Afraid? Worried? Bring it to God (Luther)

 Although I just posted these words of Luther in September 2019, they are applicable today as well.  If you're worried, afraid, or anxious, here's a short devotional for you: Martin Luther's exposition of 1 Peter 5:5-11 is a very helpful commentary on the Apostle's words.  I was especially encouraged by his comments on verse 7: …

The Freeness of Grace… (Toplady)

Augustus Toplady used the term "legal fear" to describe the fear people have that makes them think they need to earn God's favor. They're afraid that if they don't do enough to meet God's standards he will not accept them. It's a fear that tells a person he cannot be certain of God's love - …

Paralyzed by Fear? (Stott)

 The 1977 publication Our Sovereign God is a nice collection of articles from J. M. Boice, R. C. Sproul, J. I. Packer, John Stott, and so on.  The book is actually a collection of the addresses from the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology from 1974-1976.  This is a good resource to own.  Here's one excerpt from John Stott's …

Characteristics of a People-Pleaser

Here’s a good resource for Christians who struggle with fearing man above God: Pleasing People by Lou Priolo.  It is true that sometimes we want people’s approval so much that we forget about pleasing God; we begin to fear man rather than God.  In the first chapter of this book, Priolo gives some characteristics of …

Puritan Treasures for Today

  I recently purchased three books from Reformation Heritage's series called "Puritan Treasures for Today."  I'm familiar with these authors (Greenhill, Swinnock, and Flavel), so I was interested to see if these books are advertised correctly: are they readable for today's average Christian?  In a word, and having read two of the three, yes, they are …