Coram Deo: Because Scripture is the living and active Word of God, what we have in the pages of the Bible is the Lord’s voice. In other words, we are at no disadvantage to Abraham, Moses, or the other great figures in biblical history, for we have what they had—God’s speech to His people. Let us not be tempted to think that the believers of ages past had it better than we do, for Scripture clearly reveals to us God’s will and is to be followed just as we follow the Lord Himself.
"By God’s design, the most revolutionary thing we could do in our busy, fast-paced society is take one day every week to rest and worship with our family and friends. However, we are living in a generation that doesn’t rest well because it doesn’t know what it really means to work hard, plan well, and say no to various opportunities and activities." —Burk Parsons from "All Things Well" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine http://bit.ly/1D9FbGx
Coram Deo: Because Scripture is the living and active Word of God, what we have in the pages of the Bible is the Lord’s voice. In other words, we are at no disadvantage to Abraham, Moses, or the other great figures in biblical history, for we have what they had—God’s speech to His people. Let us not be tempted to think that the believers of ages past had it better than we do, for Scripture clearly reveals to us God’s will and is to be followed just as we follow the Lord Himself.
If there is anything that is in eclipse in the church today, it is the knowledge of God the Father. —R.C. Sproul
Coram Deo: The so-called battle for the Bible is not yet over. We continue to see people cast doubt on the veracity of Scripture, often in the name of helping unbelievers come to faith in Christ. But if we win people to a low view of Scripture, we will win them to a low view of the Savior who has inspired Scripture. May we remain firm in our conviction that the Bible is God’s Word, and may we defend it in a way that honors Christ.
"When we turn the Sabbath into a set of rules of what we are allowed and forbidden to do, I fear we miss the whole spirit of the day. The rest to which we are called is less resting from our day-to-day jobs than it is rest from the battle. We are able to rest because we know He has already won." —R.C. Sproul Jr. from "Rest Indeed" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine bit.ly/1Fau6UQ
Coram Deo: Today, there is an assault on the inerrancy of Scripture that tells us the Bible is a mixture of both truth and error. Ultimately, however, this reflects a low view not only of Scripture but also of God. If God is the source of all truth and His Word is truth (John 17:17), to say that He gave us a Bible full of errors is to cast doubt on His character. Inerrancy does not mean the Bible speaks with scientific precision, but it does mean that what it does teach is wholly true.
If ever there were a time there was nothing, there would be nothing now. —R.C. Sproul
"How can we reach 'the spiritually interested'? Expose them to the Bible. You may be surprised how many people are open to simply reading the Bible with you if you ask. So extend the invitation. The power of Scripture can convince your friends in ways you can hardly imagine. You just need to have the courage to take the initiative." —J.D. Greear from the weekend devotional "Three Types of People" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: The book of Proverbs has many sayings that promise great success for those who seek to follow the Lord and live righteously in a manner that pleases Him. In fact, there are so many of these that it can be easy to think that Proverbs’ theology does not deal with the reality of suffering in the lives of godly people. However, Proverbs understands that righteous people do suffer, and in light of the full witness of Scripture, we understand that the Lord’s people can even expect persecution for the sake of the kingdom (Matt. 5:10). This reality should temper any expectation we might have that following Jesus will bring us our best life now.
Coram Deo: In Psalm 8, David asks the Lord why He is so mindful of human beings, creatures who can seem so insignificant in comparison to the grandeur of the rest of creation. We should never fail to marvel that the self-existent and eternal Creator takes interest in us. He does so for the sake of His own name, for He has made us in His image. Bearing this image is a distinct privilege and also a sober responsibility, so let us be thankful that God does pay attention to us and serve Him with gladness.
Coram Deo: Hindsight, as they say, is always twenty-twenty. When we find ourselves in the place where the Lord wants us, we can often look back and see that the circuitous path it took us to get there was actually perfectly straight, that what seemed like twists and turns at the time were necessary steps along the road. When we feel as if we are wandering, we must remember that if we are trusting in God, He is actually guiding us on His straight path.
"Scripture warns us that on this side of glory, there is not a one-to-one correlation between obedience and blessing. Faithful people are often successful, but sometimes they experience great defeat. The faithless often suffer for their wrongdoing, but sometimes they enjoy many outward successes. Nevertheless, success and strong, confident faith are some of the blessings that the Lord gives to those who keep His commandments." —R.C. Sproul from "Doubt and Obedience" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine bit.ly/1ChSNeI
Coram Deo: Calvin also comments, “With God as the defender of their righteousness, [righteous people] yet do not escape from being assailed by the slanders of the ungodly, but it is enough for them that their name is blessed before God, the angels, and the whole assembly of the godly.” Righteous men and women suffer adversity, but through it all they grow content that they will be vindicated by the Lord. Are you encouraged that God will vindicate the justness of your cause?
Christ exposed Himself not only to the unbridled hostility of angry men, but to the unmitigated wrath of God. —R.C. Sproul
Coram Deo: Judas Iscariot walked with the very incarnation of God’s wisdom Himself, and yet he fell into grave sin. This shows that simply hanging around wise people is not enough to benefit from them. Instead, as we seek out wise friends and mentors, we must take care to learn from their wisdom, thinking carefully on what they say and asking many questions. If we do such things, God will enable us to benefit greatly from the wisdom of others.
"If love is what is driving us to speak to others, we will, first of all, be concerned about how we speak. We will seek to watch the words that we use as well as the attitudes, motives, and tones of voices with which we speak them. We will strive not to give offense by the way we speak the truth. This is precisely what Solomon is talkingabout in Proverbs 15:1: 'A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.'" —Guy Richard from the weekend devotional "Speaking the Truth in Love" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Persevering in affection for God’s law is difficult when we suffer for loving His Word, but such perseverance is the only way that we will keep ourselves in His Word and find the blessing of wisdom and guidance. We should be praying regularly for God to increase and sustain our love for His Word, and we should press through in study even when we feel as if our fervor for His revelation has weakened. As we do this, we will be blessed for our commitment.
"God teaches us to prayerfully depend upon Him for all our needs, trusting Him not only when we can see how these things will come to us, but even more when we have to look up with the eyes of faith to behold the glory of the Lord, even in the simplest things of this life—like daily bread." —Eric Watkins from "Our Daily Bread" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine bit.ly/17h0YPU
Coram Deo: We cannot serve the Lord through simple resolve; rather, He must empower us by His Spirit and strengthen our desire to keep His commandments. Reading God’s Word is not enough. We must also ask Him to enable us to obey it.
Coram Deo: Dr. R.C. Sproul has often said that there is no such thing as a “maverick molecule,” and Proverbs 16:33 is one of many passages that show this to be the case. What might look random and unplanned to us does not lie outside of the Lord’s sovereign control. He directs all things, which is greatly comforting. It assures us that He has a plan and purpose for every event, demonstrating that He can indeed work all things together for our good (Rom. 8:28).
Q: How does adoption fit into the church’s mission to work toward eliminating abortion on demand in our culture?
Russell Moore: We should recognize that the abortion culture is not a historical accident. From Eden onward, children have always been targeted for destruction. Both Moses and Jesus emerged in a context of a government-sponsored Planned Parenthood campaign from Pharaoh and Herod.
Read the rest of Dr. Moore's answer and full interview in this month's Tabletalk Magazine bit.ly/1Dq5R7l
Coram Deo: There is a time for every season and purpose under heaven because the Lord determines it. Our lives and our world are not controlled by some impersonal fate but by the gracious God who has a plan that extends even to what we might consider the most insignificant things in the world. He works out all things according to the purpose of His will (Eph. 1:11), and we can rest knowing that nothing takes Him by surprise or throws Him off course.
Coram Deo: It has been noted that you “never see a U-Haul following a hearse.” Moving trucks do not follow people to the grave, for there is nothing that we own in this life that we can take with us when we die. That is why we must hold onto our things loosely. There will come a time when we have to give them up. If we are not in a right relationship with the Lord and do not share His eternal perspective, we will be unprepared to let go when we need to let go.
"It is right to seek security and safety in this life. We should build foundations, walls, and roofs. We should protect ourselves and our families. But Hebrews reminds us that we must have an 'outside the camp' mind-set. We are called to continually remember that Jesus is our life. Whatever our location, Scripture reminds us that this earth is not our home. We await the 'city that is to come,' the new heavens and the new earth." —Owen Strachan from the weekend devotional "Outside the Camp" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Because of the fall into sin, men and women are ever tempted to foolish self-reliance. They are prone to refuse to hear correction from the Lord and from wise people. If we would be wise, we must confess our foolishness to God, turn to Him in the name of Christ, and learn from His Word. We must also learn from those who have been walking with the Lord for a long time. Their example shows us what it means to walk in wisdom.
Coram Deo: The Bible does not frown upon the gathering of wealth, but only improper means of gaining it. In fact, Proverbs 13:11 indicates that the honest gaining of wealth is something to which we should aspire. What Scripture forbids is the love of money and dishonest means of earning it. Let us ask God to help us not fall prey to such love, to unethical ways of earning a living, or to get-rich-quick schemes.
Coram Deo: God’s free pardon in our justification is a great blessing indeed, but it is only one part of what happens. We are also declared righteous in Christ and admitted to the full rights and privileges afforded to Him for His faithfulness. It is a good thing to be forgiven of sin, but our faith is enriched when we realize that God has not only taken our sin from us but has given us the righteousness of Christ. That is our secure anchor in the storm.
"New technologies are revolutionizing the lives of previously isolated people groups, and smartphones are becoming commonplace even in many remote villages. Ministries such as Third Millennium and Ligonier are bringing quality biblical content to pastors who have little education or pastoral training, as teaching materials are made inexpensively accessible through translation and electronic media." —Samuel Larsen from "Boots on the Ground" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine bit.ly/1zEcOeN
Coram Deo: The Lord does not overlook what His people do to help others. When we work to help the poor acquire basic necessities and even to prepare and train them to eventually escape material poverty, we are doing what God finds pleasing. Caring appropriately for the poor takes wisdom. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, for there are many reasons why people might be impoverished. Let us seek to aid the poor wisely, both in their material and spiritual poverty.
The worst sin against stewardship is to waste your life. —R.C. Sproul
Coram Deo: Jesus Christ exemplifies what it means to trust wholly and completely in God. Our Savior did not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from our Creator (Matt. 4:1–4). He never failed to serve His Father, and He entrusted Himself wholly to the hands of God, even when it meant enduring the cross for the sake of His people. If we want to know what wholeheartedly trusting the Lord looks like, we need only to look at Jesus. May we follow suit and trust Him with our all.
Q: What are two ways that Christians can be effective witnesses in a society increasingly hostile to the Christian faith?
Russell Moore: We should embrace the strangeness. Every time Jesus or His Apostles articulated the gospel, the response was the same: people assumed they were insane. In fact, when people didn’t see how crazy the gospel sounded, Jesus would often clarify until they did. When people see Christianity as strange, they are starting to actually hear it.
Read the rest of Dr. Moore's answer and full interview in this month's Tabletalk Magazine bit.ly/1Dq5R7l
"There is a purpose at work in dark places. The sovereign Lord of heaven and earth is fulfilling His promise of salvation to us in the night as well as the day. Interpreting providence is difficult; sometimes confusing. We may not be able to put all the pieces together, but that isn’t the point. The point is to believe that God knows what He is doing." —Derek Thomas from the weekend devotional "Tunnel Vision" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine
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