Present Blessings, Plus Persecutions, Scene 1

By James Boice
Theme: An Astonishing Statement
 
This week’s lessons remind us that no matter how great the persecutions we may be called to endure as Christians, we are promised blessings, both in this age and also in the age to come.
 
Scripture: Mark 10:29, 30
 
In the great collection of unexpected and challenging teachings about discipleship by Jesus there is perhaps nothing so utterly unexpected (particularly after our study of the earlier sayings) as Jesus’ words in Mark 10:29,

In the great collection of unexpected and challenging teachings about discipleship by Jesus there is perhaps nothing so utterly unexpected (particularly after our study of the earlier sayings) as Jesus’ words in Mark 10:29, 30. All along Jesus had been telling His listeners that in order to be His disciples they must deny themselves and give over everything they possess. But now He says that if they do that they will nevertheless receive a hundred times as much as what was given up, not merely in some future life, which we might expect, but in this very age—though they would have persecutions.

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

The Happy Christian, Section 5

By James Boice
Theme: Imitation of Christ
 
From this week’s lessons, we see that genuine happiness is found, not where the world assumes it to be, but in imitating the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12
 
8. “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.”  The last of the Beatitudes speaks of happiness in persecution.

8. “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.”  The last of the Beatitudes speaks of happiness in persecution. This is a blessedness Jesus elaborates upon, adding in verses 11 and 12, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

The Happy Christian, Section 4

By James Boice
Theme: The Way to Happiness, Continued
 
From this week’s lessons, we see that genuine happiness is found, not where the world assumes it to be, but in imitating the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12
 
4. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”  In my study I have a book by Walter Trobisch, a German missionary to West Africa, entitled, Living with Unfulfilled Desires.
Our culture tells us that we have a right to what we want and should seize it immediately. To use a biblical image, our culture encourages not a disciplined control of our desires but a hunger and thirst for everything. For everything but righteousness, that is! The world does not thirst for righteousness, since it is the one thing that is most perceived to stand in the way of the fulfillment of our other wants. 
 

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

An Open Letter to Black Lives Matter

Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 by Todd Pruitt on 1517

The black community needs the "Western-prescribed nuclear family"

 
The following open letter was written by the Children's Ministry Director at the church I serve. She is a wife and mother in an interracial family. She is understandably grieved by the damaging and counterproductive "guiding principles" of the Black Lives Matter organization.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you.

1517
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Mortification of Spin is a casual conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Mortification of Spin and the mission of the Alliance.

The Heart of Hospitality

by Christina Fox • July 13, 2016

We open our home to others because of the One who has opened his heavenly home to us.

A friend recently thanked me for the hospitality I had extended to him and his family over the years. Feeling uncomfortable with the compliment, I responded, “Actually, it’s my husband you need to thank. I learned it from him.” I think my comment surprised him. Perhaps because it seemed as though I’ve always had a heart for hospitality.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you.

Christward Collective is a conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Christward Collective and the mission of the Alliance.

The Happy Christian, Section 3

By James Boice
Theme: The Way to Happiness
 
From this week’s lessons, we see that genuine happiness is found, not where the world assumes it to be, but in imitating the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12
 
1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”  In Luke’s version of the Beatitudes the words “in spirit” do not occur (Luke 6:20).

1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”  In Luke’s version of the Beatitudes the words “in spirit” do not occur (Luke 6:20). Therefore, many have used Matthew’s version to point out that the poverty Jesus is speaking of here is not material but rather spiritual poverty. He is not praising physical privation. He is not saying that the materially poor are closer to the kingdom of God than the materially rich. What Jesus is commending is the opposite of a person’s being rich in pride.

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

Black and White Reviews, Black and Blue Complementarianism

Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 by Aimee Byrd on Housewife Theologian

The log in the complementarian eye.

 

This is going to be a different kind of book review. Ruth Tucker’s Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife is different kind of book. It is a page turner autobiography about an educated, independent Christian woman who falls in love with the tall, handsome, charming guy who knew all the right answers at a Christian retreat. She marries him and endures 19 long years of abuse. But as the subtitle explains, it’s also her story of finding hope after domestic abuse.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you.

Mortification of Spin is a casual conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Mortification of Spin and the mission of the Alliance.

The Happy Christian, Section 2

By James Boice
Theme: Pursuit of Happiness
 
From this week’s lessons, we see that genuine happiness is found, not where the world assumes it to be, but in imitating the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12
 
There are a number of ways by which people try to obtain happiness. One man thinks that the way to happiness is through wealth. So he sets his financial goals on a hundred thousand dollars. He gets his hundred thousand, but he is not happy. He sets his goals higher.

According to Jesus, happiness consists in a reorientation of life by His standards. These standards seem contrary to our way of thinking, as they inevitably must because of Jesus’ holiness and our sin. But they are the secret—the secret to becoming a happy person. 

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

The Happy Christian, Section 1

By James Boice
Theme: How to Be Truly Happy
 
From this week’s lessons, we see that genuine happiness is found, not where the world assumes it to be, but in imitating the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12
 
If a producer of a popular movie, a director of one of today’s successful television shows, or the editor of a widely circulating news or fashion magazine were to rewrite the Beatitudes from a contemporary point of view, I suppose they would go like this: Blessed are t

If a producer of a popular movie, a director of one of today’s successful television shows, or the editor of a widely circulating news or fashion magazine were to rewrite the Beatitudes from a contemporary point of view, I suppose they would go like this: Blessed are the rich and powerful, blessed are the sexually liberated, blessed are the beautiful and handsome, blessed are the famous, blessed are those the world looks up to. 

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

The Looking Glass War: Responding to Bruce Ware

Posted on Saturday, July 9, 2016 by Carl Trueman on Postcards from Palookaville

The choice is now a simple one.

We see that Dr. Ware has issued an open letter to the three of us.

 
Over the last four weeks, Dr. Ware's critics have offered on this webpage and elsewhere masses of evidence and argument demonstrating that his position is not consistent with Nicene Trinitarianism and that his use of Nicene language is incompatible with how that language is used in the tradition. He has thus far chosen not to demonstrate where these arguments are wrong but simply to continue asserting his idiosyncratic use of orthodox terminology. 
 

 

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you.

Mortification of Spin is a casual conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Mortification of Spin and the mission of the Alliance.
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