Posted in theology

Book Review: From digital fatigue to analog renewal- Thom Ranier’s “The Revival of the Analog Church”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Introduction

Have you heard of the new trend sweeping through our society from Gen Z-ers to Boomers? It’s analog. Yes, the new fashioned word for an old fashioned life- one filled with tactile hobbies like knitting and crosswords in real books and newspapers. Design trends where prospective house buyers seek a home like grandma had- with real rooms, not open concept, afghans, wallpaper, hardwood floors, sunrooms, even sewing rooms. They call it ‘a grandma house.’

The last 30 years has seen a rise of the digital, and a resulting loss of the tactile. People are tired of the constant notifications, intrusive surveillance, annoying advertisements/pop-ups, and anxiety known as FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). When we’re always ‘connected’, we tend to compare our lives to others and covetousness, jealousy, and unease rises. Frankly, we’re tired.

The Book

The church has not escaped the impact of the rise of digital lifestyles. Into this rising trend of concern and yearning for simpler times is Thom Ranier’s forthcoming book, “The Revival of the Analog Church: Why Your Church Should Be Personal and In-Person (Church Answers Resources)”. It is due out in October 2026, and it is being published by Tyndale Momentum.

The Problem

The church never escapes being influenced by the world around us. Even diligent churches that resist worldly trends have to fight hard to push back. Church is composed of people, and people for the last 30 years have grabbed onto all things digital. Many churches have suffered for it.

Ranier wrote, “Have we digitized what was meant to be deeply personal? The digital world gave us tools. Helpful ones. We could reach farther and faster. Sermons went online. Groups went virtual. Resources were available with a click.”

But all these tools come with a cost. We are suffering from ‘digital fatigue’ and this includes churches. It’s no so much the tools that churches use, such as streaming the sermon or digital Bibles, it is the pace at which the digital world has taught us to run. It is the brain, always pumping for more, the new, the next. Digital is a tool, but it has overpowered us and taught us that we need to always be moving. This constant movement includes a hurry-up pace in church. Yet, Rainer writes, church is exactly the place where we need to slow down, pray pensively, linger in relationship, be present emotionally, mentally, physically. He advocates for “the sacred simplicity of a Sabbath-like presence.”

Ranier’s point is synopsized with this- we are digitally numb, and ‘Digital numbness leads to spiritual numbness.’

The chapters, 11 of them, describe the problem and offer solutions. Ranier includes reflection questions at the end of each chapter.

My Review

Ranier begins with a solid explanation of the difference between analog and digital, and how this is impacting the church. He humbly relates that he himself had fallen into the fast-paced digital world, at one point, to the detriment of his family. He loves the digital and assures the reader he is no naysayer, writing, “We have not sinned by embracing digital tools.”

However, Ranier makes the case that we must mindfully slow our pace, be present at church, and restore an unhurried worship.

This book is positioned well to capture this wave of analog yearning to return to an unhurried pace with real relationships. The realization that digital has its limits is fueling the desire to return to unhurried worship and discipleship in its fullest sense. In his book, Ranier describes how.

There is no doubt that digital media has drastically changed how people communicate and how people commune with each other, and the change has impacted not only worship but witnessing and evangelism. This must be a concern for us all.

His point is that “People are weary of a life that feels like it’s always in motion but never truly grounded.” It’s true that the digital world has taught us to live in fragments, when Jesus actually taught to live by thinking deeply, slowly, and intentionally in worship.

Positives:

–The author captures and crystallizes and amorphous unease many people seem to be dealing with regarding the digital lifestyle,

–His end-of-chapter questions are thought provoking,

–Ranier provides solutions, not just identifying the problem,

–He Humbly includes himself in the digital problem.

Negatives:

–I saw a few scriptures, maybe 3 or 4. I’d like to see more scripture use in a book about the importance of relational worship,

–His likening of listening to vinyl records or playing board games to church life as examples of analog were a bit of a stretch. In my opinion, he could have written more deeply about analog church life. I felt the book was more overview than deep theology. Of course, this is fine for someone new to the concept of the problem of digital vs. analog.

–The writing style was very much digital. Too many sentences beginning with ‘And’, staccato short bulleted sentences, and lots of “it’s not this, it’s that.” Ranier mentioned several times how he has absorbed and enjoyed the digital life and pace, and this absorption shows through in his writing, which definitely mimics the digital.

Conclusion

If you are new to the idea that digital fatigue is rising and beginning to permeate our society -and the church- from the oldest adult generation to the youngest, then this would be 4-stars for you. If you are already familiar with the concept and want a more deeply theological examination of the issue, then this book is a 3-star for you, with other suggestions below.

Further Resources:

Out-Of-Doors in the Holy Land by Henry van Dyke. Published 1908 and considered a classic of Holy Land travelogues. Blurb: “Van Dyke’s beautiful descriptions and thoughtful reflections on the landscape, the people, and the spiritual significance of the places he visits make this a must-read for anyone interested in travel, religion, or culture. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important”. The premise is that Christianity was an out of doors religion, where walking, pondering, contemplating and considering were all slow processes.

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. (2019). Blurb: “a book that proposes a philosophy for using technology intentionally to support your values, rather than letting it control you, advocating for a focused life by drastically reducing low-value digital activities”.

Twelve Ways Your Phone is Changing You, by Tony Reinke. (2017). Blurb- “Drawing from the insights of numerous thinkers, published studies, and his own research, writer Tony Reinke identifies twelve potent ways our smartphones have changed us—for good and bad. Reinke calls us to cultivate wise thinking and healthy habits in the digital age.”

Competing Spectacles by Tony Reinke. (2019). Blurb- “We live in a world full of shiny distractions, faced with an onslaught of viral media constantly competing for our attention and demanding our affections. These ever-present visual “spectacles” can quickly erode our hearts, making it more difficult than ever to walk through life actively treasuring that which is most important and yet invisible: Jesus Christ.”

God, Technology, and the Christian Life by Tony Reinke (2022). “Highlights: Biblical, Informed Look at Technology; Gathers Ideas from Industry Experts and Theologians by Interacting with Christian and non-Christian sources on technology and theology including John Calvin, Herman Bavinck, Wendell Berry, and Elon Musk, and is Educational: Discusses the history and philosophy behind major technological innovations.”

Amazon Bio: Thom S. Rainer is the founder and CEO of Church Answers. Prior to Church Answers, he served as president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. He also served at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for twelve years where he was the founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism. He has been a pastor of four churches and interim pastor of ten churches. He has written several books, including “I am a Church Member” and “Simple Church”.

DISCLAIMER- My Advanced Reader Copy was provided via NetGalley. I received a free digital copy of this book from Tyndale, the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Professional Reader
Posted in theology

Passion Week 2026: Good Friday

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Holy Week is that period between Psalm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday. It is a period rightly somber, and many Christians meditate on the meaning of the different things Jesus did in His last week of earthly life.

The Gospels were not written chronologically so it is hard to exactly tell when Jesus did what during that specific week, except for Thursday. Yesterday was the day Jesus washed the disciples’ feet,(John 13:3–17), established the Lord’s Supper, (Luke 22:19–20), and was the evening of His betrayal and arrest. (John 18,John 19,Isaiah 52:13-53:12). Also, today we know Jesus was crucified.

Today is known as “Good Friday”. What is ‘good’ about it? What can possibly be good about an innocent man executed in the most brutal way, making Him a spectacle? What is good about death and the cross? What is good about a perversion of justice, where betrayers are monetarily rewarded and notorious murderers set free?

That is the finite, human view. What is ‘good’ to us is quite different in God’s economy. It was good that the Son willingly left glory to incarnate on earth, live all the phases of a human male until an adult, and teach and preach truths for 3 years. It was good that the Son submitted to the Father’s will for all His life, including death on a cross. It was good he was sinless and sacrificed Himself for those who would believe or we would all be doomed to God’s wrath for our sin in hell for all eternity. Now, anyone who will repent and believe will enjoy the gift of eternal life. All this is good.

He laid down His life for us. He was stripped, nailed, and speared. Why? For us. His love for us. His love for the world. Spurgeon says in his sermon, The Death of Christ for His People,

Come, now, my soul, and worship this man, this God. Come, believer, and behold thy Saviour; come to the innermost circle of all sanctity, the circle that contains the cross of Christ, and here sit down; and, whilst thou dost worship, learn three lessons from the fact that “he laid down his life for us.”

The first lesson should be,—Did he lay down his life for us? Ah! then, my brethren, how great must have been our sins that they could not have been atoned for at any other price!

Secondly, did he lay down his life for us? Ah! then, beloved, how great must have been his love! He would not stop short anywhere, until life itself had been resigned.

Thirdly, did he lay down his life for us? Ah! then, my soul, be of good cheer; how safe art thou! If such an atonement hath been offered, if such a sure satisfaction hath been given to Almighty God, how secure thou art! Who is he that can destroy him who hath been bought with the blood of such a Redeemer?

The cross of Jesus is all in all. Paul preached about the cross 19 times in the Gospels, said Horatius Bonar in his essay The Cross of the Lord Jesus.

Bonar wrote “The crucifixion transformed the evil into good.” Bonar unpacks each of these in his essay, but for brevity’s sake here are the themes:

One. It is the place of propitiation (Lev 16:15; Rom 3:25). The altar was there for the burnt-offering. The place without the gate for the sin-offering was there. He “his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1Pe 2:24). The sin-bearing work was completed there when the cry went up, “It is finished” (Joh 19:30).

Two. It is the meeting-place (Exo 29:42). It is the place where we meet with God, and God meets with us in friendship, and love, and joy.

Three. It is the place of love. God’s love is there, shining in its full brightness, unhindered and undimmed. “God so loved the world” (Joh 3:16) gets its interpretation at the Cross.

Four. It is the place of acceptance. Here we become “accepted in the beloved” (Eph 1:6). Here the exchange takes place between the perfect and the imperfect.

Bonar goes on to explain 20 accomplishments of the cross. He summed up-

The right knowledge of the Cross is everything to a sinner; and error respecting it must be fatal. It is by the knowledge of Himself and of His Cross that the Father’s righteous Servant justifies many; and to be ignorant of the Cross is to be ignorant of that which justifies. To be in error as to that Cross is to be in error as to that in virtue of which God forgiveth sin and receives the sinner into favor.

To add anything to that Cross is to destroy its efficacy as well as to deny its completeness; to take anything from it is to rob it of its saving virtue. It can only save as it stands—the perfection of God’s wisdom and the revelation of His righteous grace.

It is finished.

Posted in theology

Passion week 2026: Holy Thursday

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Holy Week is that period between Psalm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday. It is a period rightly somber, and many Christians meditate on the meaning of the different things Jesus did in His last week of earthly life.

The Gospels were not written chronologically so it is hard to exactly tell when Jesus did what during that specific week, except for Thursday. This is the day Jesus washed the disciples’ feet,(John 13:3–17), established the Lord’s Supper, (Luke 22:19–20), and was the evening of His betrayal and arrest. (John 18,John 19,Isaiah 52:13-53:12).

5 reasons Christ had to die: (By Dustin Benge)

  1. Sin demands a penalty
    (Rom. 6:23)
  2. We could not save ourselves
    (Isa. 64:6)
  3. The law required a perfect sacrifice
    (Heb. 10:4)
  4. God is both just and the justifier
    (Rom. 3:26)
  5. Love required it.
    (John 3:16; Rom. 8:32)

Yesterday I wrote about the double imputation. Now it’s Thursday. Thursday of the week between Psalm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday is momentous. It is the day Jesus celebrated the Passover with the Disciples, during ‘The Last Supper.” He also washed their feet. Judas went out from the upper room where they celebrated the supper, and betrayed Jesus.

Wow. A lot.

We could focus on so much here to unpack. This essay could be 100 pages long. But let us consider Jesus’ servant leadership in the foot washing and His commandment during the Supper to love one another. Jonathan Edwards wrote:

There were . . . symbolical representations given of that great event this evening; one in the passover, which Christ now partook of with his disciples . . . another in this remarkable action of his washing his disciples’ feet. Washing the feet of guests was the office of servants, and one of their meanest offices: and therefore was fitly chosen by our Savior to represent that great abasement which he was to be the subject of in the form of a servant, in becoming obedient unto death, even that ignominious and accursed death of the cross, that he might cleanse the souls of his disciples from their guilt and spiritual pollution. Source: Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 2, “Sermon XVI: Christ the Example of Ministers, John 13:15, 16.

At Ligonier, we read regarding the love one another command,

The commandment to love and serve others is not unique to the New Testament. In the old covenant law, God gave His people the command, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). What is distinct about the “new commandment” is that Jesus is fulfilling it in His sacrificial life and death for the redemption of His people. No one but Christ had ever so kept the command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Through His sacrificial service, Jesus fulfilled Leviticus 19:18 for the redemption of His people and set the example of what it means to love and serve others.

He certainly did set the example. His love for His people is incredible, no, it is indescribable. His holy and pure Self left glory to live among us sinners, teaching, healing, loving. When re Rich Young RUler confidently asserted he had kept the commandments since a youth, Jesus looked at him and loved him. (Mark 10:21). The New Testament also said recipients of His personal love were Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus. And His love extends to the world. (John 3:16).

On this day in 33AD (or so), picture Jesus stooping before the men who would soon deny Him, and one who would betray Him, washing their feet with love and tenderness. The agony of the cross will soon be expressed in His prayer in Gethsemane. Yet Jesus was teaching till the end, loving to the end, submitting to the end, and praying to the end.

As fo the betrayal, love shone through there as well. Jesus washed Judas’ feet as well as the rest. Spurgeon speaks of the calmness with which Jesus faced this cruel betrayal. Source Spurgeon sermon, “After Two Days is the Passover“.

     This calmness is very wonderful, because there was so much that was bitter and cruel about his approaching death: “The Son of man is betrayed.” The Saviour felt that betrayal most keenly; it was a very bitter part of the deadly potion which he had to drink. “He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me,” was a venomous drop that went right into his soul. David, in his great sorrow, had to say, “For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him; but it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked into the house of God in company.” And it was a very, very, very bitter thing to Christ to be betrayed by Judas; yet he talks of it calmly, and speaks of it when it was not absolutely necessary, one would think, to mention that incidental circumstance.

     The Master says, “Ye know that after two days is the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.” I cannot help reading it like this, — “Ye know that after two days is THE Passover. All the other passovers have been passovers only in name, passovers in type, passovers in emblem, passovers foreshadowing the Passover; but after two days is the real Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.” At any rate, I want you to notice how true it is that our Lord Jesus Christ is our Passover: “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” What the paschal lamb was to Israel in Egypt, that the Lord Jesus Christ is to us. Let us think of that for a few minutes. Put the passover and the cross together, for indeed they are one.

He is a glorious Savior. He is the Lamb that was Slain.

Judas plans to betray Jesus. Betrayal of Judas (detail) c. 1340, Fresco
Collegiata Santa Maria Assunta, San Gimignano, Italy

Posted in theology

Passion Week 2026: Holy Wednesday

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Holy Week is that period between Psalm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday. It is a period rightly somber, and many Christians meditate on the meaning of the different things Jesus did in His last week of earthly life.

The Gospels were not written chronologically so it is hard to exactly tell when Jesus did what during that specific week. Tradition says this is the day Jesus predicts his Passion. (Mt 26:2, Mk 14:1).

We can’t be dogmatic about specifics, but we can rightly ponder the great truths Jesus had taught during His ministry on earth, and the greatness of what He did during this week.

5 reasons Christ had to die: (By Dustin Benge)

  1. Sin demands a penalty
    (Rom. 6:23)
  2. We could not save ourselves
    (Isa. 64:6)
  3. The law required a perfect sacrifice
    (Heb. 10:4)
  4. God is both just and the justifier
    (Rom. 3:26)
  5. Love required it.
    (John 3:16; Rom. 8:32)

Yesterday I wrote about the atonement and quoted Martin Luther from his essay “How to Contemplate Christ’s Holy Sufferings”. Today let us contemplate the work of Jesus regarding sin, wrath, and righteousness; the double imputation- God imputing our sins to Christ and God assigning Christ’s righteousness to one who would believe (aka the elect).

RC Sproul on The Doctrine of the Imputation

Give Me the Imputation of Christ or Give Me Death

We have seen the situation before the fall and after the fall. Paul is arguing here [in Romans 5:12-19], that because of Adam’s sin, not only does sin become universal, but death is universal as well. Why is that so? Because the guilt of Adam is reckoned, counted, and imputed to the whole human race.

We are dealing unassailably with the doctrine of imputation, imputation in its worst of all possible manifestations: the imputation of guilt from one person to all those he represents, which leads us to the ruination of our present estate as fallen and corrupt sinners. But in contrast to that is imputation in the best of all possible manifestations: the imputation of someone else’s righteousness to us.

Do not dismiss this as a theological technicality. It is the very essence of the gospel that someone else’s righteousness counts for you. If you get rid of imputation, then you have no basis for any hope when standing before the judgment seat of God. You either stand before God’s judgment with your righteousness or with someone else’s.

If I have to stand before God with my righteousness, which the Bible says is nothing but filthy rags, I have no hope. Take away the imputation of my Savior’s righteousness to my account, and there is no good news left to the gospel. I am on my own. What I can bring to the table is not enough to escape the wrath of a holy God. That is why I say this: Give me the imputation of Christ or give me death. I am happy, proud, and honored to die on that hill.

–end Sproul

When Jesus looked toward Jerusalem and the cross upon which He was soon to die, willingly, He knew the following two truths that this work would accomplish

-God will remove the believer’s guilt by pouring His wrath upon His sinless Son; and,

-God will bestow Christ’s righteousness on the believer who will repent and believe.

Upcoming Resurrection Sunday is a perfect time of all times to contemplate the greatness of God’s Gospel Plan, His Son who accomplished it, and the Holy Spirit who applies and energizes it.

Posted in theology

Passion Week 2026: Holy Monday

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Today is Monday, March 30, 2026. It is the Monday after Psalm Sunday. On that Sunday so long ago, Jesus rode a colt of a donkey into Jerusalem and was hailed and blessed and exalted as a coming King. A deliverer. A Savior (of the Israelites).

He was, but not in the way the hallelujah-ing crowds thought. He came to die.

Holy Week is that period between Psalm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday. It is a period rightly somber, and many Christians meditate on the meaning of the different things Jesus did in His last week of life as humble servant, prophet, miracle worker. He walked, sometimes trudged, always clear eyed and willingly, toward that dark death promised Him before the worlds began.

He came to die. It is time to die.

The Gospels were not written chronologically so it is hard to exactly tell what Jesus did during that specific week. Tradition says this is the day He cursed the fig tree for its promise of fruit but failure to produce it. Or perhaps this is the day He cleansed the Temple. We can’t be dogmatic about specifics, but we can rightly ponder the great truths Jesus has taught during his life as Teacher (Rabboni). Who IS this Jesus, this Jesus who is promised to come again. This same Jesus who will come again. (Acts 1:11).

He came to die as propitiation for our sins.

He not only came to die, but He came to shed His blood in the dying. Jesus’s is a story that bears repeating and repeating and it never becomes boring. How could it?! As Spurgeon said in his sermon Christ Set Forth As A Propitiation, Spurgeon, Good Friday Morning, March 29, 1861:

“You will not reply that you have heard this story so often that you have grown weary of it, for well I know that with you, the Person, the Character, and the work of Christ are always fresh themes for wonder! We have seen the sea, some of us, hundreds of times, and what an abiding sameness there is in its deep green surface; but who ever called the sea monotonous? Traveling over it as the mariner does, sometimes by the year together, there is always a freshness in the undulation of the waves, the whiteness of the foam of the breaker, the curl of the crested billow, and the frolicsome pursuit of every wave by its long train of brothers. Which of us has ever complained that the sun gave us but little variety…”

So this is a week when we ponder the old, old story, as we do every week of the year.

Jesus was set forth as a sacrifice. He willingly came to do so. Spurgeon’s text is Romans 3:25-

whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished; (Romans 3:25).

Spurgeon: “The words, “set forth,” in the original may signify, “foreordained;” but according to eminent critics, it has also in it the idea of setting forth as well as a “foreordaining.” Barnes says, “The word properly means to place in public view; to exhibit in a conspicuous situation, as goods are exhibited or exposed for sale, or as premiums or rewards of victory were exhibited to public view in the games of the Greeks.” So has God the Father set forth, manifested, made conspicuous the Person of the Lord Jesus as the Propitiation of sin.“

Indeed. As the week progresses to its climax, we understand that Jesus’ suffering and death was made ‘a spectacle’ for all to view.

For now, He saw the crowds praising Him, knowing in a few days they would be cursing Him. Such is the fickle display of sinning hearts, crowds who became a spectacle themselves as spiritually worthless flunkies howling their hosannas which crumbled like dead leaves underfoot days later.

Spurgeon- “We should look to Christ, and look to Christ, alone, as the propitiation for our sins, and take care that our faith is simple, and fixed solely on his precious blood” that shall be shed in a mere few days.

And still Jesus pressed on.

More tomorrow.

God’s Promise concerning His Servant

1″Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.
2″He will not cry out nor raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3″A bent reed He will not break off And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4″He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice on the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
Isaiah 42:1-4

Posted in encouragement, Uncategorized

Praying to a Listening God

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Doesn’t it just amaze you to pray to Jesus…and know He hears us? It’s incredible, and a privilege we always remember in gratitude.

As Isaiah cried in his wonder and grief, “I am a man of unclean lips!” (Isaiah 6:5). In my case, a woman of unclean lips. Why should I be able to use these lips to pray to Jesus when I am the chief of sinners, wretched woman that I am? What is man that God should be mindful of us? (Psalm 8:4). Why should He hear us?

But He does.

Though ‘El Shama’ is not an official name of God, it refers to the fact that God hears…He listens. God told Hagar to name her soon to be born son Ishmael. Ishmael is is a combination of el and shama, “God hears” or “God listens”. The name would be a reminder to Hagar and all who knew them that He heard Hagar’s cry in the wilderness. (Genesis 16:11). He listens.

Psalm 17:6 says

I have called on you, for you will hear me, O God: incline your ear to me, and hear my speech.

Gill’s Expositions says of the Psalmist’s plea in verse 6,

“for thou wilt hear me, O God; God is a God hearing prayer; he is used to hear his people, and they have frequent experience of it, and they may be assured that whatsoever they ask according to his will, and in the name of Christ, he will hear; and such an assurance is a reason engaging the saints to a constant calling upon God, Psalm 116:2; and such confidence of being always heard Christ had, John 11:41;”

1 John 5:14 says,

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

Did Peter forever relive his anguish in his remaining life, when he heard the rooster crow the day awake and remembered his own perfidy? Owww, Peter, I understand your grief, the pain of betraying Jesus in word or in deed from our own sinful actions. Yet…Jesus prayed for Peter. Luke 22:32. He did not pray for Judas. Both men betrayed Jesus, but Jesus prayed for Peter.

If you’re a Christian, Jesus prays for you, too. It’s staggering to consider that the God of the Universe prays for us. He hears us, and He prays for us. We have a superlative God, One who is true and kind and loving and compassionate. Sister, no matter what you are going through, Jesus hears your prayer and He takes your cares to the Father in prayer. Be encouraged.

be strong verse

Posted in theology

The Hard Grace of Becoming Humble

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

SYNOPSIS: Reviewing Jerry Bridges’ The Blessing of Humility, I reflect on humility as essential to sanctification, rooted in the Beatitudes, closely tied to love, and cultivated through Spirit-led self-examination, repentance, and the difficult, ongoing work of confronting pride.

The Blessing of Humility by Jerry Bridges is a wonderful book. If we are to mortify our sin, pursue holiness, and join the Holy Spirit in the hard work of sanctification, there are many of our own sins we can pick from. It’s a blessing that Jesus does not reveal all of them at once to us. We would surely be undone, as Isaiah cried. But pride is the root of all of them, and its opposite, humility, is often overlooked as of nearly ultimate importance of a characteristic to seek.

In his book, Bridges goes through the Beatitudes and sees a pattern for action in cultivating humility. His easy writing style and clarity of each short chapter’s structure makes it easy to see both the theological foundation strongly tied to the Bible, and how to apply these truths to one’s life.

The book is an easy read mentally but do you really want to read it quickly? Sure, it’s a short book. But it is a tough read spiritually. Here is what Bridges said-

“This book can be read completely in about two hours or less. You may want to do that to get an overview of the book However, the real value of this book will come as you then read each chapter reflectively and prayerfully. Ask God to help you see yourself as you really are in the light of each of the character traits covered in the eight Beatitudes. And then ask God to help you grow in the areas where you see yourself to be most needy.“

Embarking on a study of humility and its application to my life, I first read Andrew Murray’s little book, “Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness.” It was good. He hammered the point home: humility is important. This set me up for a good absorption rate when I next turned to the always gentle and readable Jerry Bridges’ The Blessing of Humility.

I will be quoting a lot from Bridges in this essay!

“The character trait of humility is the second-most frequently taught trait in the New Testament, second only to love. At one time I counted fifty instances of love taught, either by precept or example, in the New Testament; I counted forty instances of humility. I regard these two traits as the foundational stones of Christian character. All other character traits, in one way or another, are built upon love and humility.“

I did not know how closely love and humility are, and this was a point made in Murray’s book as well. My curiosity piqued, I went on. Next I learned that humility is actually a command of God. Bridges said-

“This is a crucial point, because in our frenetic world of today, such softer character traits as humility, gentleness, and patience often get ignored or even regarded as unreal expectations in the hustle and bustle of life. But if we want to apply the Bible’s teaching to our daily lives, we cannot ignore the call to live our ordinary lives in a spirit of humility.”

OK, good. I appreciated at that point the Holy Spirit’s leading me to a study of this character trait, one I could do so much more in applying to my life, which necessitated mortifying those tendrils of pride that rear up at any or all times.

I’d said earlier that Bridges that as one goes through the Beatitudes he saw a pattern for applying humility to our lives. He said about those who mourn are blessed-

“This second character trait of the Beatitudes naturally follows the first. Those who are genuinely poor in spirit will mourn over their sin. As John Blanchard wrote, “To be ‘poor in spirit’ is to be convicted of one’s sin, whereas to ‘mourn’ is to be contrite for it.”

See what I mean about his writing and flow being so clear? So I am halfway through the book now. I’ve read the intro, the chapter on being ‘poor in spirit’, ‘those who mourn’ and now, the chapter on ‘meekness’.

This chapter on meekness really stuck with me.

It’s the pondering, praying, and mulling over how to apply the insights gained to my own sin that is the slow-down. And isn’t that the goal of any spiritual endeavor? To seek Christ-likeness? It’s not easy and it is not fast.

It’s the meek chapter that slowed me even more. I don’t know if any of this book will pierce you or which chapter if so, but for me, it was being meek.

“[W]e too often use the Scriptures not as a means of judging ourselves but as a means of judging others, especially those whose sins are more flagrant than ours. The meek person, in contrast, searches the Scriptures (or listens to it taught) not to judge others but to allow the Holy Spirit to judge him or her. In fact, the meek person earnestly desires the Spirit to use His Word to effect a deep change in his or her inner being.”

Our dear departed friend Voddie Baucham, Jr., always used to say, “If you can’t say amen, you ought to say ouch!” Meaning, if biblical truth is preached and you cannot agree with it (“amen”), it is likely because the message is convicting you of sin, or challenging your disobedience, causing spiritual pain (“ouch”).

Using the scriptures to judge one’s self takes courage and a hard look at the depravity of one’s own heart. This is necessary in order to mortify it. This book has a conviction rate of 99%!

You can see that meekness is truly humility in action. ~Jerry Bridges

Many people, especially men, avoid cultivating a trait of being meek, becuase they think it means being weak, or a spineless doormat, or timid. It doesn’t mean that. Moses was said to be the most humble person on the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3). Yet he left the ease and comfort of the palace, stood up to Pharaoh, led millions, faced battles, and more.

“The word for meek that Jesus used is far different. Meekness is not being timid, spineless, unassertive, and easily dominated. It is not a natural niceness. In fact, it has nothing to do with one’s personality or temperament. It is the work of the Holy Spirit within. Yet it is a character trait that can and should be cultivated in our lives.“

As Christians, we all want the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Transforming us from creatures wallowing in depravity to holy people adorning His temple means doing the hard work of unearthing the sins in us and killing them. We are so used to ourselves in our skin and sometimes so busy we forget to look up via the Bible at the purity, love, and humility of Jesus in heaven, and by comparison, our own sinfulness. Even Paul struggled with subduing his body-

For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15).

If ypu would like a good book on the topic of humility, I recommend Jerry Bridges’ “The Blessing of Humility”.

The Free Grace Broadcaster is a monthly Journal from Chapel Library. They unearth the work of the ‘old, dead guys’ for essays and quotes on a different monthly topic. Issue 168 deals with “Pride and Humility.” It is also a great resource. It is here, and you can read online, download, or request a hard copy sent to you for free. Contents include the following essays:

Pride the Destroyer: Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

An Admonition to Humility: Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Humble Faith: Edward Fisher (fl. 1627-1655)

A Word about Pride to All but Especially to Ministers of the Gospel: Richard Baxter (1615-1691)

Thoughts on Pride from the Book of Proverbs, Parts 1,2,3: Charles Bridges (1794-1869)

Pride and Its Cure: L. R. Shelton, Jr. (1923-2003).

Charles Spurgeon also preached on humility, in a sermon titled Humility: Micah’s Message for Today. Spurgeon concluded his sermon this way and I’ll close my essay with his words:

Oh, brethren, the Lord help us to walk humbly with God! This will keep us right. True humility is thinking rightly of thyself, not meanly. When you have found out what you really are, you will be humble, for you are nothing to boast of. To be humble will make you safe. To be humble will make you happy. To be humble will make music in your heart when you go to bed. To be humble here will make you wake up in the likeness of your Master by-and-by. The Lord bless this word, for Jesus’ sake! Amen.

Posted in theology

Word of the Week was: Aseity

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Aseity

When we affirm that God is eternal, we are also saying that He possesses the attribute of aseity, or self-existence. … Unlike creation, God is self-existent, uncaused, and independent. RC Sproul

What does it mean that He is self-existent? It means in simple language, go down to verse 4, here it is again, four words. I told you John’s economy of words is stunning. “In Him was Life.” In Him was Life. John 5:26 says it again, that in God is life and in the Son is life. This is an amazing statement. Life not bios, not just physical life, but zoe, the biggest, broadest term for all kinds of life. And what it’s saying is this. Life was in Him. What do you mean by that? Well look at it from a negative standpoint. He didn’t receive life from any other source. He didn’t develop life from some other power. This is self-existence. He wasn’t given life, He didn’t receive life, He possesses it as an essential of His nature. In Him was life. ~John MacArthur

Scriptures:

For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. (Isaiah 46:9)

I AM who I AM. (Exodus 3:14)

For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. (John 5:26)

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. (Acts 17:24-25)