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
04/01/2017 0

Reveling in Wrath

It was one of the darkest chapters in Jewish history. Zedekiah had chosen to rebel against his Babylonian overlords, and King Nebuchadnezzar’s retribution was swift and sure. He besieged Jerusalem and captured it. He burned the temple, he burned the king’s palace, he burned all the mighty houses. He broke down the walls and left the city bereft and defenseless. He didn’t stop there. He also drove off 10,000 of the city’s most prominent citizens, leaving behind only the lowest, the poorest. We can well imagine the pain and sorrow as these men, women, and children trudged from their native land, their Promised Land, to foreign captivity. The deepest pain of all must have been knowing this captivity was God’s judgment on them for their rebellion. No wonder they soon sang songs like this:

By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“S..

By micoots
04/01/2017 0

A La Carte (January 4)

Today’s Kindle deals include several titles from Paul Tripp along with a long list from B&H. There’s also a new one from GLH Publishing you may want to check out. Finally, Amazon has put a list of top-rated history books on sale, so history buffs (or people participating in the reading challenge) may want to check out that list.

Donald Trump’s Attempt to Mainstream Heresy
Whatever your views on Donald Trump, you ought to be troubled by the people he has invited to pray at his inauguration. Michael Horton explains in the Washington Post. “The prosperity gospel — the idea that God dispenses material wealth and health based on what we ‘decree’ — is not just fluff. It’s also not just another branch of Pentecostalism, a tradition that emphasizes the continuation of the gifts of healing, prophecy and tongues. It’s another religion.”

Why Do We Play “Hail to the Chief” for the President?
And while we are on the subject of Donald Trump: “Amid drummed ruffles and bugled flourishes, ‘Hail to th..

By micoots
03/01/2017 0

Final Call (January 3)

Today I’m beginning a new feature, or trying out one, at least. I envision it as a late-afternoon or early-evening post that will provide something interesting, informative, and encouraging toward the close of the day. It will appear some days, not all days, and will always be a brief, hand-picked selection of articles, videos, and curiosities from the Internet and beyond. I will try it for a while, then evaluate and get your feedback. I’m calling it “Final Call.” Here we go.

Top 100 of 2016
The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association has published a list of the one hundred bestselling books of 2016. Not surprisingly, it’s not a pretty sight. It’s noteworthy how many are related to Sarah Young (9), coloring books (7), and joke books (3). Not that there’s anything objectively wrong with coloring or jokes, but there’s something alarming about them outselling most other books. Also note that Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen have 4 each on the list. Of these hundred books, I think there m..

By micoots
03/01/2017 0

The Vine Project

The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne was a surprise bestseller. Coming from a small Australian publisher, it made its way into Mark Dever’s hands and he declared it “the best book I’ve read on the nature of church ministry.” The rest, as they say, is history. Pastors and church leaders were introduced to its helpful illustration of the vine and the trellis: the vine representing gospel ministry that reaches and nourishes people, and the trellis representing the framework or structure necessary to support and sustain such ministry. “The problem which T&V tried to name, and which struck a chord with many of its readers, is that it is very possible for a church to be busy and active, and to have all the usual programs and apparatus of church life in place, but for the basic common task of disciple-making through the prayerful speaking of the word of God to have drifted to the margins. It is very possible to have a well-built, well-maintained trellis on which a bedragg..

By micoots
03/01/2017 0

A La Carte (January 3)

Today’s Kindle deals include a biography that has been highly recommended as well as a book by Tim Keller.

Free from Logos this month is volume 1 of the Bulletin for Biblical Research from the Institute for Biblical Research.

John MacArthur’s Ten Crucial Lessons to Teach Our Children
Here are ten crucial lessons John MacArthur says we must teach our children.

Death, The New Year And The Hope of Christ
This is an encouraging article. “People are shocked by tragedy and tragedies are supposed to be shocking. But tragedies are not surprises. They are reminders. Tragedies help to awaken us out of an illusion of what is not to what is actually the norm in this world. There is nothing more normal to history than evil and death. It is not strange. It is tragically normal.”

10 Things You Should Know about the Lordship Salvation Controversy
Though this may seem like an older controversy, it continues to exist today. Sam Storms offers an explanation.

The Hauntingly Stoic Vacancy of Civil War..

By micoots
02/01/2017 0

Justin Taylor Endorses Clarifying The Bible

This sponsored post was prepared by Clarifying the Bible.

“Biblical literacy may be higher in some places, but here in the U.S. it’s certainly lower than it used to be, and it’s declining.” Mark Dever, Capitol Hill Baptist Church

“Bible illiteracy is rampant in our churches. Few of us possess foundational knowledge of our sacred text; even fewer know how to develop it.” Jen Wilkin, Author of Women of the Word

“… we ought to give some urgent attention to a problem much closer to home–biblical illiteracy in the church. This scandalous problem is our own, and it’s up to us to fix it.” Albert Mohler, The Southern Baptist Seminary

On September 5, 2016 Justin Taylor of Crossway and The Gospel Coalition blog Between Two Worlds tweeted concerning Mitch Maher’s Clarifying The Bible, “This is the best material I’ve seen at an intro level for explaining what’s in the Bible and how it fits together.”

Just last month Mitch taught Clarifying The Bible at the United States Army’s Fort Campbell i..

By micoots
02/01/2017 0

I’m Complementarian and I Read Books By Women

I wonder if you have ever noticed that Christian books authored by women tend to be written for women, while Christian books authored by men tend to be written for both men and women. Books authored by women tend to have feminine covers, while books authored by men tend to have neutral, not masculine, covers. In general, men write with a voice that reaches both genders, while women write with a voice that reaches just one. This perplexes me. It troubles me.

I am complementarian. I believe God has designed men and women to have distinct, complementary roles in the home and the church. While men and women are equal in nature and worth, God means for them to function differently in these key areas. Within the home, God expects the husband to lead and the wife to freely and joyfully submit to his leadership. Within the church, God expects all members to minister to one another using every God-given gift but that only qualified men will hold the office of elder. I have searched the Bible, ..

By micoots
02/01/2017 0

A La Carte (January 2)

Today’s Kindle deals include a few titles that may be of interest, including one on the prosperity gospel and a novel by Randy Alcorn. Also, Amazon has their monthly batch of general market books at $3.99 or less.

Free from Christian Audio this month is Michael Hyatt’s Living Forward. My Do More Better and several other titles are just $4.98.

CCEF publishes their Now magazine a couple of times a year, including January. You can (and should!) download the latest issue for free in PDF format.

5 Ways Daily Bible Reading Impacts Your Life
Kelly Needham offers some good reasons to make Bible-reading a daily habit. Today’s a great day to start a plan (including this one).

William Carey’s 11 Commandments of Missions
Here are Carey’s commandments of mission. An example: “Give yourself totally to this glorious cause. Surrender your time, gifts, strength, families, the very clothes you wear.”

When Continents Collide
From AIG: “When geologists assume the earth changes slowly, they overlook a..

By micoots
01/01/2017 0

Letters to the Editor (Sex in Movies, Jesus Calling, Financial Temptation)

The past few weeks have brought quite a number of interesting letters to the editor. These are letters written by readers in response to something I’ve written. I hope you enjoy them!

Letters on Sex on the Silver Screen
The first few letters deal with the few articles I’ve written on the subject of sex and nudity in movies and television shows.

I really enjoy your perspective on a wide-variety of topics. I currently work as a screenwriter and an actor in Atlanta, GA. I believe you have some solid points on this issue regarding the work Christians should be a part of in the entertainment industry.

During 2016 I lost my agent for not accepting a role of a man who ran a low-end strip club for a new Netflix series. Mind you, the pay from this series would have helped out my family quite a bit… it would have been a nice pay check and I would have built relationships with some well-respected talent in the industry. However, it required me to do things in direct conflict with my Christian ..

By micoots
31/12/2016 0

The Best Way to Begin a New Year

I look forward to the day we own our house free and clear. We have been making payments on the mortgage since the day we moved in, but the end is finally in sight and four or five years from now we should be done at last. (An advantage of buying a small house and staying in it!) The moment the bank withdraws the final payment, we’ll be free and clear: free from further financial obligations and clear of all liens or other encumbrances. It will be ours all the way. We trust this will put us in a good position to transition into the second half of life—the half when we need to devote attention to our children’s education, marriages, and independence. And, of course, the time when we may finally be able to upgrade that worn parquet flooring that was installed before we were even born.

A new year is coming, and the best way to begin a new year is to know that you are free and clear. This morning I was reflecting on the great words of Isaiah 43:25, where God says, “I, I am he who blots out..