Issue Number Twenty-Five
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Last month we announced that Don would speak on FamilyLife Today radio on August 29-30. That has been rescheduled for January 16-17. We'll send another reminder about that closer to the broadcast date. |
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Labor Day (September 5) Recognize the Spirituality of Work Patriot Day (September 11) Think Much About Heaven Reformation Day (October 31) Take up Your Cross Daily and Follow Jesus |
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by Don Whitney |
Do You Thirst for God? from Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health Silence and Solitude from Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life Why Join a Church? from Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church A Spiritual Mind  Setfrom How Can I Be Sure I'm A Christian? Rest for Your Souls from Vanity & Meaning |
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Think Much About HeavenThe most heavenly-minded man who ever lived—Jesus and other biblical characters excepted—may have been Richard Baxter. He was a remarkable Puritan pastor/writer who lived for seventy-six years (1615-1691), despite suffering with one physical malady or another almost constantly. During the winter of 1646, ill health forced him to spend several lonely months in a house far from his home and family. His condition was so grave that he was "sentenced to death by the physicians."1 With his life ebbing away, Baxter began thinking much about Heaven. As he put it, "I began to contemplate more seriously on the everlasting rest which I apprehended myself to be just on the borders of." 2 As he was able, and so "that [his] thoughts might not too much scatter in [his] meditation,"3 he wrote down his reflections that he might review and be comforted by them. These were the beginnings of perhaps the most important of his 140 books, The Saints' Everlasting Rest, published four years later. For Which Heaven and Jesus Do You Yearn?So the question is not merely, "Do you yearn for Heaven and to be with Jesus?", but also "For which Heaven and Jesus do you yearn?" Growing Christians increasingly long for a holy Heaven, not just a restful one. They look forward to holy relationships, not just nostalgic ones. They sigh to see a holy Jesus. They feel less and less at home in a sinful world because they are growing more and more homesick for a holy place, a holy people, and a God who is "holy, holy, holy" (Revelation 4:8). They ache to share in this holiness more than Heaven's rest, relief, or reunions. Jonathan Edwards put it this way: "But neither a . . . longing to be in Heaven, nor longing to die, are in any measure so distinguishing marks of true saints, as longing after a more holy heart." [Taken from page 125 of Don's book, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health. Find out more about this book here.]  Or order by phone: 800-405-3788 Vanity and MeaningDiscovering Purpose in LifeR. C. Sproul Jr. (Editor) 
"Finding significance in the midst of meaninglessness—vanity—is the theme of Ecclesiastes and is today's ongoing dilemma. The writers of these articles on Solomon's insights write on those in quest of a life that is 'good.'" From the cover of "Vanity and Meaning". Click here to read Don's chapter from this book. Or order by phone: 800-405-3788 | ||
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zine? Try simply forwarding it. However, if when you hit the
"forward" button you see only text at the bottom of your screen you need
to simply copy this address and send it to them instead:
http://www.BiblicalSpirituality.org/newsltr.html