Daniel J. Sparks

  • Cleave to Christ

    Let us cleave to Christ more closely, love Him more heartily, live to Him more thoroughly, copy Him more exactly, confess Him more boldly, follow Him more fully. Religion like this will always bring its own reward. Worldly people may laugh at it. Weak brethren may think it extreme. But it will wear well. At even time it will bring us light. In sickness it will bring us peace. In the world to come it will give us a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

    –J.C. Ryle in Sickness, Chapel Library, Pensacola, Florida (1998), 26.

  • Honoring God in sickness

    I earnestly entreat all sick believers to remember that they may honour God as much by patient suffering as they can by active work. It often shows more grace to sit still than it does to go to and fro, and perform great exploits. I entreat them to remember that Christ cares for them as much when they are sick as He does when they are well, and that the very chastisement they feel so acutely is sent in love, and not in anger.

    –J.C. Ryle in Sickness, Chapel Library, Pensacola, Florida (1998), 23-24.

  • Worthy causes of suffering

    And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, ESV)

    And thus Christian exhortations to endure suffering are of this sort: Whether we suffer poverty, exile, imprisonment, contempt, sickness, childlessness, or any such thing, let us remember that nothing happens apart from God’s pleasure and providence, and that God himself does nothing that isn’t perfectly in order. What then? Don’t our innumerable and frequent faults deserve more severe and weighty punishments that those that He, according to His mercy, has placed on us? Isn’t it fair that our flesh be tamed and made familiar with the yoke in order to keep it from running wild with lust according to its natural disposition? Are God’s justice and truth not worthy causes to suffer for?

    –John Calvin in A Little Book on the Christian Life, edited and translated by Aaron Clay Denlinger and Burk Parsons, Reformation Trust Publishing, Sanford, Florida (2017), 83-84.

  • The godly man

    Psalm 1

  • We are God’s

    The law of the Lord is the best and most suitable instruction for the proper ordering of our lives. Nevertheless, it seemed good to our heavenly teacher to conform us by an even more precise rule than what’s given in the precepts of the law. This is the sum of that rule: It is the duty of believers to present their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. And in this consists genuine worship of Him. From this rule is derived the exhortation that believers not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of their minds, so that by testing they may discern what is the will of God.

    I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2, ESV)

    …..

    If we are not our own but the Lord’s, it’s clear what errors we must flee, and what we must direct our whole lives toward. We are not our own; therefore, neither our reason nor our will should dominate our plans and actions. We are not our own; therefore, let us not make the gratification of our flesh our end. We are not our own; therefore, as much as possible, let us forget ourselves and our own interests.

    Rather, we are God’s. Therefore, let us live and die to Him. We are God’s. Therefore, let His wisdom and His will govern all our actions. We are God’s. Therefore, let us—in every way in all our lives—run to Him as our only proper end. How far has he progressed who’s been taught that he is not his own—who’s taken rule and dominion away from his own reason and entrusted them to God. For the plague of submitting to our own rule leads us straight to ruin, but the surest way to safety is neither to know nor to want anything on our own, but simply to follow the leading of the Lord.

    –John Calvin in A Little Book on the Christian Life, edited and translated by Aaron Clay Denlinger and Burk Parsons, Reformation Trust Publishing, Sanford, Florida (2017), 21-23.

  • Don’t

    Don’t believe everything you hear.
    Don’t speak everything you know.
    Don’t do everything you can.

    Martin Luther

    Quoted in Luther on Leadership by Stephen J. Nichols, p. 65.

  • Two men named Jesus

    1 John 5:4-13

     

  • Ministering to a spouse with aphasia

    Walking Through Twilight

    In the latest episode of the “Mortification of Spin” podcast, the hosts interview Dr. Douglas Groothuis about his book Walking through Twilight: A Wife’s Illness, A Philosopher’s Lament. Dr. Groothuis’ wife Becky suffers from primary progressive aphasia, a condition that affects the ability to speak, read, and write. It can also affect understanding and memory.

    During the interview, Dr. Groothuis speaks about the changes he and his wife have been undergoing. He addresses how his faith impacts his care for Becky and how Christians can provide support to families with this type of illness. I found Dr. Groothuis’ remarks helpful, and I look forward to reading this book soon so I can understand how to provide pastoral care for individuals and families experiencing the difficulty of this illness.

    Groothuis reflects on his role as his wife’s primary caregiver. He shares with us his personal suffering and life’s dynamics in light of her illness, the ministry of the body of Christ, and how God is glorified through it all

    Source: Mortification of Spin – Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

  • On the resurgence of confessional Anglicanism

    There is a resurgence of confessional Anglicanism in the United States.

    What do I mean by “confessional” Anglicanism? I mean an Anglican identity based on the Reformation principles outlined in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion of 1571 and put into practice through the liturgy of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Confessional Anglicans are Protestant, Reformed, evangelical–descriptors that would be redundant in an earlier age. Confessional Anglicans truly believe in the doctrines of the Reformation and want the worship of the church to be shaped by these biblical principles.

    Confessional Anglicans do not view the Articles as a solely historical document locked in a particular era of time that only provides an antiquated snapshot of a quaint “golden age” of the English church. No, these are Anglicans of substance. These are folks who see the Articles as a confession of Reformed Protestant belief and practice that is binding today. These are Anglicans committed to the Bible, the creeds, and the doctrines of grace.

    They are not interested in a monarchical episcopate, medieval views of the sacraments, milquetoast preaching, and ritualism. Instead of imitating the entrenched errors of Rome and Constantinople, they want a Christ-centered worship, filled with biblical preaching, right use of the sacraments, and godly discipline. They want to hear the Word of God read with authority, preached with authority, believed with authority. They want a liturgy that serves as a bellows to fan gospel flames.

    This sort of Anglican has been around for a long time. However, in the United States, the slant of Romish ritualism has almost strangled the confessional witness of Anglicanism. Today, through casual connections and informal discussions, confessionalism is gaining steam. This means there are Anglicans who relish being called Protestants and Calvinists. They take joy in expository preaching and speaking on critical issues with clarity–instead of the “Anglican doublespeak” of many church leaders, both liberal and conservative.

    Confessionalism is not monolithic, either among Anglicans or other Reformed churches. How this growing grassroots movement of churchmen will solidify remains to be seen. For the present, these reformational Anglicans are developing relationships with like-minded believers, both within and without their own denominations. Some of them may be found in surprising places. In any case, the church needs their witness, their call to return to the Scriptures, to a confessing faith.

  • Families and technology

    The Gospel Coalition podcast recently featured an interview of Andy Crouch by Collin Hansen. They discussed how technology (particularly smartphones and similar devices) affect children and family life . They share valuable reflections on the sort of serious considerations Christians should give to how we use technology.

    Andy Crouch on How to Become a Tech-Wise Family: Collin Hansen interviews Andy Crouch about putting technology in its proper place.

    Read more about the podcast episode.