To Whom Shall We Go?

Mark Dever is someone who has a great deal of influence in my life. One of Mark's former Associate Pastors, now Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church Grand Cayman, has posted on his blog why he is grateful for Mark. Thabiti is a very thoughtful person, so these points are the fruit of some careful thinking and observation, and I am glad to jump right on board! Some are obviously specific to Thabiti, but I could certainly provide similar illustrations of the same concepts. Check it out!

These are two of my "best buddies." I feel that this picture accurately represents their respective senses of humor, as well as their respective abilities to entertain. Scott is theologically gifted, thoughtful, and a faithful friend. Zach is generous, genuinely loving, and gentle (I had to continue the alliteration). I am grateful to the Lord for godly friends who challenge me in my faith and make me laugh till I cry and scream.

I just read a very helpful thought from D.A. Carson's For the Love of God, Vol. 1 concerning God's judgment of the Canaanites through the slashing attacks of the people of Israel. I hope it is helpful for your own thinking about this difficult truth: "Although the annhilation of the Canaanites fills us with embarrassed horror, there is a sense in which (dare I say it?) we had better get used to it. It is of a piece with the Flood, with the destruction of several empires, with hell itself. The proper response is Luke 13:1-5: unless we repent, we shall all likewise perish" (From the entry for June 5th).

Hey, friend(s). I would be deeply honored and grateful if you would help me earn money for free books. Anytime you see a link to a book, will you click it for Johnny? Pretty please? I can earn reward points from the Westminster Theological Seminary Bookstore (

Well your mama was right. Fist fights, push fights, spit fights, hair-pulling fights - those are bad things. But there is a good kind of fight. It's the fight of faith, or, rather, the fight for faith. I read the entire book of Jude today (it's only 25 verses), and I spent some time meditating on verse 3: "Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." What really struck me today as I read this is that Jude was not simply giving an appeal to pastors to be careful to teach the right things to their people. As far as I can tell Jude is speaking generally to all Christians. The letter is addressed simply to those who are "called" and are "beloved in God the father and kept for Jesus Christ" (v 1). So everyone claiming the name of Jesus is to contend or fight for the faith. Every Christian, from 8 to 80...

Pardon the absence, please...both of you. My hectic semester is over, and I am quite grateful for that. It was exceedingly busy. I've never had a class harder than Advanced Greek Grammar. I assume I never will have one harder than it. I used to think I knew some Greek, but then I took that class. However, it was good for me, and I'm grateful for the opportunity and the valuable tools I gained. The task now is to keep the tools sharpened. Now that the summer has begun I am having to fill in 20ish hours a week with something to do! When you factor in 9 hours a week for class time, and at least 10 or more for studying...that's a lot to fill in. I aspire to exercise (minimally at least) and do some pre-Fall semester studying. I also aspire to eat watermelon, corn on the cob, and ice cream. I also have high aspirations to be a luchador: This should be a splendid summer.

See how tired this poor panda is? Poor little guy. Well that's how I feel, too! I've got a good bit of reading left, 3 finals, and then I'm home free...eventually (a loose reference to Wayne Watson). I am very excited to see my lovely family next weekend, Lord willing. Pray that I will persevere and be faithful with all that the Lord places before me these next few days. And pray for that poor panda.