not dress as little devils or ghosts or monsters. But I am also convicted that there could be no worse witness to the neighbours than having a dark house, especially in a neighbourhood like ours which is small and where every person and every home is highly-visible. We know that, if we choose not to participate, the neighbors will notice and will smile knowingly, supposing that we feel too good to participate. We have nothing to fear from our neighbours or from their children. So my children will dress up (my son as a police officer and my daughter as a princess) and we will visit each of our neighbours, knocking on their doors and accepting their fistfuls of candy. Either my wife or I will remain at home, greeting people at our door with a smile and a handful of something tasty. If the kids are deemed too old to trick-or-treat, they'll be forced to sing a song to merit any handouts. Our door will be open and the light will be on. And we trust that the Light will shine brightly.

My encouragement to you today is to think and pray about this issue. I do not see Halloween as a great evangelistic occasion. I do not foresee it as a time when the people coming to your door are likely to be saved. But I do think it is a time that you can prove to your neighbors that you care about them, that you care about their children, and that you are glad to be in this world and this culture, even if you are not of this world or this culture. Halloween may serve as a bridge to the hearts of those who live around you who so desperately need a Savior.

Mark Driscoll: Woe to You

Mark Driscoll at the 2008 Desiring God Conference.

5 Surefire Ways to Ruin Your Devotions

Stephen Altrogge @ http://www.theblazingcenter.com provides a cautionary tale of five surefire ways to ruin your devotions. He lists:

STEP 1: Do Your Duty Soldier

STEP 2: Wallow in Condemnation

STEP 3: Forget Faith

STEP 4: Snooze Baby, Snooze

STEP 5: Ride Solo