Informing the Reforming

Blog can be found on:

www.challies.com

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.

A Model of Determination

22/07/2016 0 Comment

Today I want us to travel together into the past, to England in the late 1700’s. King George III is on the throne, though this is before the madness that would mark his final days. The Industrial Revolution is well underway and life is changing as people begin a great migration to the cities to pursue those new factory jobs. On the other side of the Atlantic the American colonies have recently declared their independence.

Let’s zoom in on the year 1789 and the city of London. A well-dressed man walks into the British parliament and he delivers a daring speech. He makes a bold proposal. He wants to bring to an end a great evil, an evil he believes is staining his entire nation.

At this time in history, England is a nation that not only allows slavery, but actually condones it and supports it. In fact, the English economy has come to depend on it. British ships are constantly sailing down the African coast and as they go they are capturing men, women and children and shipping them acro..

How To Pray When Your Soul Is Bone Dry

21/07/2016 0 Comment

You know you ought to pray. You know that God invites and even commands you to pray. He loves to hear from you, loves to know you. Yet there are times when your soul feels bone dry, when even opening your mouth to pray seems an impossibility. What do you do?

Just Pray
Perhaps the hardest thing to do in those times is to even make the effort to pray. Just pray. It is always the right thing to do. Pray short if you need to. Tell God you are struggling to pray. But somehow just pray.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:17-19)
Pray the Gospel
Try some of these passages, all of which Jerry Bridges recommended as keys to his prayer life. ..

A La Carte (July 21)

21/07/2016 0 Comment

I have returned home from my week-long writer’s workshop in England. It was a very interesting time and at some point, perhaps on the other side of this jet lag, I’ll let you know about it. But for now, enjoy these articles:

Christian Audio $4.99 Sale
Christian Audio has a whole load of books at just $4.99 each and quite a few of them are even new releases. (Also, don’t forget about the bundle I created with them to get you started on a free trial membership).

CBMW’s New President
Yesterday CBMW announced that Denny Burk has become the new president. Here he talks about his vision for the organization.

Which Countries Have the Most Immigrants?
There’s lots of politicizing in this article, but also lots of interesting facts. Naturally, I found the comments about Canada especially interesting.

The Busy Mom’s Guide to Prayer
Melissa offers a few common sense tips on prioritizing prayer even as a busy mom.

As Seemed Best to Them…
And, on the subject of parenting, Nick Batzig offers so..

What a Wonder!

20/07/2016 0 Comment

You, Christian, are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God makes his habitation within you. He has joyfully, willingly, come to you so you can be near to him. This knowledge, this wonder, has powerful consequences.

It gives assurance. If the Holy Spirit has made his home within you, you can be sure that he will never abandon you. Who or what could ever drive God out of his dwelling place? Is Satan powerful enough to displace the Spirit? Of course not. Is your sin or your desire to sin or your unbelief enough to drive him out once he has come in? Never! Knowing that you have the Spirit within allows you to live free from the terror of abandonment, free from the fear that God will give up on you. God has not only chosen to do something to you from without but has also chosen to take up residence within.

It gives hope. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is meant to give you hope in the battle against sin because as committed as you may be to battling sin, as much a..

Church History 101

19/07/2016 0 Comment

I love church history and believe deeply in its importance. Far too often have I seen the consequences when Christians—individuals, churches, movements—become unhinged from the history of the church, unmoored from the life and work of those who have gone before us. Yet church history is so expansive, so daunting, and often so badly told that sometimes it seems easier to ignore it altogether. For that reason I am thankful to see Church History 101, a short work somewhere between a book and booklet that represents the combined efforts of Sinclair Ferguson, Joel Beeke, and Michael Haykin.

Church History 101 began with Sinclair Ferguson during his pulpit ministry—he prepared the material as an introduction to church history meant for his own congregation. That material was later revised by Joel Beeke and Michael Haykin as they prepared The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible where the same material is printed. And now it is also available as this short, readable book.

In the introductio..

God’s Mysterious Ways

18/07/2016 0 Comment

The following sponsored post is taken from Jane Roach’s new book, God’s Mysterious Ways: Embracing God’s Providence in Esther. Sign up to receive a free study from Jane through the first chapter of Esther.

Who is in Charge? What Esther Teaches Us about God’s Providence

Who is in charge?

This is the fundamental question that the Serpent posed to Eve and to every person since Eden. This question is in the forefront of our minds even when we are young. When one of my grandsons was three years old, his mother left him in my care at my home. As she was driving away, he put his hands on his hips, pulled back his shoulders, looked at me, and asked with an authoritative tone, “Well, who’s in charge here?”

After I got over the shock, I got down to his level and looked him in the eye, replying, “You are not.” He literally shook with surprise. We had a lovely conversation with him sitting on my lap as I explained that he was our guest and we were responsible for his care when he was with us. ..

Is the Reformation Over?

18/07/2016 0 Comment

Is the Reformation over? Have the issues that divided Protestants and Catholics been sufficiently resolved that we can now pursue a return to unity? At the very end of his book Rescuing the Gospel, an account of the Protestant Reformation, Erwin Lutzer offers a compelling answer. While he admits that both Protestantism and Catholicism have developed since the sixteenth century and while he points out areas in which Protestants and Catholics are working in a common cause toward common goals, he insists that the Reformation has not yet come to an end. Any unity would come at the expense of the gospel. “On the most critical issue, namely the salvation of the human soul, Luther’s Reformation is far from over … No matter how many changes the Catholic Church makes, it will not—indeed cannot—endorse an evangelical view of salvation.”

Many make the argument that Catholicism has changed, that the church of the twenty-first century is so vastly different from the church of the sixteenth century..