James K.A. Smith, On the Road With Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2019), 240 pp.
The postmodern “prophet” and rock star, Bono Vox laments, “I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls, these city walls, only to be with you. But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” U2 isn’t the only one tapped into the inner drive and existential angst of the ages. Augustine had them beat by 1,600 years! “Oh Lord, you have created us for yourself but our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” It appears that Bono and Augustine have something in common!
James K.A. Smith is on a similar quest and is eager to share the fruit of his efforts in his most recent book, On the Road With Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts. Smith’s work is an invitation to meet Augustine on the path that will lead to the culmination of his hopes, dreams, and desires.
Readers are in for a treat, especially the ones who have caricatured Augustine as a stuffy academician who puffs on a pipe, panders to the educated elite, and pontificates with an accent. Smith notes, “The Christian gospel, for Augustine, wasn’t just the answer to an intellectual question (though it was that); it was more like a shelter in a storm, a port for a wayward soul, nourishment for a prodigal who was famished, whose own heart had become, he said, ‘a famished land.’” As such, the “famished land” of many professing Christians will be laid bare. The fertile soil of Augustine will help nurture, strengthen, and revitalize travelers who dare to follow his lead.
The most endearing feature of Smith’s work is the emphasis on what he refers to as a “refugee spirituality.” Such an approach is desperately needed in our day, especially when most people seem content in the here and now and are satisfied with temporal trinkets: “Imagine a refugee spirituality,” writes Smith, “an understanding of human longing and estrangement that not only honors those experiences of not-at-homeness but also affirms the hope of finding a home, finding oneself … it’s about knowing how to make the journey, how to adopt the posture of the refugee who travels light.” Tragically, many American Christians are so burdened with temporal trinkets, they cannot even envision Augustine’s prescribed pursuit.
Smith traces the Augustinian path and focuses on several fascinating subjects that every pilgrim must wrestle with: freedom, ambition, sex, and death to name a few. On the Road With Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts is a treasure map of sorts. Readers will see a totally new side of the Bishop of Hippo. Thoughtful readers will be prodded and poked. But they will also be encouraged and edified. They will be forced into a corner and challenged to weigh these heavenly realities and ultimately find their rest in God and the gospel of His Son.
Owen Strachan & Gavin Peacock, What Does the Bible Teach About Homosexuality? (Geanies House, Fear, Ross-shire: Christian Focus Publication, 2020), 149 pp.
Scripture warns, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions …” (2 Timothy 4:3, ESV). That time has arrived as few are willing to tolerate truth. Clear views and instruction on homosexuality, as a result, are rare these days. One shining exception to this rule is Owen Strachan and Gavin Peacock. Both writers have earned a reputation for being bold teachers of God’s authoritative Word. In fact, the authors alert their readers in advance to their book “is grounded in the total inspiration, inerrancy, authority, sufficiency, and clarity of the Bible.”
Book 2 in their new trilogy, What Does the Bible Teach About Homosexuality?, is a powder keg of biblical truth, and is filled with bold challenges and strong biblical teaching.
Chapter one surveys the biblical teaching concerning homosexuality. Readers are introduced to the importance of the imago Dei, setting the stage for the crucial instruction concerning complementary unity, complementary polarity in biblical sexuality, and complementary reciprocity. In the end, it is clear what the Scripture teaches about homosexuality: “There is no part of homosexuality that we can distinguish as good.” As difficult as this reality may be, the authors are quick to point readers to the biblical testimony concerning this subject.
Chapter two focuses on the transforming power of the gospel. In this chapter, we not only encounter the heart and soul of the book, but we are also introduced to the driving force and purpose of the authors. It is the gospel that fuels their passion, love for truth, and concern for people who are trapped by homosexual sin:
“We conclude that it is pastorally loving and faithful to sound God’s warnings in the right way. We need to let God’s Word rewire our minds, actions, and emotions. The purpose is to save people and bring glory to God and show people that as they live the way God created them to be they will be satisfied. This is our intention in this book.”
Chapter three zeroes in on the battle against sexual sin. Clear, practical, and biblical principles are presented for anyone who is struggling with sexual sin. Ultimately, Christ and his gospel is at the center of this fight, one that is explained admirably by the authors. Their straightforward and gracious work will be a great encouragement to anyone who is ready and willing to receive the truth of God’s Word.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.
Peter Jones has been writing about paganism for many years now. While many are put off by the term “pagan,” Jones is simply offering the critical components of a worldview which is growing with a vengeance. The troubling news is that many Christ-followers are either unaware of the tentacles of paganism or could care less.
The Pagan Heart of Today’s Culture offers a clear look at paganism through the lens of three isms, postmodernism, Gnosticism, and polytheism. Jones unpacks each worldview in a clear way and alerts readers to the deadly toxins that affect countless numbers of people.
Ultimately, Jones defines paganism as “direct mysterious-mystical access to ‘the Spirit.'” The author demonstrates how the three worldviews described above intertwine and result in the strange but deadly brew we know as paganism. He cites Romans 1:25 where Paul the apostle boils down two distinct approaches to spirituality:
The worship and service of nature-creation – “Oneism.”
The worship and service of the Creator – “Twoism.”
The first approach to spirituality results in the wrath of God for failing to honor God as we ought. The second approach to spirituality is the path commended by Scripture.
Jones warns readers, “Any system of thought that attempts to describe the world exclusively by the world is in principle Oneist.” Whenever the creature and the Creator are blended into some kind of synthesis, the spiritual results are not only devastating – the results are damning.
The author shoots a metaphorical flare in the hopes that Christ-followers will be alert and respond appropriately to the danger of paganism. In so doing, he argues that Christians will need to do at least two things:
They must have a clear understanding of the coherence of Oneism.
They must affirm the glorious superiority of Twoism and fearlessly declare the gospel of reconciliation with the personal Creator, possible only through the atoning blood of Jesus the sole mediator between Creator and creature.
As usual Peter Jones does not disappoint. His passion to equip believers is evident through the book. I commend The Pagan Heart of Today’s Culture to Bible-believing Christians. My prayer is that thousands will read and digest this excellent material with thoughtfulness and humility.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.
In the nineteenth century, the British politician, William Wilberforce began a movement that led to the abolition of the slave trade. His robust Christian faith fueled his resolve to see tyranny destroyed and people created in the imago Dei set free. Today, there are 27 million slaves in the world. 1.2 million are children, enslaved by the sex trade industry in India. These horrifying realities are a painful reminder of the sin that pollutes our world; they harken back to the days of Wilberforce. Yet today, very few appear willing to pick up the cause that Wilberforce began.
First time author, Corban Addison delivers a heart-wrenching, mind-rivetting, spine-tingling thriller that exposes the human trafficking/sex trade industry in his novel, A Walk Across the Sun. Readers should be forewarned that this novel is not for the faint at heart. The author paints a grizzly portrait of the underworld; a world that exploits women and children and panders to the diabolical deeds of men.
I can’t say enough about Corban Addison. He writes with Grisham-like precision which ultimately leads to a redemptive end. He gives enough details to educate readers to this horrifying industry which carries the ultimate aim of involvement, reformation, and the obliteration of slavery around the world. The book is a mixture of unmitigated evil and unvarnished beauty.
Many thanks to my friends, Ron and Mark for alerting me to this book. I’ll never doubt you again!
I affirm the sovereignty of God in salvation and embrace a Calvinistic worldview where the glory and supremacy of God are the end of all things. Seven fundamental realities compel me to embrace Calvinism, what C.H. Spurgeon referred to as a “nickname for biblical Christianity.”1
Calvinism is rooted in Scripture. The sovereignty of God over all things, including the salvation of his elect is a pervasive theme in the Bible (Jonah 2:9; Isa. 46:9-10; Eph. 1:11).
Calvinism upholds the dignity of mankind and his total inability in proper tension (Gen. 1:27; 6:5; Ps. 8:5).
Calvinism upholds the sovereignty of God in all things (Ps. 115:3; Dan. 4:34-35).
Calvinism upholds the responsibility of mankind and God’s sovereign control over all things.
Calvinism upholds the joy of the Creator and the joy of the creature. This God-centered joy is captured in the popular acrostic, TULIP:
Total depravity is not just badness, but blindness to beauty and deadness to joy.
Unconditional election is how God planned, before we existed, to complete our joy in Christ.
Limited atonement is the assurance that indestructible joy in God in infallibly secured for us by the blood of Jesus.
Irresistible grace is the sovereign commitment of God to make sure we hold on to superior delights instead of the false pleasures that will ultimately destroy us.
Perseverance of the saints is the almighty work of God, to keep us through all affliction and suffering, for an inheritance of pleasures at God’s right hand forever.2
Calvinism underscores the five solas of the Reformation:
I believe that sinners are saved by God’s grace alonebecause apart from his grace we do not have the ability nor the desire to please him or earn his favor – Grace Alone (Eph. 2:1-5).
I believe that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone apart from any human merit, works or ritual. Genuine faith produces Christ-glorifying fruit in the people of God for the glory of God – Faith Alone (Eph. 2:8-10).
I believe that we are saved by Christ alone, who is fully God and fully man. Christ was our substitute who died for our sins on the cross and was raised from the dead on the third day – Christ Alone (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
I believe the Bible is God’s absolute truth for all people, for all times; it is our final authority for discerning truth – Scripture Alone (2 Tim. 3:16).
I believe in the triune God who exists in three distinct Persons (Father, Son, and Spirit) who created, sustains and sovereignly rules over all things, and to whom belongs all the glory forever and ever – To the Glory of God Alone (Rom. 11:36).
7. Calvinism is God-centered. “A Calvinist is someone who has seen God in His majestic glory and has been overwhelmed.”3
The world may mock and the world may scorn. But the truth holds fast: I am a Calvinist.
I deny the notion of hyper-Calvinism which minimizes human responsibility, promotes passivity, and fails to proclaim the gospel to all peoples. ↩
John Piper, Cited in Tony Reinke, The Joy Project: The True Story of Inescapable Happiness (Minneapolis: Desiring God Ministries, 2015), 6. ↩
Ian Hamilton, What is Experiential Calvinsim (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2015), Loc. 202. ↩
Mary Beth Brown honors the life and legacy of the fortieth president in her book, The Faith of Ronald Reagan.
The Faith of Ronald Reagan uncovers what most books on the former President miss – a deep trust and reliance on the sovereign God of the universe.
The author explores the faith of Reagan’s mother and the spiritual influence she had on her son. As such, she tracks the spiritual pilgrimage of former president and notes special moments that contributed to Reagan’s walk with God.
Mary Beth Brown does an excellent job highlighting President Reagan’s Christian faith and especially marks his deep trust in Christ and his reliance on the Providence of God. She notes, “Reagan was the great communicator as we all know, but the key to his political success was his unparalleled ability to speak the language of faith and values. This ability was a result of his strong faith and close relationship with God.”
Additionally, the author stresses Reagan’s love of personal dignity and freedom – freedom that grows weaker as segments of America embrace liberalism. Brown adds, “Reagan firmly believed that if we couldn’t convince the nation of the immortality of abortion, that we were in for a dire future.”
President Reagan modeled humble leadership. The sign on his desk in the Oval Office read, “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”
I will never forgot the day I heard of President Reagan’s death. My wife asked, “Are you crying?” I tried to hold it back, but the tears were welling up in my eyes. America lost a great patriot on June 5, 2004.
Ronald Wilson Reagan will consistently be remembered by American’s as the greatest presidents of the twentieth century and one of the most influential presidents in American history. Indeed, he stands alongside the likes of George Washington, John Adams, and Abraham Lincoln. He taught us that freedom matters. He taught us that freedom is not free. He modeled good leadership. And President Reagan demonstrated the importance of living out the Christian worldview. We are the beneficiaries of his legacy.
Michael Foster & Dominic Bonn Tennant, It’s Good to Be a Man (Moscow: Canon Press, 2022), 227 pp.
Books about masculinity are a dime a dozen. A few books that address the topic of masculinity break this pitiful mold. These books direct men to the Bible as our highest authority. These books challenge men to be men of the Book. They challenge men to see their unique role in the framework of the Christian worldview; one that follows the trajectory of redemptive history. The most recent book that breaks the mold and stands out in a decisive way is It’s Good To Be a Man by Michael Foster and Dominic Bnonn Tennant.
The goal of the authors is “to help modern Christian men understand what God made them for, and how to start doing it intentionally.” Foster and Tennant state their goal upfront and don’t waste any time in achieving it. The book begins on what some would consider being controversial as the topic of patriarchy is discussed. Readers committed to the authority of God’s Word know better, though.
“Patriarchy is inevitable,” writes Foster and Tennant. “God has built it into the fabric of the cosmos. It is part of the divine created order … Redemptive history is therefore patriarchal history.” Critics who charge the authors with male chauvinism should tread carefully since the case for biblical patriarchy is carefully developed:
Men were made to rule. They always have and always will. Nothing can change that. Nothing will. It is not a question of whether men will be pulling, but which ones and how.
The reason patriarchy is so controversial is that sin has distorted it and twisted it. We even find patriarchy distorted in the church, a sin that will pay a high price in the final analysis. Foster and Tennant explain, “Although our culture treats all patriarchy as evil, God’s father-rule is good. Evil patriarchy is that which does not reflect God’s loving authority.” The heartbeat of the authors, then, is to expose evil patriarchy and extinguish it wherever they can. But positively, they aim to explore the beauty and richness of patriarchy and how it fits into God’s redemptive program. The remainder of the book reveals the purpose of God in creating men and practical steps to fall in step with his revealed will.
God’s purpose in creating man is “for productive, representative rulership. This is what it means to exercise dominion: to fruitfully order the world in God’s stead.” This purpose sounds strange and even offensive to the unregenerate mind, yet God’s purpose stands. Tragically, God’s purpose is being modified and marginalized by people who are professing Christians.
After carefully dismantling the arguments of anyone who militates against God’s purpose in creating men, the authors provide practical steps for fulfilling God’s revealed will. The argument is as follows:
A mission is your best effort at wisely integrating your interests, skills, and circumstances into a personal vision for exercising dominion over what God has given you.
Practical help is offered so men can move forward in achieving their mission, which propels them forward in carrying out God’s purpose in creation. It’s Good To Be a Man is not for the faint at heart. It will provoke. It may even offend at times. But in the end, it will lead men on a path that glorifies the Creator of the cosmos.
I’ll never forget when my Uncle Dwight challenged me to read The Christian Mind by Harry Blamires. He said, “If you’re a real man, you’ll read this book.” I offer the same challenge to readers of my blog: “If you are a real man, you’ll devour It’s Good To Be a Man!”
Now is the time for Christian men to step up and obey God (1 Cor. 16:13-14). Now is the time for mature manhood (Eph. 4:13). It’s time to love our wives as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25-33) and bring our children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). Kill sin by the power of the Spirit (Rom. 8:13). Walk according to the Spirit (Gal. 5:16). Pursue holiness (Heb. 12:14). Work with our hearts as unto the Lord (Col. 3:23-24; 1 Cor. 10:31). It’s good to be a man!
Jonathan Edwards reminds readers that there are on a journey towards heaven. The title of the message is The Christian Pilgrim.
Section 1 – A Pilgrimage to Heaven
“We ought above all things to desire a heavenly happiness; to be with God; and dwell with Jesus Christ,” argues the Puritan divine. This is a journey to heaven, which is the way of holiness. Such a journey requires travelers to set aside anything that hinders progress to our heavenly home (Heb. 12:1). Edwards continues,
We should travel on in the way of obedience to all God’s commands, even the difficult as well as the easy; denying all our sinful inclinations and interests. The way to heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel up hill, though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh. We should follow Christ; the path he travelled, was the right way to heaven … The way to heaven is a heavenly life; an imitation of those who are in heaven, in their holy enjoyments, loving, adoring, serving, and praising God and the Lamb. Even if we could go to heaven with the gratification of our lusts, we should prefer a way of holiness and conformity to the spiritual self-denying rules of the gospel.
The highway to heaven is a difficult journey; one that will be met with hardship along the way. However difficult the journey may be, travelers must be constantly growing in holiness: “We should be endeavoring to come nearer to heaven, in being more heavenly; becoming more and more like the inhabitants of heaven … We ought to be hungering and thirsting after righteousness; after an increase in righteousness” (1 Pet. 2:2).
Section 2 – Why the Christian’s Life is a Pilgrimage
Edwards marks out four specific reasons that our life on this earth is a mere pilgrimage.
This world is not our abiding place.
The future world was designed to be our settled and everlasting abode.
Heaven is that place alone where our highest end, and highest good, is to be obtained.
Our present state, and all that belongs to it, is designed by him that made all things, to be wholly in order to another world.
Section 3 – Instruction Afforded by the Consideration that Life is a Pilgrimage to Heaven
Edwards infuses his readers with heavenly perspective in section three. He is quick to remind them of the heavenly lot of Christ-followers: “If they lived a holy life, then their lives were a journey towards heaven. And why should we be immoderate in mourning, when they are got to their journey’s end? Death, though it appears to us with a frightful aspect, is to them a great blessing. Their end is happy, and better than their beginning.”
Section 4 – An Exhortation in the Journey to Heaven
Edwards concludes by encouraging his readers to think much about heaven: “Labour to obtain such a disposition of mind that you may choose heaven for your inheritance and home; and may earnestly long for it, and be willing to change this world, and all its enjoyments, for heaven.”
The 77’s first album was originally released in 1983. So why review an album that is almost thirty years old? For starters, Michael Roe decided to make the album available on iTunes a few weeks ago. So anyone that has an old crusty cassette and nothing to play it on should be very excited. Also, the iTunes release gives many listeners a chance to hear these unbelievable notes for the first time.
Ping Pong Over the Abyss engages with worldview themes in a way that is uncommon in Christian circles. If King Solomon wrote lyrics to a rock album, this is what it would be like. The album tackles several worldviews in a very straightforward way. A Different Kind of Light questions the notion of finding “truth within.”
They talk about a light inside you
I hope I never get that blind
I don’t want to take my chances
On joining the collective unconscious
I’m waiting for the clouds to break
I’m looking for the road to take
Don’t want the usual merchandise
Recycled in a new disguise
I’m following a different Light
A different kind of light
A different kind of light
It’s So Sad lays bare the worldly philosophy of hedonism and refuses to embrace the lies of Hinduism:
Trying to buy heaven
Right here on earth
The cost will always end up
More than it’s worth
You ponder living
You wonder why
No matter what you do
You’re still going to die
Falling Down a Hole wrestles with a host of worldviews including Buddhism, Islam, Spiritualism, Fatalism, Humanism, Evolution, and Witchcraft:
Humanism
Is a tired old line
The logos is sleeping
Just give it some time
Evolution is preaching
“From monkey to divine”
Renaissance Man is a frontal assault on atheistic evolution and is a powerful musical apologetic:
It’s from “star stuff” that he’s made
It’s the cosmos that gave him life
How does that help him feed the poor
How does that help him love his wife
A renaissance man
Tearing himself from The Rock
A renaissance man
Tearing himself from The Rock
He’s cast away all thoughts of heaven
His science is full of preconceptions
His answers make me ask more questions
How many can wait on evolution
He needs to live
On the sides of the north
In the city of Reformation
That’s where he’ll find his life
This album is definitely not a typical Christian rock album. The themes are sobering and tap into the meaningless of man apart from Christ. A severe blow is delivered to nihilism, humanism, and hedonism. Something tells me these guys were reading Francis Schaeffer in the late 70’s!
If you like your music raw and realistic and don’t mind a trip back to the 80’s, Ping Pong Over the Abyss is for you.
God is eternally happy. Over the past few days, we have been learning about the reality of God’s happinessand the reasons for God’s happiness. We conclude this brief study by focusing on our response to this happy God.
The Response to our Happy God
I’m convinced that one of the biggest reasons that many followers of Christ are unhappy is that they fail to realize and embrace the biblical reality of God’s eternal happiness. Notice, then, four key responses to our happy God.
We model after God by striving for happiness
George Müller was a happy and contented Christian man. He impacted the city of London in unprecedented ways. He said:
Above all things see to it that your souls are happy in the Lord … It is of supreme and paramount importance that you should seek above all things to have your souls truly happy in God Himself.1
There is no need, therefore, to choose between happiness and holiness. We need to forever ditch this notion that has been popularized in the church and Christian circles. “If you keep my commandments, says Jesus, “you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:10-11, ESV).
When you live a holy life, you will experience firsthand what it means to be a happy person when you find your happiness in Christ (Ps. 37:4). John Piper adds, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” If we are called by God to reflect his glory, then it follows that we should be the happiest people on the planet. When we fail to be happy Christians, we misrepresent the God who is infinitely happy!
We have the privilege of joining in the same happiness that God enjoys
Moses asks God an important question that helps us understand the inner-workings of God: Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” (Exodus 33:18–19, ESV).
Daniel Fuller adds, “God’s glory consists in his goodness, that is, that he alone is both able and disposed to bring people made in his image, into the ultimate happiness of sharing with in his delight in his glory.”2
We find happiness by delighting in God and the gospel of his Son
When we consider what God has delivered us from, the sin that Christ has saved us from and the inheritance that is our in Christ, we will overflow with gratitude and happiness. “Our eternal joy will flourish,” writes Tony Reinke, “when we are the objects of God’s sovereign grace.”3
Randy Alcorn beautifully describes this blessing in his book, Happiness”4
Happy are those who believe in Jesus.
Happy are those facing trials for Jesus’ sake.
Happy are those who see and hear Jesus for who he is.
Happy are those who serve God faithfully.
Happy are those who trust God’s promises.
Happy are those who obey God’s Word.
Happy are those who help and serve others.
Happy are those who have been forgiven by the Lord.
Happy are those who see unhappiness as a warning sign.
Happy are those who are prepared for Christ’s return.
Happy are those who will spend eternity with God.
Happy are those who are also holy.
Conclusion
To the extent that we fail to find our happiness in God, we fail to glorify him. “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things …” (Deut. 28:47, ESV). Indeed, the joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10).
The Scriptures are packed with commands to rest in and find our joy in our sovereign LORD:
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!” (I Chron. 16:31).
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (Ps. 32:11).
Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise benefits the upright (Ps. 33:1).
Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult! (Ps. 64:10).
Oh, come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! (Ps. 95:1).
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (Rom. 5:2).
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To writes the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you (Phil. 3:1).
Happy are those who believe the gospel. Spurgeon reminds us of this great reality:
The Gospel is like wine which makes us glad. Let a man turly know the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and he will be a happy man! And the deeper he drinks into the spirit of Christ, the more happy will he become! … He made the world, studied the happiness of His creatures. You cannot help thinking, as you see everything around you, that God has diligently, with the most strict attention, sought ways of pleasing man. He has not just given us our absolute necessities, He has given us more – the flowers … the stars … the hill and the valley – all these things were intended not merely because we needed them, but because God would show us how He loved us and how anxious He was that we should be happy! Now, it is not likely that the God who made a happy world would send a miserable salvation! He who is a happy Creator will be a happy Redeemer.5
Where do we receive our joy? From our God who is a happy Sovereign. Where do we rest and find refuge? From our God who is a happy Sovereign. Where do we turn to for the most satisfying relationship, one that can never be severed? From our God who is a happy Sovereign. Where do we turn to for freedom and forgiveness from all our sins? From our God who is a happy Sovereign.
““Everything hangs on the unbounded joy in the triune God from all eternity. This is the source of God’s absolute self-sufficiency as a happy Sovereign. And every true act of free grace in redemptive history depends on it.”6 May we cling to and trust in our God who is eternally happy.
George Müller, cited in Randy Alcorn, Happiness, 225. ↩
Veritas et Lux 