A Plea for Heart Devotions and Head Study

From John Piper:

"This is a plea that all of you would build into your lives both personal devotions and purposeful study of God’s word.

Both:

Daily prayerful meditation seeking personal application of God’s word to your own heart and life.

And:

Regular study in a class or with a book where the (living or dead) teacher has seen more than you have and can give you insight in 30 minutes that might otherwise take you ten years to see.

The reason I plead for both is that without a book or a class about what some part of the Bible means and a teacher who is ahead of you, your devotions will probably flatten out at a low level of insight.

Year after year you will go over the same biblical ground and find it as perplexing as before. There will be little advance in understanding. This will tend to take the heart out of devotional reading, because the lack of growth cannot sustain the joy.

Seek out preaching, books, and classes which take you further in grasping what various books and texts in the Bible mean."

Idolatry in Christian Ministry

From Matt Harmon:

"...in the context of Philippians 1:12-26 Paul provides the necessary corrective: to have as our highest aim the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So the question for each of us involved in ministry is this: do you care who gets the credit? Are you fine with others being recognized for their faithful gospel ministry while your own proclaiming of Christ remains under appreciated or recognized? What happens in your heart when someone else receives credit for something YOU did? Can you be content with rejoicing in the progress of the gospel rather than nursing resentment that you did not receive the recognition."

Beatbox Chef

(Hat Tip: Josh Harris)

With Calvin in the Theater of God

Registration for the next Desiring God National Conference--"With Calvin in the Theater of God"--is now open. Here's the lineup:

Julius Kim, “At Work and Worship in the Theater of God: Calvin the Man, and Why I Care”

Douglas Wilson, “The Sacred Script in the Theater of God: Calvin, the Bible, and the Western World”

Marvin Olasky, “The Secular Script in the Theater of God: Calvin on the Christian Meaning of Public Life”

Mark Talbot, “The Broken Stage in the Theater of God: Sin and Suffering in Calvin’s World”

Sam Storms, “The Final Act in the Theater of God: Calvin on the Joy of the Last Resurrection”

John Piper, “Jesus Christ as Dénouement in the Theater of God: Calvin and the Supremacy of Christ in All Things”

(HT: BTW)

The most beautiful noise

On page 116 (in my copy) of C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew, Aslan begins to sing Narnia into creation out of a black void. One of the characters, Digory, describes it as, "...the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it."

This is the explanation given for the name of a great new band "Page CXVI". Page CXVI has a project they are currently releasing reworking several great hymns of the Christian faith.

They further explain:
"As the hymns project began to form, our hope was to wrap the strong lyrical content of the hymns, with music that portrayed our personal reactions to the life that God has brought to our "black void." The most personal song on the album is by far "Joy" with the counterpart, "It is Well" was written by Horatio Spafford after losing his son to scarlet fever, all of his real estate investments to the Great Chicago Fire, and his 4 remaining children to the sinking of a boat. The contemplative turn from "Joy" into the lines from "It is Well" comes out of our own personal tragedy this past year and combines a Psalm like lamentation with hope. Our intention with all of these songs is to be a source of comfort and encouragement to all who hear them."

If you haven't already heard their music, you can download several songs for free for the next week by going here, but you should hurry if you want it for free, it's good through next week (March 25th).