by: John Park, February 10th, 2011
Recently, I was reading Jonathan Edwards’s essay, “Thoughts on the Revival” and came across this quote. He was commenting on the First Great Awakening and some peoples’ objections to it because of the “violent” physical convulsions some people were experiencing as a result of the revival:
“Let us rationally consider what we profess to believe of the infinite greatness of divine wrath; divine glory, the divine infinite love and grace in Jesus Christ, and the infinite importance of eternal things; and then how reasonable it is to suppose, that if God a little withdraw the veil, to let light into the soul – and give a view of the great things of another world in their transcendent and infinite greatness – that human nature, which is as the grass, a shaking leaf, a weak withering flower, should totter under such a discovery!” (The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 1)
Reading this piece makes me desire to be a part of another great awakening.
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by: John Park, January 15th, 2011
Tim Keller, in this article, makes a case that evangelicalism has historically over-reacted to the hyper-revivalism a la Charles Finney. And so, therefore, Keller proposes that, though we must always be wary of the dangers of hyper-revivalism, there is, in fact, a warranted type of “means-of-revival” that, by God’s grace, is associated with revivals. He lists five of these “means-of-revival”:
1. Extraordinary prayer
2. Recovery of the Grace-Gospel
3. Renewed individuals
4. Use of the Gospel on the heart in counseling
5. Understanding that revivals occur mainly through the ordinary, “Instituted means of grace” – preaching, pastoring, worship, prayer
Click here to read the entire article with the a brief explanation of each point.
[HT: Redeemer City to City]
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by: John Park, January 14th, 2011
A few weeks ago, I came across this blogpost on theResurgence by David Dorr. The main idea of the blogpost is the following:
“Patience is the settled reality that we are not in control.“
Patience is the settled reality that we are not in control… The Spirit has been graciously calling this insight to mind frequently since then, especially in the darkest of moments. Patience is the settled reality that we are not in control.
By God’s grace, I am beginning to see – not clearly enough! - how this Scriptural insight, namely, that we are not in control, is good news. It’s good news precisely because I am, by God’s grace, beginning to see how not in control I am. And it is then that verses like Philippians 1:6 and Psalm 40:11 make sense – but not only make sense, but also begins to stir my affections for Christ.
Patience is the settled reality that we are not in control.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
[HT: theResurgence]
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