Seeking the Lord

for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” – Hebrews 11:6

I am convinced that most of the personal issues we are dealing with would be resolved by spending just 30 minutes of time truly seeking the Lord.

You Cannot Separate Morality and State

I do not always agree with Doug Wilson, but was impressed by this sermon aimed at the Governor and Legislature of the State of Idaho. My friend Pastor Jeff Durbin commented, “Truly one of the best and most succinct messages I have heard about the unavoidable and necessary element of Christian involvement in political discourse. Unless issues of morality can be separated from ‘State’ we have an obligation to proclaim the truth of God into current political discourse. Abortion is murder and that is why we tell ‘Caesar’: No. Obamacare is theft, injustice, and unwise – that is why we tell the ‘State’: No.”

From A Flying Eagle’s Perspective

Isaiah 40:28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Location : Chamonix, Mer De Glace area

Luther on Law and Gospel

Martin Luther declared of the person ignorant of the distinction between Law and Gospel that “you cannot be altogether sure whether he is a Christian or a Jew or a pagan, trans. by Theodore G. Tappert, (New York: Harper & Bros., 1938). p. 114.

“Sin is not canceled by lawful living, for no person is able to live up to the Law. Nothing can take away sin except the grace of God.”

Elsewhere he wrote, “whoever knows well this art of distinguishing between the Law and the gospel, him place at the head and call him a doctor of Holy Scripture.”

Tullian Tchividjian writes, “The law, to paraphrase Luther, is a divinely sent Hercules sent to attack and kill the monster of self-righteousness—a monster that continues to harass the redeemed. Christians, in other words, need the law to regularly reveal that we are worse off than we think. We need to be reminded that there is something to be pardoned even in our best works and proudest achievements.

But then, once we are recrushed by Law, we need to be reminded, in the words of an old hymn, that ‘there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.’ We need to hear that the sins we cannot forget, God cannot remember, or as another old hymn puts it, that ‘though th’ accuser roar, of ills that I have done, I know them well and thousands more; Jehovah findeth none.’ We need to hear over and over that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, that nothing can separate us from God’s love, and that Christians live their lives under a banner that reads, ‘It is finished.'”

Miscellaneous Quotes (89)

quotes“I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” – C. H. Spurgeon

“Your faith will not fail while God sustains it; you are not strong enough to fall away while God is resolved to hold you.” – J.I. Packer

“The Word of God can take care of itself, and will do so if we preach it, and cease defending it. See you that lion. They have caged him for his preservation; shut him up behind iron bars to secure him from his foes! See how a band of armed men have gathered together to protect the lion. What a clatter they make with their swords and spears! These mighty men are intent upon defending a lion. O fools, and slow of heart! Open that door! Let the lord of the forest come forth free. Who will dare to encounter him? What does he want with your guardian care? Let the pure gospel go forth in all its lion-like majesty, and it will soon clear its own way and ease itself of its adversaries.” – C. H. Spurgeon

“As the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, so the denial of God is the height of foolishness.” – R.C. Sproul

Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress,
Wherein before my God I’ll stand
When I shall reach the heavenly land.

– Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf

“He who begins by seeking God within himself may end by confusing himself with God.” – B.B. Warfield

A person can give and not know God, but you can’t know God and not give.

“As I see it, the Christian life must be comprised of three concentric circles, each of which must be kept in its proper place. In the outer circle must be the correct theological position, true biblical orthodoxy and the purity of the visible church. This is first, but if that is all there is, it is just one more seedbed for spiritual pride.

In the second circle must be good intellectual training and comprehension of our own generation. But having only this leads to intellectualism and again provides a seedbed for pride.

In the inner circle must be the humble heart — the love of God, the devotional attitude toward God. There must be the daily practice of the reality of the God whom we know is there…

When each of these three circles is established in its proper place, there will be tongues of fire and the power of the Holy Spirit. Then, at the end of my life, when I look back over my work since I have been a Christian, I will see that I have not wasted my life. The Lord’s work must be done in the Lord’s way.” – Francis A. Schaeffer, “The Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way,” in No Little People (Downers Grove, 1974), page 74.

“Church members are very forbearing and forgiving regarding the neglect of the lost, while extremely impatient and unforgiving regarding the neglect of the righteous.

Think of a continuum on which the left end represents an extremely effective ‘home’ function of a church, and the right end represents an extremely effective ‘mission’ function. After journaling these thoughts, I decided to evaluate the church I pastor in light of this continuum. Believing a healthy and balanced church would find its X placed in the center, I had to honestly admit that our X was placed well left of center — being far more effective as a home to God’s people than as a mission to the unchurched.

Through the years, we have had numerous people leave our church feeling that their needs as believers had not been met, and frankly, many of them had legitimate complaints. Yet what grieves me the most is that never during those years has anyone so much as complained about our ineffectiveness as a mission. Many have left for personal reasons; none have departed because we failed to care for the lost. When have you ever lost a member because your church was failing to effectively reach the lost?” – Randy Pope, The Prevailing Church (Chicago, 2003), page 33

“It is by virtue of the atonement that God can maintain His justice and yet demonstrate His mercy…” – R. C. Sproul

“…men sure of God, sure of his will, sure of the absolute duty to act in his sight and for his approval. Nothing else mattered by comparison. Consequences were of no account. Obedience alone held the secret of freedom, courage, peace, power, happiness and salvation.” – The Puritans, as described by F. J. Powicke, quoted in Iain H. Murray, David Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years (Edinburgh, 1982), page 97.

“There were earnest longings that all God’s people might be clothed with humility and meekness, like the Lamb of God, and feel nothing in their hearts but love and compassion to all mankind; and great grief when anything to the contrary appeared in any of the children of God, as bitterness, fierceness of zeal, censoriousness, or reflecting uncharitably on others, or disputing with any appearance of heat of spirit.” – Jonathan Edwards, “Thoughts on the Revival,” in Works (Edinburgh, 1979), I:377, recording the experience of his wife under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:20-21

“Lord and Master, make us thus fit for that infinitely precious privilege, a state of consecrated readiness for Your holy use. We are altogether Yours. Enable us as such so to ‘cleanse ourselves from’ complicity with evil within and without that we, when You require us for Your purposes, may be found by You handy to Your touch, in the place and in the condition in which You can take us up and employ us in whatever way, on the moment, for Yourself.” – H. C. G. Moule, The Second Epistle to Timothy (Grand Rapids, 1952), page 97.

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:1

“First, then, there is a call to be strong. Timothy was weak; Timothy was timid. Yet he was called to a position of leadership in the church – and in an area in which Paul’s authority was rejected. It is as if Paul said to him, ‘Listen Timothy, never mind what other people say, never mind what other people think, never mind what other people do; you are to be strong. Never mind how shy you feel, never mind how weak you feel; you are to be strong.’ That is the first thing.

Second, you are to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. If the exhortation had simply been ‘be strong,’ it would have been absurd indeed. You might as well tell a snail to be quick or a horse to fly as to tell a weak man to be strong or a shy man to be brave. But Paul’s calling Timothy to fortitude is a Christian and not a stoical exhortation. Timothy was not to be strong in himself. He was not just to grit his teeth and clench his fists and set his jaw. No, he was, as the Greek literally means, to be strengthened with the grace that is in Christ Jesus, to find his resources for Christian service not in his own nature but in the grace of Jesus Christ.” – John Stott, Urbana 1967.

“Only a fraction of the present body of professing Christians are solidly appropriating the justifying work of Christ in their lives. . . . In their day-to-day existence they rely on their sanctification for justification. . . . Few know enough to start each day with a thoroughgoing stand upon Luther’s platform: you are accepted, looking outward in faith and claiming the wholly alien righteousness of Christ as the only ground for acceptance, relaxing in that quality of trust which will produce increasing sanctification as faith is active in love and gratitude. In order for a pure and lasting work of spiritual renewal to take place within the church, multitudes within it must be led to build their lives on this foundation. This means that they must be conducted into the light of a full conscious awareness of God’s holiness, the depth of their sin and the sufficiency of the atoning work of Christ for their acceptance with God, not just at the outset of their Christian lives but in every succeeding day.” – Richard F. Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life (Downers Grove, 1979), pages 101-102.

“Now, in order that true religion may shine upon us, we ought to hold that it must take its beginning from heavenly doctrine and that no one can get even the slightest taste of right and sound doctrine unless he be a pupil of Scripture. Hence, there also emerges the beginning of true understanding when we reverently embrace what it pleases God there to witness of himself.” – John Calvin

“It is no more possible for God to lie to us than it is for His eternal being to disintegrate.” – R.C. Sproul

“What is the most important thing that you should do right now? It’s easy to figure out the answer – the most important thing is usually the item you least want to do. So jump on it. Get it out of the way. Then go on to the next thing you don’t want to do and get rid of that item by completing it. You’ll be amazed at how it frees your spirit not to have them hanging over you.” – Tom Hopkins

1 Corinthians 8:5,6

1 Corinthians 8: 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

Those who deny the biblical doctrine of the Trinity often cite a phrase from the passage above “yet for us there is one God, the Father” to say that Jesus Christ cannot therefore be God. Are they right in doing so? The answer is a resounding “no” as the rest of the verse makes clear.

Here is Dr. James White responding to a Muslim, Shadid Lewis, who had cited 1 Cor. 8:6 as a biblical text relevant to his rejection of the Christian faith:

Law and Gospel

for it depends on this distinction.” – Hermann Sasse, Here We Stand: Nature and Character of the Lutheran Faith, trans. by Theodore G. Tappert, (New York: Harper & Bros., 1938). p. 114.

C. F. W. Walther (known in his own day as the American Luther) says:

“The true knowledge of the distinction between the Law and the Gospel is not only a glorious light, affording the correct understanding of the entire Holy Scriptures, but without this knowledge Scripture is and remains a sealed book.” – C.F.W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel.

The Bible will be an impenetrable mystery as long as we are confused about this.

THE LAW refers to everything God commands of us in Scripture. “Do this and you shall live.” These commands are found throughout the entire Bible, Old and New Testament alike. The Law is holy, righteous and good. There is nothing wrong with the Law at all. It has its source in God Himself. The problem is us and our total inability as sinners to keep it.

The bad news gets even worse – to break even one part of the Law makes us guilty of breaking it all as a whole.

“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” (James 2:10).

THE GOSPEL refers to Jesus Christ – His Person and His work. The word “gospel” means “glad tidings” or “good news.” It is good news concerning something entirely outside of us or our actions. The news is an announcement concerning all that Christ has done for sinners through His sinless, perfect life, fulfilling all the demands of the Law; as well as His substitutionary death and resurrection. Christ died for our sins and lived for our righteousness. The Gospel is good news about what God has done for us in Christ.

“When God gives orders and tells us what will happen if we fail to obey those orders perfectly, that is in the category of what the Reformers, following the biblical text, called law. When God promises freely, providing for us because of Christ’s righteousness the status he demands of us, this is in the category of gospel. It is good news from start to finish. The Bible includes both, and the Reformers were agreed that the Scriptures taught clearly that the law, whether Old or New Testament commands, was not eliminated for the believer. Nevertheless, they insisted that nothing in this category of law could be a means of justification or acceptance before a holy God … The law comes, not to reform the sinner nor to show him or her the “narrow way” to life, but to crush the sinner’s hopes of escaping God’s wrath through personal effort or even cooperation. All of our righteousness must come from someone else-someone who has fulfilled the law’s demands. Only after we have been stripped of our “filthy rags” of righteousness (Isa. 64:6)- our fig leaves through which we try in vain to hide our guilt and shame-can we be clothed with Christ’s righteousness. First comes the law to proclaim judgment and death, then the gospel to proclaim justification and life.” – Modern Reformation: Good News: The Gospel for Christians (May/June 2003)

Law then is everything in the Scriptures that commands and gospel is everything in the Scriptures that promises God’s favor in Christ. If we confuse these, we’ll weaken the law, lowering the bar to something that we can (or think we can) actually do, and we’ll make the gospel anything but good news.

The Law is holy. It is also unbending, unyielding, and brutal in its harsh demands. Continue reading

What is the Septuagint?

The following is an interview with Peter Gentry, Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Dr. Gentry wrote a very helpful essay on the Septuagint for the ESV Study Bible.

He is currently editing Ecclesiastes and Proverbs for the Göttingen Septuagint Series and is giving leadership to the Hexapla Institute.

What is meant by the “Septuagint”?

In a strict or technical sense, made before the middle of the Third Century B.C. Within another hundred and fifty years, all the books of the Hebrew Bible had been translated into Greek and in a loose and non-technical sense, the term Septuagint is used for all of the Greek translation(s) of the Jewish Scriptures (what Christians call the Old Testament).

Similar to the history of the King James Version of the Bible, which was revised regularly from the time of translation in 1611 into the late Nineteenth Century, the original translation in Greek was being revised fifty or a hundred years later. Precise determination of what is the first translation as opposed to later revision is not clear in every book. Accurate editions of this text are in the process of preparation by the Septuagint Institute in Göttingen, Germany. All of these factors contribute to uncertainties as to exactly what we mean by the Septuagint.

When was the Pentateuch first translated into Greek, and when were the Prophets and Writings translated?

Most scholars agree that the Pentateuch was translated in Egypt during the Third Century b.c., possibly around 280, according to the testimony of the early church fathers. The books in the Prophets and Writings sections of the Hebrew Canon were translated later, most of them by 130 b.c. Systematic, thoroughgoing revisions were made from possibly 200 b.c.–a.d. 200.

Do we know what motivated Jews to translate the Hebrew Bible into Greek?

A number of theories have been proposed, including the following: Hellenistic Jews required Greek scriptures (1) for their religious life and worship; (2) for the education of their children; (3) as a legal document; or (4) as cultural heritage for the Alexandrian royal library. Others think that a new authoritative edition of Homer (c. 150 b.c.), which used textual criticism to establish its text, became a model and incentive for the Alexandrian Jews to have their own authoritative text of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Is it true that there were 72 translators?

No. This number comes from a piece of propaganda called The Letter of Aristeas (c. 150–100 b.c.), which purported to explain the origin of the Greek translation of the Pentateuch in light of criticisms at the time. The name Septuagint comes from the Latin word for 70, i.e., septuaginta. The Septuagint is commonly abbreviated LXX, the Roman numeral for 70.

How many translators of the Greek Pentateuch were there then?

Probably just five, one for each book, according to the rabbinic traditions (Aboth of Rabbi Nathan 37; Sôferîm i.7).

Should it bother evangelicals who believe in the inerrancy of Scripture that the NT writers sometimes quote the LXX where it differs from the Masoretic text?

The NT writers sometimes took the Septuagint wording and applied it to a new circumstance (e.g., Acts 14:11 borrowed words from Ps. 118:22; 2 Cor. 6:18a borrowed words from 2 Sam. 7:14 and other texts). At other times the NT writers corrected the Septuagint reading in order to bring it into greater conformity to the Hebrew texts (e.g., see the use of Isa. 28:11–12 in 1 Cor. 14:21, or the use of Isa. 63:10 in Eph. 4:30). The use of the Septuagint doesn’t imply that the NT writers thought that the original Hebrew was mistaken; rather, it means that they affirmed the truthfulness of that which they were quoting or adapting in their own writing.

Why is it important to study the Septuagint?

Several reasons make study of the Septuagint important: (1) It provides extremely early textual testimony to the Hebrew Scriptures; (2) it provides us with an extremely early understanding of Hebrew grammar and word meanings otherwise unknown to us; (3) it essentially provides for us the earliest commentary on the Hebrew text (since all translation involves interpretation); (4) it serves as a key witness to the thought and worldview of Second Temple Judaism (c. 450 b.c.–a.d.70), since it was produced in the intertestamental period; (5) it is the key to understanding the Greek of the NT, since it was used so often by the apostles and by the early church; (6) it can shed light on translation debates today.

Septuagint-NETSWhat are some of the projects currently underway in Septuagint studies that may be of interest?

NETS is a new translation of the Greek Jewish Scriptures, entitled A New English Translation of the Septuagint and the Other Greek Translations Traditionally Included Under that Title (and abbreviated as NETS), which is also available for free online. An accompanying commentary series is also planned.

For those who want to learn more about the Septuagint, is there a good introductory text that you would recommend?

Yes: An Invitation to the Septuagint, by Karen Jobes and Moises Silva.

Air Travel – Mysteries Unveiled

passion — and questions.

If you’d like the answers, I highly recommend Patrick Smith’s new book, “Cockpit Confidential.” Mr. Smith is a pilot and blogger; much of the book’s format and contents are on display at his Web site, AskThePilot.com, or in the archives of the “Ask the Pilot” column he wrote for Salon.com for years.

But as a frequent flyer, I’d much rather have the book, which is a far more comprehensive book of questions and answers about airplanes, airports, airlines and the psychology of flying. Here are some excerpts — factoids that every flier should know:

“Turbulence scares me to death. Do I have reason to be afraid?”

No. “A plane cannot be flipped upside-down, thrown into a tailspin or otherwise flung from the sky by even the mightiest gust or air pocket. Conditions might be annoying and uncomfortable, but the plane is not going to crash.”

“If all of a jet’s engines were to fail, can the plane glide to a landing?”

Yes. “There’s no greater prospect of instant calamity than switching off the engine in your car when coasting downhill. The car keeps going, and a plane will too.”

“I understand that planes can jettison fuel. Is this done to lighten the load for landing?”

Yes. “For a few reasons, the obvious one being that touching down puts higher stresses on an airframe than taking off.” But Mr. Smith also points out that only some airplane models have the ability to dump fuel — the big ones. “The 747, the 777, the A340, and the A330 all can dump fuel. A 737, an A320, or an RJ cannot. These smaller jets must circle or, if need be, land overweight.”

“What happens when lightning hits an airplane?”

Nothing. The energy “is discharged overboard through the plane’s aluminum skin, which is an excellent electrical conductor.”

“Are the contents of airplane toilets jettisoned during flight?”

No. “There is no way to jettison the contents of the lavatories during flight.” Instead, the toilet contents are vacuumed out into a tank truck at the end of the flight.

“What do the dings and chimes mean?”

There are two kinds of chimes. “The first kind is basically just a phone call” from the cockpit to the flight attendants; it means, “pick up the intercom.” The other type is a “signaling device for the cabin crew” — when the seat-belt sign is turned on or off, when the plane reaches 10,000 feet (so that electronics are o.k. to use) and when initial descent begins, so it’s time to prepare the plane for landing.

“Many of the three-letter codes for airports make no sense.”

The non-obvious ones are probably holdovers from the airports’ previous names. “MCO is derived from MCCoy Field, the original name for Orlando International. Chicago O’Hare’s identifier, ORD, pays honors to the old Orchard Field.”

I should mention, by the way, that this book is frequently funny. For example, the author notes, “A campaign was launched in 2002 to change the identifier for the Sioux City, Iowa, from SUX to something less objectionable. The campaign failed.”

“We are told that modern commercial airplanes can essential fly themselves.”

Emphatically no. “A plane is able to fly itself about as much as the modern operating room can perform an operation by itself.” Autopilot is a tool, but “you still need to tell it what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.”

“Why the annoying rules pertaining to window shades, seat backs, tray tables, and cabin lights during takeoffs and landings?”

“Your tray has to be latched so that, in the event of an impact or sudden deceleration, you don’t impale yourself on it. The restriction on seat recline provides easier access to the aisle and also keeps your body in the safest position.” Raising your window shade, meanwhile, “Makes it easier for the flight attendants to assess any exterior hazards— fire, debris — that might interfere with an emergency evacuation.” Dimming the lights is the same precaution.

“Is it true that pilots reduce oxygen levels to keep passengers docile?”

No.

“Could some crazy or ill-intentioned person open one of the doors during flight?”

No. “You cannot — I repeat, cannot — open the doors or emergency hatches of an airplane in flight. The cabin pressure won’t allow it.”

Are cellphones and gadgets really dangerous to flight?

It depends. Laptops have to be put away for takeoff and landing “to prevent them from becoming high-speed projectiles during a sudden deceleration or impact.” As for tablets and e-book readers, “it’s tough to take a prohibition seriously now that many pilots are using tablets in the cockpit.” That’s why the Federal Aviation Administration is considering relaxing the ban on those gadgets.

And can cellphones really disrupt cockpit equipment? Probably not. “I’d venture to guess at least half of all phones, whether inadvertently or out of laziness, are left on during flight. If indeed this was a recipe for disaster, I think we’d have more evidence by now.”

My favorite bits of “Cockpit Confidential” are Mr. Smith’s rants. He’s a frequent passenger as well as a pilot, so he’s well equipped to rail about the stupidity of the methods for boarding a plane, and about the Transportation Security Administration’s expensive, absurdly misguided efforts. (One of the book’s funniest passages: the tale of the time he tried to carry airline silverware onto a flight, “part of my hotel survival kit.” The T.S.A. agent confiscated them — even though it was the same silverware the airline itself issues to passengers in flight!)

Truth is, the world would be a better place if the airline industry weren’t so secretive in the first place. The actions of pilots are hidden behind safety-reinforced doors, they speak to the flight attendants with signals and jargon and the airlines’ behavior in scheduling and pricing flights are always mysterious. They’d serve all of us better, including themselves, by offering a little transparency.

Until that day arrives, “Cockpit Confidential” is the document that belongs in the seat-back pocket in front of you.

Marital Intimacy

Joel R. Beeke wrote the following. He is president and professor of systematic theology and homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and pastor of the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, MI. He has authored, co-authored, and edited over 70 books, including Friends and Lovers: Cultivating Companionship and Intimacy in Marriage.

What if your pastor told you that it was a sin to have sex with your spouse on Sundays, on the three days before taking the Lord’s Supper, and during the forty days before Easter? That’s what Christians were hearing in the Middle Ages.

Fast forward several hundred years to a town in seventeenth-century England. A popular book by a Puritan pastor is given to couples at their weddings. It says something like this:

“One of the best ways to keep your marriage safe from adultery—next to reverence for God and always thinking about Him—is that husbands and wives both really enjoy each other. Keep a pure love going between the two of you, making love to each other regularly. The Bible tells us that sex between husbands and wives is a good and holy gift from God to keep us safe from sin. In fact, we owe it to each other as debt of kindness, and it’s one of the most proper and basic acts of married life.”

What happened? How did the church go from frowning on marital intimacy to blessing it? What happened was the Reformation, a massive return to the Word of God. The Holy Spirit moved many people to turn away from bad traditions to get back to the pure teachings of the Bible, which strongly affirm intimacy between husband and wife.

Of course, real intimacy is far more than the conjunction of bodies. It is the fellowship of souls. Sex is not an athletic performance, but part of a relationship. Even when physical problems make sex impossible, couples can still enjoy sweet intimacy. Intimacy in marriage arises from being best friends. To paraphrase another Puritan writer:

“It’s a mercy to have a faithful friend who really loves you. You can open your heart and share your life with such a trustworthy spouse. He or she is there for you, ready to support you. You can share the burdens of family and work, and comfort each other in the sad times. What a blessing to have a life companion who shares your joys and sorrows every day!”

After decades of studying the Bible and reading the Reformers and Puritans, I have distilled out a dozen principles for couples in my book, Friends and Lovers: Cultivating Companionship and Intimacy in Marriage. The first part of the book guides you in how to build a sweet friendship with your spouse. The second part aims to fan into flame your sexual intimacy. All of it stands upon the Scriptures, especially the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

May God bless your marriage so that you can look at your spouse and say, “This is my lover, and this is my friend!”