Folks ask me from time to time why I’m not a fan of Wild At Heart. Here’s excellent post about why I find Eldredge to be problematic.
Just One Grain of Salt…? (via Random, and Proud of It)
25 Monday Apr 2011
Posted in Uncategorized
Author Archives: David L. Gill
A Plea for Men’s Souls
19 Tuesday Apr 2011
From Spurgeon:
Charles H. Spurgeon
When men change [their opinions about the truth] often they generally need to be changed in the most emphatic sense. Our “modern thought” gentry are doing incalculable mischief to the souls of men, and resemble Nero fiddling on top of a tower with Rome burning at his feet.
Souls are being damned, and yet these men are spinning theories. Hell gapes wide, and with her open jaws swallows up myriads, and those who should spread the tidings of salvation are “pursuing fresh lines of thought.” Highly cultured soul-murderers will find their boasted “culture” to be no excuse in the day of judgment.
from Lecture #15.
Let’s pray for those who seem to fall into this category in our day and age. Perhaps God might grant them (and me) repentance. Them, for their fresh lines of thought–and me, for failing to pray for them previously.
Prayer and the Gospel
16 Saturday Apr 2011
Posted in Uncategorized
A Cry for Deliverance
Heavenly Father, save me entirely from sin.
I know I am righteous through the righteousness of another, but I groan and long to properly image You. I am a child and should bear Your image.
Enable me to recognize that I am dead to sin. When it tempts me, may I be deaf toward its voice. Deliver me from both the invasion and the dominion of sin.
Let me walk as Christ walked: to live in newness of His life…the life of love, faith and holiness.
Forgive my rebellion, envy, cruelty and pride. Kill these vices. Have mercy on my unbelief–on my corrupt and wandering heart.
When Your blessings come, I idolize them and set my affection on some beloved object: friends, wealth, family, honor, or money. Cleanse this spiritual adultery and give me a chaste heart: close my heart to all but You.
Sin is my greatest curse. Let Your victory be apparent to me and be displayed in my life. Help me to be devoted, confident, obedient, and childlike in my trust of You.
Let me love You with soul, body, mind and strength. Let me love my neighbor as I love myself. Save me from my unregenerate temper, harsh thoughts toward others, slander, cruelty, and unkind manners. Teach me to master my tongue and keep guard the door of my lips.
Fill me with grace daily, that my life would be a fountain of sweet water. Amen.
The Valley of Vision, ed. by Arthur Bennett. “A Cry for Deliverance,” alt.
I have been thinking a great deal about prayer the last couple of days. Many times when I’m in the midst of being tempted by my own thoughts, for example, I simply hold my breath and wait out whatever sin is crouching at my door.
But that’s not what Scripture says I should do.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
30 Wednesday Mar 2011
Tags
Christians, fellowship, friendship, Gay Christians, homosexuality, Jesus, loneliness, Mark, relationships, repentance, sexuality, theology, witnessing
This article originally appeared here as a guest post for the GrowUp318 blog. Thanks to Heather for the encouragement and the privilege of writing a piece for her blog.
When the word homosexuality is mentioned in a Christian context, most of the responses one receives will be negative. Gays are usually talked about as “those sinners out there.” But not all who are gay are outside of the purview of the Church. (And by gay, I’m talking about all those who experience homosexual temptation, whether or not they routinely give in to those temptations.) This may not be self-evident to all who read this, so it should probably be said: gay people are among us. They serve on our committees, sing in our choirs, give us financial advice, teach our Sunday School classes, and play instruments in our services to lead us in worship.
Some of them are fully convinced that acting on their attractions would be the unforgiveable sin. Others are doing their best to keep their ‘baser desires’ in check so they won’t be invalidated for ministry. Others are off-the-radar simply because they’re between relationships, but would want a relationship with the same sex if the right one presented itself. So what is to be done with such a wide divide? And how should we as Bible-believing Christians respond?
And We’ll Understand It Better By and By
28 Monday Mar 2011
Tags
I was listening to “By and By” by Phil Zito’s band on the way home. (But of course, as the jazz nerd that I am, I was listening to a transfer that I made myself from the original 78 with my Crosley USB turntable.)
Almost the entire time the song was playing in my car, I cried. I’ve been fairly emotional for the past few days. I think it’s due largely to the overwhelming support I’ve had from guys I have class with.
In the course of a conversation I had the other night with two awesome friends, I disclosed that there are things I won’t even post here about myself…things that I suspect that if my closest friends knew, they would disown me…or at least keep their distance. In my mind, if I’m a window that my seminary brothers can look through to help minister to people who wrestle with homosexuality (or even those who fully embrace it), then that’s great.
Maybe even if they know me as someone who is lonely from time to time, then that’s a little more risky…but as long as I spread out my expectations of who I want to hang out with, people won’t tire of me and my seemingly endless loneliness. It might even get to the point where someone might offer me a hug, which of course means a lot, but isn’t something I readily ask for.
But when I stop being a window and start being someone who is real flesh-and-blood who crushes on people, finds them attractive…then what? Will people still love me?
Did God Create Me This Way?
23 Wednesday Mar 2011
6. Q: Did God create people so wicked and perverse?
A: No. God created them good and in His own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that they might truly know God their creator, love Him with all their heart and live with Him in eternal happiness for His praise and glory.
7. Q: Then where does this corrupt human nature come from?
A: From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise. This fall has so poisoned our nature that we are born sinners–corrupt from conception on.
8. Q: But are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined toward all evil?
A: Yes, unless we are born again, by the Spirit of God.
from the Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 3.
Encouragement
18 Friday Mar 2011
Tags
A good brother was giving me some input on a couple of different avenues I can take on my plans for ordination. He’s given me a great deal to think about, and for that, I’m very grateful. I don’t know much in the way of how these things work in the denomination(s) in which I now find myself, so I’m always interested in good advice from more seasoned seminarians.
My next sermon
08 Tuesday Mar 2011
Posted in Personal
My next sermon’s text is Romans 4:1-12. I plan to discuss as my two main points the wages of the law vs. the gift of faith. Now that I have some potential direction, I can start to work on other things. Fortunately, this means I only have to have four illustrations total, instead of the customary five.
Holiness
25 Friday Feb 2011
…the term “holiness” is not exhausted by that of “moral purity.” Granted, the latter is not excluded, but neither is it the only meaning, not even the primary one. … Holy is that which in all things conforms to the special laws God has ordained for it. Holiness is perfection, not only in a moral sense, but in the comprehensive sense in which the unique legislation of Israel conceives it: a religious, ethical, ceremonial, internal, and external sense.
–Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics vol. 2: God and Man, Baker, 2004: pg. 219.
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
–Hebrews 12:14, ESV.
Maybe it’s just me
23 Sunday Jan 2011
Posted in Personal
Tags
A short, late-night musing.
I suppose a person who has as many friends (and even more acquaintances) as I do, this sort of thing is bound to happen. I maybe three or four friends right now who I will text and who won’t text back…or they text me, I ask them a question in return, and they won’t text back.
Or something along these lines.
Gay and Evangelical 
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