Category: Informing the Reforming

Blog can be found on:

www.challies.com

Brief Biography

Proper introductions begin with names, so let me tell you how to pronounce mine. It’s pronounced CHALL-eez and rhymes with “valleys” and “rallies.” It’s quite simple, really, but is almost always the first question I’m asked.

I am a Christian, a husband to Aileen and a father to three children aged 10 to 16. I worship and serve as an elder at Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto, Ontario. I am a book reviewer, co-founder of Cruciform Press, and have written five books:

The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment (Crossway, 2007)
Sexual Detox: A Guide For Guys Who Are Sick of Porn (Cruciform Press, 2010)
The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion (Zondervan, 2011)
Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity (Cruciform Press, 2015)
Visual Theology: Seeing and Understanding the Truth About God (Zondervan, 2016)

I began this web site in 2002 and have been writing here daily since 2003. It is my place to think out loud and in public while also sharing some of the interesting things I’ve discovered in my online travels.

By micoots
01/12/2016 0

The Commandment We Forgot

It is a commandment of God. It is a commandment with promise, with divine blessings attached to it. It is a commandment positioned in a place of special honor and significance. It is a commandment pertaining to the whole life of every human being. It is a commandment with application to the home, church, and workplace, a commandment that provides a stable foundation to all of society. Yet it is a commandment that is sorely neglected today. It may not be overstating the case to call it the commandment we forgot. It is the fifth of God’s ten great commandments to humanity: Honor your father and mother.

Today I am beginning a short series on this commandment and mean to focus especially on an angle few of us have seriously explored: What does it mean to obey this commandment as adults? We understand that it applies to children and teaches them the importance of honoring and obeying mom and dad. But does the commandment stop applying the day we move out or the day we get married? Does it ..

By micoots
30/11/2016 0

My Top Books of 2016

We are drawing near the end of another year—a year in which I did a lot of reading. Today I want to give some of my top picks of the 100 or so books I read in 2016. First, though, let me offer a few caveats: First, these are almost certainly not the best books of 2016 in any objective sense; rather, they are my favorites, the ones that have remained in my mind and impacted my life since I read them. Second, they are in no particular order. And finally, at the request of several readers I am posting this list before the end of the year because some people would like to refer to it as they do their Christmas shopping. Enjoy!

Sexual Morality in a Christless World by Matthew Rueger. Though the last few years have brought us no shortage of books on how to live on this side of the sexual revolution, Matthew Rueger offers something unique in examining and explaining the historical and cultural backdrop to the New Testament’s teaching on sexual morality. In this way he shows that Christian se..

By micoots
30/11/2016 0

A La Carte (November 30)

Today’s Kindle deals include a pretty good selection from John Piper, Heath Lambert, William Wilberforce, and even John Maxwell. There are also a few commentaries in the mix. Also, add a free Piper book to your library by answering a couple of questions from Crossway.

Was Jesus Married to Mary Magdalene?
Michael Kruger compares this urban legend to whack-a-mole. Then he whacks it down yet again.

The Travails of Lieutenant Marty
Carl Trueman: “Transgenderism is not about who uses which loo. That question is the trivial point of a very long and sharp spear, useful for belittling the concerns of those who believe that there is a profound connection between biology and gender. Transgenderism is set to change everything—our understanding of sex, of identity, of relationships, of the significance of the body.”

A Congregant’s Guide to Preaching
This is a good one from Kyle Borg: “As a pastor I don’t simply want my congregation to hear preaching, I want them to know something of what preach..

By micoots
29/11/2016 0

Devoted to God

Christians are called to the most difficult of all tasks. Over the course of our lives we are to be sanctified, to grow in holiness, to begin to act like and look like Jesus. We are to stop being what we once were, to put aside old dreams, desires, and habits, and to start being something new, to put on new dreams, new desires, and new habits. This work begins the moment of conversion and ends only with death. Between those starting and ending points, sanctification is to consume our lives, to be part of our every waking moment. Yet we find this work difficult. Sometimes we slow. Sometimes we stop. Still, through the Bible, God urges us on, he urges us toward growing holiness.

Not surprisingly, then, we have shelves of Christian books on the subject of holiness and sanctification. Many of these are excellent, classics in their own right: Holiness by J.C. Ryle, The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul, The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, and we are still just getting started. But now w..

By micoots
29/11/2016 0

A La Carte (November 29)

Today’s Kindle deals include a couple of volumes from Mark Dever as well as a few volumes from a popular-level commentary series.

Stop Excommunicating Yourself from the Lord’s Supper
I’m thankful to Josh for writing this one. “When considering the responsibility and privileges of the Lord’s Supper, we must refrain from barring ourselves by becoming an intentional absentee (not attending the evening service if it’s observed in the evening services) or by intentional excommunication (due to a guilty conscience regarding our sin).”

Growing In Your Unflappability
Here’s an important quality for anyone in leadership.

From Shame to Sin
This is important: “The West is jettisoning the Christian understanding of human sexuality at an alarming speed. It is doing so, to a significant extent, without any meaningful understanding of how Christianity shaped western sexuality in the first place. Many seem to think that by freeing ourselves from the burden of Christian teaching we will finally be a..

By micoots
28/11/2016 0

3 Reasons Children Need to Obey Their Parents

Should children obey their parents? Or, perhaps more to the point, should parents insist upon their children’s obedience? The culture around us seems perplexed, so focused on personal autonomy that in many families it seems clear that the children rule the roost. Many parents doubt their ability to direct their children and may even doubt their right to demand obedience.

Yet the Bible insists that children are to obey their parents and that parents are to enforce their children’s obedience. At one time or another just about every Christian parent has quoted this verse to their disobedient kids: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1). This is about as straightforward a decree as you’ll find in the Bible. But as we ponder that verse and the two that follow—“‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land’”—, we quickly find there are three important re..

By micoots
28/11/2016 0

A La Carte (November 28)

Today’s Kindle deals include some excellent picks from Crossway, all nicely discounted for Cyber Monday. Check them out right here. Also, Amazon has a huge general market Kindle sale today. See those deals here. Finally, you can get $10 off any $25 order of printed books with coupon code HOLIDAYBOOK. Start here.

Also, I continue to update the Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals for Christians page. There are some excellent deals to be had.

Why You Should Let Complete Strangers Stay In Your Home
Please read this one. “People often come to visit our ministry and they meet some of the characters that live in our home. We have had many over the years. Male and female. Young and old. We have had seriously mentally ill. We have had seriously violent. We have had addicts and alcoholics. We have had criminals galore. ‘Why do you do it?’ That’s always the question. Closely followed by, ‘Aren’t you worried for your girls?’ (I have two girls)”

Making Peace with Parker
I thought this was an exc..

By micoots
27/11/2016 0

I’m at My Wits’ End!

We’ve all been there at one time or another. We’re out of options, we’re out of ideas, we’re out of patience, we don’t know what to say or what to do. We’re at our wits’ end. English is an endlessly fascinating language loaded with vivid idioms, phrases that have a meaning that cannot be easily deduced from its words. At our wits’ end is just one of them. Many of these idioms, like this one, originate in the Bible—the King James Bible in particular.

The Expression
To be at your wits’ end is to have attempted and exhausted every possible means to solve a problem. It is a common phrase and a quick search of recent news headlines turned up hundreds of hits. An awful child abuse case gaining national attention in Canada centers around a child whose father tortured him. The father, though, portrays himself as the victim, explaining “he thought his boy was possessed. At his wit’s end, he said he started confining his son and rationing his meals.” A resident of a small town in Prince Edward ..

By micoots
26/11/2016 0

10 Books Every Christian Teenager Should Read

A reader recently asked the question: Do you have a suggested list of books for teenagers, something like a “Ten best books every Christian teenager should read?” It surprised me that I have never compiled such a list, especially since I’ve got two teenagers of my own. I decided I’d better remedy this oversight straight away. Here, then, is a list of ten great books every Christian teen ought to read—or at least consider reading.

Please note that these are not necessarily the ten best books your teens will read in their lifetime. Not all of these books will stand the test of time as Christian classics. But each of them is suited to twenty-first century teenaged readers and together they will provide a foundation for the Christian life that will prove both deep and wide. I list them in no particular order.

The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul. It is rare that a book is elevated to the ranks of the classics, but The Holiness of God is a prime candidate. Sproul’s book will introduce teens..

By micoots
26/11/2016 0

Weekend A La Carte (November 26)

There are only a couple of new Kindle deals today, but if you didn’t drop by yesterday, be sure to check out the complete list. Stay tuned on Monday (“Cyber Monday”) as there are bound to be lots more then. Also most of the Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2016 Deals for Christians remain active today.

The Worldview of Moana
Dan DeWitt discusses Disney’s new film Moana and its worldview.

How Trump Won the Troops
I share this one because I think almost all of us are enjoying J.D. Vance’s unique voice as he interprets current events.

9 Things To Know About Fidel Castro
Upon the death of Fidel Castro, Joe Carter lists 9 things you ought to know about him.

Are We Overdoing the Anti-Prosperity Gospel Theme?
John Piper speaks (again) to the prosperity gospel. He offers a quick three-fold critique.

Do You Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness?
R.C. Sproul: “In the final analysis, we want the approval of God—but the applause of men can be deafening, and it can cause us to turn our attention towa..