D. A. Carson has written a book entitled A Call to Spiritual Reformation. The subtitle reads Priorities from Paul and His Prayers.

This from William Gurnall in yesterday’s entry:

In business we first pay the biggest debts which are already due. Are you more deeply indebted to God or to your mate? Travel as far as you can with your relatives in God’s company, but no farther–because you do not want to leave holiness and righteousness far behind. No one–family or otherwise–can ever repay you in the loss of those treasures.

Jesus made the terms of discipleship plain. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (Matt. 10:37).

May Jesus be uppermost in all our affections.

One of OGC’s own has started a business in the area along with a partner.

You can check it out here.

Yes, there is help for those of us who are a-mechanical!

Justin Taylor notes on his blog today this fact:

John Newton–the blaspheming slavetrader turned grace-filled pastor and hymnwriter–was born this day in 1725.

Taylor’s post includes a brief video biography of Newton from Mars Hill Church.

Check it out here.

No kidding. You can do just that here.

Peter writes this in 1 Peter 5:8 –

Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

This report from a Voice of the Martyrs email prayer update offers one all-too-painful reminder of this reality among the persecuted.

SOMALIA – Seven Christians beheaded in Somalia

On July 10, seven Christians were beheaded by the Al Qaeda-linked extremist group Al Shabaab which controls southern Somalia and the capital Mogadishu. The Christians were accused of renouncing Islam and being “spies” for the government. Public executions, floggings, and amputations have reportedly increased in areas controlled by Al-Shabaab in recent weeks. Pray for the friends and family members mourning the loss of these Christians. Pray that Somali believers will exemplify the love of God through consistent love and prayer for those who persecute them.

Let the exhortation of Hebrews 13:3 not be lost on us.

Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.

What must it have been like for the Apostle Paul, languishing in prison, awaiting martyrdom, to write these words to his young charge, Timothy, in 2 Tim. 4:9-12?

If this picture I took in Rome last March is where Paul was at the time, it makes what follows all the more painful as we try to identify. That’s my bride, Nancy, in the picture of the maritime prison in Rome.

9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.

No wonder Paul longed for Timothy to make his way to him soon. Count the losses with me. He suffered the defection of Demas, once known for his faithful service (Col. 4:14), to worldly pursuits. That had to have been a crushing blow. Two other key players, Crescens and Titus, presumably for good reasons, split for different destinations. Tychicus, another faithful confidant and servant, Paul had to send to Ephesus on the Lord’s business.

Bottom line? Luke alone is with me. Slim pickens. There’s no one left in the bullpen. There are no reinforcements to call up to the front lines. No wonder Paul wanted Timothy to come quickly and bring Mark with him! God means ministry to be a partnership of many. Just read Colossians 4 and Romans 16 and you will see what I mean. Paul dearly felt the sting of loss of fellow servants at this crucial season in his life.

I feel a little of that this week. I suspect most of us do at Orlando Grace. It relates to the transition of three of our seminary grads at OGC moving on to new places of service. My journal reads like this lately:

JW has gone to San Francisco, JR to Albuquerque, GB to Londonberry. All for good reasons, I might add. There’s not a worldliness defector among them. To the man, they have accepted calls to ministries around the country. Thanks be to God. We had a sweet time of prayer with two out of the three at our staff meeting this Monday morning, pictured here.

So the question I ask now is this. Who will come to us soon? What new servants-in-training at RTS, Orlando, might God send us in which we might invest, come to love, and send out with tears when the Lord directs them on their way?

Another round of students reports in August for Greek boot camp. Pray with me that the Lord speaks to some, a few, even one (beyond EF already with us) that they may come to us before winter (see 2 Tim. 4:21) and help fill the gap left by such wonderful men and their families.

William Gurnall today from The Christian in Complete Armour:

Select spiritual masters. Be careful to show your holiness in the authority you put yourself under. First, find out if the air inside the doors is as healthful for your soul as it is for your body outside. Will you voluntarily submit to ungodly men? It is hard enough to serve two masters, even when both have similar personalities; but it is impossible to serve a holy God and an ungodly man and please them both.

May the Lord give His church, especially in the individualistic west, professing believers willing to submit to spiritual authority and may He make those of us who lead His church men of godliness deserving of the trust of willing followers. Amen.

Really? I can think of lots of other names that describe God that appeal to my senses more readily than the label jealous.

Nonetheless it is true. God’s name is jealous. I have J. I. Packer in his classic work Knowing God to thank for the insight. In contending for the truth that God reveals Himself as jealous in the best sense of the word he cites most notably Exodus 34:14.

For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Packer writes:

From these passages we see plainly what God meant by telling Moses that his name was “Jealous.” He meant that he demands from those whom he has loved and redeemed utter and absolute loyalty, and he will vindicate his own claim by stern action against them if they betray his love by unfaithfulness (p. 171, IVP, 1993).

Our God is a jealous God. He demands our utmost devotion to Him as our covenant making and keeping Spouse. What other suitor vies for my/your attention? Let us be done with lesser & adulterous affections and press in to the ultimate Lover of our souls.