5 Dangers for Young Men

1. Pride

“Young men, do not be too confident in your own judgment. Stop being so sure that you are always right, and others wrong. Don’t trust your own opinion, when you find it contrary to that of older men, and especially to that of your own parents. Age gives experience, and therefore deserves respect.”

2. Love of Pleasure

“Youth is the time when our passions are strongest—and like unruly children, cry most loudly for indulgence. Youth is the time when we have generally our most health and strength: death seems far away, and to enjoy ourselves in this life seems to be everything. ‘I serve lusts and pleasures’, that is the true answer many a young man should give if asked, ‘Whose servant are you?’”

3. Thoughtlessness

“Not thinking is one simple reason why thousands of souls are thrown away forever into the Lake of Fire. Men will not consider, will not look ahead, will not look around them, will not reflect on the end of their present course, and the sure consequences of their present days, and wake up to find they are damned for a lack of thinking. Young men, none are in more danger of this than yourselves. You know little of the perils around you, and so you are careless how you walk. You hate the trouble of serious, quiet thinking, and so you make wrong decisions and bring upon yourselves much sorrow.”

4. Contempt of Religion

“This also is one of your special dangers. I always observe that none pay so little outward respect to Christianity as young men. None take so little part in our services, when they are present at them—use Bibles so little—sing so little—listen to preaching so little. None are so generally absent at prayer meetings, Bible Studies, and all other weekday helps to the soul. Young men seem to think they do not need these things—they may be good for women and old men, but not for them. They appear ashamed of seeming to care about their souls: one would almost fancy they considered it a disgrace to go to heaven at all.”

5. Fear of Man’s Opinion

“It is terrible to observe the power which the fear of man has over most minds, and especially over the minds of the young. Few seem to have any opinions of their own, or to think for themselves. Like dead fish, they go with the stream and tide. What others think is right, they think is right; and what others call wrong, they call wrong too. There are not many original thinkers in the world. Most men are like sheep, they follow a leader. If it was the fashion of the day to be Roman Catholics, they would be Roman Catholics, if it was to be Islamic, they would be Islamic. They dread the idea of going against the current of the times. In a word, the opinion of the day becomes their religion, their creed, their Bible, and their God.”

~ J.C. Ryle

HT: Mike Anderson

Man! Think!

I came upon a sermon by C.H. Spurgeon, called Without Money And Without Price. Spurgeon was talking about the surprising nature of free grace to us. We have it so innately in us that we must do something to get something. We often take this attitude with us with regard to God's grace. But Spurgeon makes a great point that if we think a little bit, we wouldn't be nearly suprised about God's radical grace to us in the gospel:



"Thus I have spoken upon the surprising nature of this fact (free grace). But I need to add that though I have thus shown grounds for our surprise, yet if men would think a little they might not be quite so unbelievingly amazed as they are. For, after all, the best blessings we have come to us freely. What price have you paid for your lives? And yet they are very precious. 
Skin for skin, yes, all that you have would you give for them! What price do you pay for the air you breathe? What price does a man pay for the blessed sunlight? Tonight when we lay our heads down upon our pillows the poor man’s sleep shall be as sweet as the sleep of him who reclines on down. Sleep is the unbought blessing of Heaven, you cannot purchase it! It is clear, then, that some of the best blessings we possess come to us by the way of free gift."

The Author of Hebrews

It is a pretty big debate among Christians on who wrote the book of Hebrews. Some think it was Barnabas or Apollos, many others disagree. Regardless, I was encouraged by this quote that I read from Peter O'Brein's commentary on Hebrews:


"The most important thing Hebrews tells us about the author, whoever he was, is that in the first decades of the Christian movement, another remarkable mind and heart besides Paul's was at work in interpreting the significance of the crucified and raised Messiah Jesus for the understanding of Scripture, of the world, and of human existence."

Paul Tripp Quotes Part 3

These are all from Tripp's Twitter. 


If you have come to rest in the righteousness of Christ and have quit trying to parade your own, you know grace has visited you.


If you've quit asking people, things and places to give identity and now rest in your identity in Christ, you know grace has visited you.


If you're God's child, you can live with hope and courage because your Savior rules over all things for his glory and your good.


You have one place of hope, security and rest. It is found in these words, "GOD IS LOVE."


God's grace never moves you be casual about sin. If sin was something less than deadly and serious, there would be no need for God's grace.


The grace you've been given is not just the grace of forgiveness and acceptance, it's also the grace of empowerment. So, get up and follow.


If you look for life in the people and places of the here and now you'll always be disappointed. This broken worked can't be your messiah.

Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He's waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
Mercies for you and for me?

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, death's night is coming,
Coming for you and for me.

O for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
Ye who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

A Christian Worldview

This was written by Kevin DeYoung on his blog.

One God. We worship one, personal, knowable, holy God. There are not two gods or ten gods or ten million gods, only one. He has always been and will always be. He is not a product of our mind or imagination. He really exists and we can know him because he has spoken to us in his word.

Two kinds of being. We are not gods. God is not found in the trees or the wind or in us. He created the universe and cares for all that he has made, but he is distinct from his creation. The story of the world is not about being released from the illusion of our existence or discovering the god within. The story is about God, the people he made, and how the creatures can learn to delight in, trust in, and obey their Creator.

Three persons. The one God exists eternally in three persons. The Father is God. The Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is God. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and the Son, is also God. And yet these three—equal in glory, rank, and power—are three persons. The doctrine of the Trinity helps explain how there can be true unity and diversity in our world. It also shows that our God is a relational God.

For us. Something happened in history that changed the world. The Son of God came into the world as a man, perfectly obeyed his Father, fulfilled Israel’s purpose, succeeded where Adam failed, and began the process of reversing the curse. Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world. He rose again from the dead on the third day. By faith in him our sins can be forgiven and we can be assured of living forever with God and one day being raised from the dead like Christ.

Obviously, this doesn’t say everything that needs to be said about the Bible or Christianity. But I find it to be a helpful way to get a handle on some of the most important distinctives of a Christian worldview. Feel free to steal it and use it for yourself. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4.

Paul Tripp Quotes Part 2

These are all from Tripp's Twitter. He usually has three every day. Good reminders to chew on:

You've not been left to secure your own future because God in grace has secured an end to your story more glorious than you can grasp.

Corporate worship is designed to remind you that no matter how brilliant or regrettable your track record is, it's grace in which you stand!

We never get the freedom and long-term satisfaction we thought self-rule would bring. Ignoring God is never a pathway to blessing.

The Bible is not about learning how to be likable in God's eyes, but how God in grace rescues and forgives otherwise unlikeable people.

You stand in the right because grace atones. You desire what is right because grace transforms.You do what is right because grace empowers.

We lose sight of what's truly important in life. The resurrection of Jesus and our future resurrection tells us what's important.

God questions us, "Why spend money on what's not bread and labor on what doesn't satisfy." Sadly, many of us do that day after day.

What makes eternity wonderful is that God is restored to his rightful place at the center of all things.

Sin causes us to forget God and live as little self-sovereigns, wanting to reign for our own glory. For this there is the grace of Jesus.

When we ask now to give us what only eternity can give, we end up driven, frustrated, discouraged, and ultimately hopeless.