• Genesis: A Commentary by Bruce K. Waltke
• Leviticus (Word Biblical Commentary)
• Leviticus (EP Study Commentaries)
• Numbers (Interpretation Commentary)
• Joshua (New American Commentary)
• Judges: Such a Great Salvation
• 1 and 2 Kings (New International Biblical Commentary)
• 2 Chronicles (Word Biblical Commentary)
• 1 Chronicles (Word Biblical Commentary)
• Psalms: Volume 1 – (NIV Application Commentary)
• Proverbs (Word Biblical Commentary)
• Ecclesiastes (Word Biblical Commentary)

Sexual Purity

Recently Leadership Magazine commissioned a poll of a thousand pastors. The pastors indicated that 12 percent of them had committed adultery while in ministry – one out of eight pastors! – and 23 percent had done something they considered sexually inappropriate. Christianity Today surveyed a thousand of its subscribers who were not pastors and found the figure to be nearly double, with 23 percent saying they had had extramarital intercourse and 45 percent indicating they had done something they themselves deemed sexually inappropriate. One in four Christian men are unfaithful, and nearly one half have behaved unbecomingly! Shocking statistics! Especially when we remember that Christianity Todayreaders tend to be college-educated church leaders, elders, deacons, Sunday school superintendents, and teachers. If this is so for the Church’s leadership, how much more for the average member of the congregation? Only God knows! ~ R. Kent Hughes

Resources on Purity

• Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ’s Control by Elisabeth Elliot
• Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is): Sexual Purity in a Lust-Saturated World by Joshua Harris
• Purity: A Godly Woman’s Adornment (On-The-Go Devotionals) by Lydia Brownback
• The Purity Principle: God’s Safeguards for Life’s Dangerous Trails by Randy Alcorn

Check Out All 13 Volumes

1. Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons by Thabiti M. Anyabwile
2. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever
3. What Is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert
4. What Is a Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti Anyabwile
5. Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel by Mark Dever & Paul Alexander
6. Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church: A Guide for Ministry by Michael Lawrence
7. Am I Really a Christian? by Mike McKinley
8. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever
9. What Is a Healthy Church? by Mark Dever
10. It Is Well: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement by Mark Dever & Michael Lawrence
11. What Does God Want of Us Anyway?: A Quick Overview of the Whole Bible by Mark Dever
12. Church Planting Is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things by Mike McKinley
13. The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love: Reintroducing the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline by Jonathan Leeman 

For Instruction in Righteousness

This book, For Instruction in Righteousness, will help you use the Bible every time you discipline your children! For Instruction in Righteousness is a topical Bible for parents. It includes hundreds of verses on over 50 areas of sin. But it is more than just a topical Bible! Each chapter includes the following listings:

• What the Bible says will, or should, happen to a person who sins in this way.
• Ideas for discipline that parallel these Biblical consequences.
• What the Bible likens a person to when he indulges in this sin, and ideas for practical objects lessons using these examples.
• How God blesses the person who resists temptations to this sort of sin.
• Parallel ideas for “rewards” and encouragement for children who show progress towards overcoming this sin.
• Stories and people in the Bible that illustrate obedience and disobedience in this area.
• Fully quoted memory verses.

The introduction discusses the responsibilities of parents, Scripture as our authority in discipline, and Scripture’s example of teaching through stories, object lessons, songs, and memorials. Explains examples of discipline situations, and how to use the topical information when disciplining your children. We want our children to understand that “right” and “wrong” are absolutes, based on God’s standards, not ours. If we train our children to submit to the authority of God’s standards, those standards will not change when the children grow up and leave the authority of our homes. We don’t want to discipline in anger; we want to show grief over the child’s sin, and we want to lead him to true repentance. When we discipline, we want to picture for our children our heavenly Father’s holiness and His mercy. That is why we went to the Bible and started studying. A wealth of material for parents’ personal Bible study, family worship, character training, unit studies, and Bible study projects for older children.

More on Biblical Children Training

• Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick
• Disciple Like Jesus for Parents by Alan Melton
• Praying the Scriptures for Your Children: Discover How to Pray God’s Will for Their Lives

Is an Online Bible Degree Right for You?

Ask yourself a few questions.  First, if you’re not currently in the ministry, but you have a heart to serve the Lord, getting your Bible degree online can help prepare you, theologically, for the work of the ministry.  And we all know that academics is only a small part of pastoral or ministry work and qualifications, but it’s an important part  and you should want to be well prepared.  Secondly, as mentioned above, if you’re already in the ministry, but would like to continue your education and cannot move to go back to school full time, an online degree may be a perfect solution. You can work at your own pace, have interaction with professors and other students online and give yourself more ministry opportunities when you graduate.

What are your thoughts about online or virtual campus degrees?  For more information about online degree programs check out: www.youronlinecollegedegree.com.

Shorter Catechism

I read this today on my daughter’s Facebook page. I have no idea where it came from, but it’s excellent:

“…in a city of intense excitement of violent rioting and the streets were overran daily by a dangerous crowd, then one day he observed approaching him a man of a singular combined firmness of character; whose very demeanor inspired in him a measure of confidence. And so impressed was he with his baring amid thee surrounding up-roar all around him, but when he had passed, he turned to look back at him only to find that the stranger had done the same. On observing his turning, the stranger at once came back to him; and touching his chest with his forefinger, demanded without preface, “What is the chief end of man?” And one, receiving then immediately the countersign, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy him for ever!” “Ah,” he said, “I knew you were a shorter catechism man by your very looks!” “Why,” said the man, “that is just what I thought about you!”

Are you a Shorter Catechism Man?

• The Shorter Catechism (Paperback)
• Shorter Catechism Explained from Scripture (Puritan Paperbacks)
• An Exposition on the Shorter Catechism by Alexander Whyte
• Westminster Shorter Catechism for Study Classes by G.I. Williamson
• Shorter Catechism Memory Cards

J.I. Packer

• Fifty Difficult Passages Explained by Jay Adams

Many of us would agree with Peter when he says that parts of Paul’s letters are hard to understand! And there are difficulties and apparent discrepancies in other parts of the Bible too. On this matter of discrepancies, I remember reading something written by an old seventeenth-century Puritan named William Bridge. He said that harping on discrepancies shows a very bad heart, adding: “For a godly man, it should be as it was with Moses. When a godly man sees the Bible and secular data apparently at odds, well, he does as Moses did when he saw an Egyptian fighting an Israelite: he kills the Egyptian. He discounts the secular testimony, knowing God’s Word to be true. But when he sees an apparent inconsistency between two passages of Scripture, he does as Moses did when he found two Israelites quarreling: he tries to reconcile them. He says, ‘Aha, these are brethren, I must make peace between them.’ And that’s what the godly man does.” ~ James Packer

Also check out:

• Fifty Difficult Passages Explained by Jay Adams ~ Some passages in the Bible are hard to understand. The goal of this book is that the Bible will be better understood, so that the great truths about the Lord Jesus Christ may be comprehended more fully and, as a consequence, the blessings of those truths my be extended to many.

View at WTSBooks

“I am persuaded that more men drop down to hell in our day under the abuse of gospel light than ever did in the gross darkness of popery…O how heavily does the wrath of God lie upon the professors of our age for the abuse of gospel light and they do not fee it, God’s administration in this latter age of the world being more subtle and spiritual and, therefore, more undiscernible than in former ages! O how many have we nowadays who think they walk clearly in the midst of gospel light, magnifying and exalting free grace, triumphing in their Christian liberty, looking upon others as kept in bondage who do not come up to their pitch and practice, and yet are no better than Solomon’s fools who make a mockery of sin, being conceitedly set at liberty, but really are slaves to sin and Satan.” ~ John Yates (Introduction to The Evil of Evils: The Exceeding Sinfulness of Sin by Jeremiah Burroughs)

More by Jeremiah Burroughs

• Gospel Remission
• Gospel Reconciliation
• Gospel Worship
• Gospel Fear
• Gospel Conversation
• Gospel Revelation

Biography of Jeremiah Burroughs

• Life of Gospel Peace: A Biography of Jeremiah Burroughs by Phillip Simpson

Here are 5 great tips to remember when buying books from Why Read a Good Book?  by Jim Elliff:

1. Buy only the best books since you will only read a few hundred in your lifetime. When possible seek a recommendation first.
2. Don’t excessively fret over the price, since the cost of a book is always small if it impacts your life for good.
3. Buy to preserve the truth for your family or some deserving friends or institution in the future, for they will inherit your library when you die.
4. Never let the reading of books replace the reading of the Bible. Instead of one or the other, do both.
5. Let a good book humble you and not make you proud, by seeking God in what you read.

And if you’re interested, here’s what I ordered tonight:

Theological Works

• Institutes of Elenctic Theology, 3 Volumes by Francis Turriten
• Reformed Dogmatics, 4 Volume Set by Herman Bavinck
• The Major Works of Herman Witsius, 5 Volume Set

Commentaries

• Judges-Ruth (New American Commentary) by Daniel L. Block
• Judges & Ruth (Tyndale OT Commentary) by Arthur Cundall & Leon Morris
• Ruth (New International Commentary OT) by Robert L. Hubbard, Jr.

Example of Imperfect Books from WTSBooks

Questions about Imperfect Books

1. What is an Imperfect Book? “Imperfect” books have minor damages due to shipping or shelf-wear. Examples of typical damages include folded pages, bent or crunched edges, or other signs of external impact.
2.  Are imperfect books in readable condition? All imperfect books are in readable condition with intact bindings.
3. What are examples of damages found on imperfect books? Bent corders, creases, bent pages, nicks, etc.
4. Are imperfect books returnable? All sales of imperfect copies are final and therefore not returnable. Should you discover a printing defect that affects the content of the book (e.g. missing pages) please contact us as soon as possible so that we can send a replacement.

Examples of Books

Here are some of the great commentaries I’ve snagged at up to 70% off by checking their clearance and imperfect sections:

• Joel & Amos (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries)
• Matthew (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the NT)
• The Acts of the Apostles (Pillar New Testament Commentary)
• 1 Corinthians (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the NT)
• Colossians – Philemon (Word Biblical Commentary)
• James (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the NT)
• James (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the NT)
• Jude and 2 Peter (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the NT)

Now, remember, there is always a limited quantity of clearance and imperfect books – so you need to be ready to buy when you see something good.  And as I write this post, there are 31 pages of imperfect books – discounted!  If you don’t mind the occasional slightly dented corner or bent page, this is a great way to save money on books.

If you’ve not seen my post about how to build a theological library using Amazon Wish Lists, check it out!

I'm at War - Spirit vs. Flesh

The flesh hates everything about God.  Since it resists everything about God, it resists every way we try to taste Him and know Him and love Him.  And the more something enables us to find God and feast on Him, the more violently the flesh fights against it.  It takes its battle to every quarter of the soul:  When the mind wants to know God, the flesh imposes ignorance, darkness, error and trivial thoughts.  The will can’t move toward God without feeling the weight of stubbornness holding it back.  And the affections, longing to long for God, are constantly fighting the infection of sensuality or the disease of indifference. ~ Kris Lundgaard

More on Personal Holiness

• Discipline of Grace: God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness
• The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
• Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Don Whitney
• Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots by J.C. Ryle

Covenant Theology

Covenant theology is the Gospel set in the context of God’s eternal plan of communion with his people, and its historical outworking in the covenants of works and grace (as well as in the various progressive stages of the covenant of grace). Covenant theology explains the meaning of the death of Christ in light of the fullness of the biblical teaching on the divine covenants, undergirds our understanding of the nature and use of the sacraments, and provides the fullest possible explanation of the grounds of our assurance.

More Reading on Covenant Theology

• God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology
• Sealed With an Oath: Covenant in God’s Unfolding Purpose
• Covenant Theology: Murray, Kline and Federal Theology in Reformed Thought
• Kingdom Prologue: Genesis Foundations for a Covenantal Worldview
• Covenant Theology: A Reformed and Baptistic Perspective on God’s Covenants 

Related Articles

• What is Covenant Theology by Ligon Duncan
• Covenant Interest in God by John Gill

Charles Spurgeon

“The increase of the kingdom is more to be desired than the growth of a clan. We would do a great deal to make a Paedobaptist brother into a Baptist, for we value our Lord’s ordinances; we would labour earnestly to raise a believer in salvation by free-will into a believer in salvation by grace, for we long to see all religious teaching built upon the solid rock of truth, and not upon the sand of imagination; but, at the same time, our grand object is not the revision of opinions, but the regeneration of natures. We would bring men to Christ and not to our own peculiar views of Christianity. Our first care must be that the sheep should be gathered to the great Shepherd; there will be time enough afterwards to secure them for our various folds. To make proselytes, is a suitable labour for Pharisees: to beget men unto God, is the honourable aim of ministers of Christ.” ~ Charles Spurgeon

Read More on Evangelism

• The Gospel & Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever
• Learning Evangelism from Jesus by Jerram Barrs
• The Heart of Evangelism by Jerram Barrs

Ligon Duncan

Covenant theology is the Gospel set in the context of God’s eternal plan of communion with his people, and its historical outworking in the covenants of works and grace (as well as in the various progressive stages of the covenant of grace).  Covenant theology explains the meaning of the death of Christ in light of the fullness of the biblical teaching on the divine covenants, undergirds our understanding of the nature and use of the sacraments, and provides the fullest possible explanation of the grounds of our assurance.

More Reading on Covenant Theology

• God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology
• Sealed With an Oath: Covenant in God’s Unfolding Purpose
• Covenant Theology: Murray, Kline and Federal Theology in Reformed Thought
• Kingdom Prologue: Genesis Foundations for a Covenantal Worldview
• Covenant Theology: A Reformed and Baptistic Perspective on God’s Covenants 

To put it another way, Covenant theology is the Bible’s way of explaining and deepening our understanding of: (1) the atonement [the meaning of the death of Christ]; (2) assurance [the basis of our confidence of communion with God and enjoyment of his promises]; (3) the sacraments [signs and seals of God’s covenant promises — what they are and how they work]; and (4) the continuity of redemptive history [the unified plan of God’s salvation]. Covenant theology is also an hermeneutic, an approach to understanding the Scripture — an approach that attempts to biblically explain the unity of biblical revelation.

When Jesus wanted to explain the significance of His death to His disciples, He went to the doctrine of the covenants (see Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, 1 Corinthians 11). When God wanted to assure Abraham of the certainty of His word of promise, He went to the covenant (Genesis 12, 15, and 17).  When God wanted to set apart His people, ingrain His work in their minds, tangibly reveal Himself in love and mercy, and confirm their future inheritance, He gave the covenant signs (Genesis 17, Exodus 12, 17, and 31, Matthew 28, Acts 2, Luke 22).  When Luke wanted to show early Christians that Jesus’ life and ministry were the fulfillment of God’s ancient purposes for His chosen people, he went to the covenants and quoted Zacharias’ prophecy which shows that believers in the very earliest days of  ‘the Jesus movement’ understood Jesus and His messianic work as a fulfillment (not a ‘Plan B’) of God’s covenant with Abraham (Luke 1:72-73). When the Psalmist and the author of Hebrews want to show how God’s redemptive plan is ordered and on what basis it unfolds in history, they went to the covenants (see Psalm 78, 89, Hebrews 6-10).

Covenant theology is not a response to dispensationalism.  It existed long before the rudiments of classical dispensationalism were brought together in the nineteenth century.  Covenant theology is not an excuse for baptizing children, nor merely a convention to justify a particular approach to the sacraments (modern paedocommunionism and baptismal regenerationism). Covenant theology is not sectarian, but an ecumenical Reformed approach to understanding the Bible, developed in the wake of the magisterial Reformation, but with roots stretching back to the earliest days of catholic Christianity and historically appreciated in all the various branches of the Reformed community (Baptist, Congregationalist, Independent, Presbyterian, Anglican, and Reformed). Covenant theology cannot be reduced to serving merely as the justification for some particular view of children in the covenant (covenant successionism), or for a certain kind of eschatology, or for a specific philosophy of education (whether it be homeschooling or Christian schools or classical schools). Covenant theology is bigger than that.  It is more important than that.

“The doctrine of the covenant lies at the root of all true theology.  It has been said that he who well understands the distinction between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace, is a master of divinity.  I am persuaded that most of the mistakes which men make concerning the doctrines of Scripture, are based upon fundamental errors with regard to the covenant of law and of grace.  May God grant us now the power to instruct, and you the grace to receive instruction on this vital subject.” Who said this?  C.H. Spurgeon — the great English Baptist preacher!  Certainly a man beyond our suspicion of secretly purveying a Presbyterian view of the sacraments to the unsuspecting evangelical masses.

Covenant theology flows from the trinitarian life and work of God.  God’s covenant communion with us is modeled on and a reflection of the intra-trinitarian relationships.  The shared life, the fellowship of the persons of the Holy Trinity, what theologians call perichoresis or circumincessio, is the archetype of the relationship the gracious covenant God shares with His elect and redeemed people.  God’s commitments in the eternal covenant of redemptive find space-time realization in the covenant of grace.

Philip Ryken

We need to learn how wrong it is to think of prayer as a way of getting something from God. People often think of prayer as a way of talking God into doing what they want Him to do. This is what lies behind “name it and claim it” Christianity, the idea that I can influence God by offering the right kind of prayer. But that attitude ultimately leads to hell. As C. S. Lewis once observed, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it.” Besides, why would anyone want to change God’s mind? The Bible says that His will is “good, pleasing and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). Imagine what a mess our lives would be in if God always did what we wanted Him to do! For unlike God’s will, our own wills are evil, displeasing, and imperfect. ~ Philip Graham Ryken, When You Pray: Making the Lord’s Prayer Your Own

More on Prayer

• A Praying Life: Connecting With God in a Distracting World
• The Hidden Life of Prayer: The Lifeblood of the Christian
• Hunger for God: Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer

Books, Books & More Books!

Yes, I know, I know…Christmas is a time for giving!  That’s why I only bought a few books this month.    Actually, I don’t know how much time I’m going to have through the holidays for extra reading, but just in case I bought several books that have been on my list for quite some time.  Here’s a quick run down of the gems that are on their way from WTSBooks.com.

• Exodus – NIV Application Commentary
• Book of Exodus (Old Testament Library Commentary)
• Minor Prophets, The: An Exegetical and Expository Commentary
• Kingdom Prologue: Genesis Foundations for a Covenantal Worldview
• Covenant Theology: A Reformed and Baptistic Perspective on God’s Covenants
• Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries
• A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New

A few thoughts about this collection of books:

First, I bought a couple commentaries on Exodus because I realized a couple months ago that out of the hundreds of commentaries I own, I did not have a single commentary on the book of Exodus. You have no idea how uneasy that makes me; it’s like I had this fear that someone was going to call and invite me to preach and request that I preach from Exodus!  Well, out of the 5-6 I had in my wish list, I purchased these two to get me started.  I feel much better, thank you.

Also, for the last few weeks I’ve had my eye on the massive (nearly 1,500 pages!) exegetical commentary on the Minor Prophets.  WTSBooks has had it on clearance for only $28 (that’s 60% off!) for a while.  I finally broke down and bought it.  If you enjoy commentaries, I would snatch this one up while they still have some at this incredible price.  Here’s quick snippet from the publisher’s description:

This edition, which now combines three volumes into one, offers an authoritative, evangelical treatment of the prophets. Here noted scholars–including Bruce Waltke, Tremper Longman III, F. F. Bruce, J. Alec Motyer, and Joyce Baldwin–provide meticulous exegesis of the Hebrew text and relate the message of the ancient prophets to contemporary life.

Also, I’ve had several additional books on Covenant Theology in my wishlist for some time.  I’ve read a little of Meredith Kline and have greatly enjoyed what I’ve read.  His book, Kingdom Prologue, is highly recommended; so I’m looking forward to digging into that one.  And, as many of you know, Greg Nichols recently published his new book on a Reformed Baptist understanding of Covenant Theology.  I’ve had his class notes in a spiral-bound format for years.  Having read a great deal on the covenants, this will make an excellent addition to my library.

The book Baptism in the Early Church just looks interesting.  After discussing baptism in the early church with several folks online, this book was one that kept coming up in discussions.  The publisher’s description will help you see why:

This magisterial volume is a comprehensive survey of the doctrine and practice of baptism in the first five centuries of Christian history, arranged geographically within chronological periods. Baptism in the Early Church covers the antecedents to Christian baptism and traces the history of Christian doctrine and practice from the New Testament through the writings of the church fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries.

And finally, I’m a huge fan of anything G.K. Beale writes!  And his new book, A New Testament Biblical Theology, sounds amazing!  Again, here’s a quick description of the book to whet your appetite!

In this comprehensive exposition, a leading New Testament scholar explores the unfolding theological unity of the entire Bible from the vantage point of the New Testament. G. K. Beale, coeditor of the award-winning Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, examines how the New Testament storyline relates to and develops the Old Testament storyline. Beale argues that every major concept of the New Testament is a development of a concept from the Old and is to be understood as a facet of the inauguration of the latter-day new creation and kingdom.

Serve Like Jesus

On Imitating Christ

• Serving the World in Christlike Humility
• The Mark of a Man: Following Christ’s Example of Masculinity
• Following Jesus, the Servant King: A Biblical Theology of Covenantal Discipleship

“How easily and contentedly we speak of Jesus Christ as our example. Do we realize what it means? If we did, it would revolutionize our life. Do we begin to know our Bible as He did? Do we begin to pray as He did? How thoughtful He was for others, how patient toward dullness, how quiet under insult! Think of what it meant for Him to take a basin and towel like a slave and wash the disciples’ feet! Do we stoop to serve? Can anyone say of us, as was said of Him, that we go about “doing good?” Think of His words, servants of His, “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” “Christlike” is a word often on our lips. Do not speak it too lightly? It is the heart of God’s predestination. It is our high calling.” ~ Unknown

John Newton

And I am afraid there are Calvinists, who, while they account it a proof of their humility that they are willing in words to debase the creature, and to give all the glory of salvation to the Lord, yet know not what manner of spirit they are of. Whatever it be that makes us trust in ourselves that we are comparatively wise or good, so as to treat those with contempt who do not subscribe to our doctrines, or follow our party, is a proof and fruit of a self-righteous spirit. Self-righteousness can feed upon doctrines, as well as upon works; and a man may have the heart of a Pharisee, while his head is stored with orthodox notions of the unworthiness of the creature and the riches of free grace. ~  John Newton

More on Humility

• Humility: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney
• Humility: The Forgotten Virtue by Wayne Mack
• Cross-cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility
• Gospel-Powered Humility by William Farley

Prayer

“And here it is, I say it with sorrow, here it is that men fall short so miserably. Few indeed are to be found who pray: there are many who go down on their knees, and say a form perhaps, but few who pray; few who cry out to God, few who call on the Lord, few who seek as if they wanted to find, few who knock as if they hungered and thirsted, few who wrestle, few who strive with God earnestly for an answer, few who give Him no rest, few who continue in prayer, few who pray always without ceasing and do not grow weak. Yes: few pray!  It is just one of the things assumed as a matter of course, but seldom practiced; a thing which is everybody’s business, but in fact hardly anybody performs.” ~ J.C. Ryle

Learning to be Fervent in Prayer

• Complete Works of E. M. Bounds on Prayer: Experience the Wonders of God Through Prayer by E.M. Bounds
• The Hidden Life of Prayer: The Lifeblood of the Christian by David McIntyre
• Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer by Joel Beeke & Brian G. Najapfour

Learn more about the Trinity

• Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship by Robert Letham
• God for Us: The Trinity and Christian Life by Catherine LaCugna
• Father, Son and Spirit: The Trinity and John’s Gospel by Andreas J. Köstenberger

Running the Race

Resources on Running the Race

• Race Set Before Us: Theology of Perseverance & Assurance
• Hebrews: Running the Race Before Us
• A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life

1. Run to win: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

2. Observe strict discipline: “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training… I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:25-27).

3. Don’t look back: “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

4. Get constant encouragement: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us…run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

5. Throw off restraints: “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).

6. Discount pain: “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:22-24).

7. Don’t let up until you cross the line: “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

~ Jim Elliff

View Commentaries

Master those books you have. Read them thoroughly. Bathe in them until they saturate you. Read and reread them, masticate and digest them. Let them go into your very self. Peruse a good book several times and make notes and analyses of it. A student will find that his mental constitution is more affected by one book thoroughly mastered than by twenty books he has merely skimmed. Little learning and much pride comes from hasty reading. Some men are disabled from thinking by their putting meditation away for the sake of much reading. In reading let your motto be “much not many.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

10 Books Every Christian Should Master

1. Holiness by J.C. Ryle
2. Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin
3. Lectures on Calvinism by Abraham Kuyper
4. Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism by Joel Beeke
5. Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented
6. Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards
7. Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp
8. The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions 
9. Redemption: Accomplished and Applied by John Murray
10. The Defense of the Faith by Cornelius Van Til

Get Marriage Matters Now!

Your marriage can grow in intimacy and trust, even as you deal with the everyday irritations and conflicts that all couples experience. Winston T. Smith helps couples see those disagreements as opportunities to face the underlying issues that destroy intimacy and to grow closer as they rely on God to sacrificially love each other.

• Marriage Matters: Extraordinary Change Through Ordinary Moments
• Marriage Matters Manual Study Guide

Through an interactive ten-week course that uses discussion questions, small group exercises, vignettes, Bible study, and relationship building activities, this manual gives couples the invaluable experience of applying and living the principles from the book Marriage Matters: Extraordinary Change through Ordinary Moments through an extended period of time. Each unit gives clear direction on how to understand, love, accept, and wisely speak the truth and ends with homework that gives couples the opportunity to put what they have learned into practice.

The manual covers a broad array of topics including communication, conflict, forgiveness, intimacy, sex, and marriage roles and is suitable for a small group study, a marriage enrichment program, and for a marriage counselor or mentor to use with individual couples.

Marriage Matters Video

More Excellent Resources on Marriage

• God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation by Dr. Andreas Kostenberger
• Strengthening Your Marriage by Wayne A. Mack
• The Godly Home by Richard Baxter
• The Complete Husband: A Practical Guide to Biblical Husbanding