Subduing and Humbling the Heart (v.1) “O lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.” In this verse, David makes three claims— each revealing something about the nature of pride. David’s claim that his “heart is not lifted up” reveals that pride is innate; it resides in the heart. David’s claim that his “eyes are not raised too high” reveals that pride usually leads to ambition— craving for acceptance, admiration, and adulation. And David’s claim that he does not concern himself “with things too great and too marvelous” reveals that pride usually leads to presumption— aspiring after “great” things and […]
Monthly Archives: March 2020
11 posts
Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, wrote of his years imprisoned in the horrors of Auschwitz and Dachau, describing cold, fear, pain, vermin, starvation, and exhaustion, but said he survived because he never lost hope. He also wrote of what would happen when a prisoner did lose hope: he would refuse to get out of bed, refuse to dress or wash, turning a deaf ear to his friends’ pleading and his captors’ threatening. He would simply lie in his bed until he died, having surrendered all hope. Hope is absolutely crucial to Christians. When it weakens, the result is always the same: spiritual inertia. It’s imperative, therefore, to remember that we’re on a journey—still a long way from home—and […]
Unless the lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. These are perhaps the two causes of greatest concern in life: provision […]
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The lord is your keeper; the lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. God keeps us in all places, all conditions, and all seasons. As Peter […]
As you may have heard, Amazon has suspended orders of all “non-essential” goods being shipped to its warehouses. As a result, you may have difficulty ordering some of our books from Amazon. Shepherd Press remains open for business during this time, and we are still fulfilling orders. If you can’t find our books elsewhere, you can certainly order directly from us! Use the coupon code SPRING15 to save 15% off of any order through our online store, now through April 30. This coupon code has expired as of April 30, 2020.
Renewing Our Minds In Matthew 6, Jesus prescribes the remedy for anxiety. Having diagnosed the underlying problem of unbelief, Jesus proceeds to write a prescription for the worried mind. He fundamentally seeks to renew the disciples’ minds by grounding them in the truth about God and his relationship to them. We get anxious when we allow our minds to dwell on things that are not God-centered or Christ-exalting. We worry when our minds are divided between faith and unbelief, between today and tomorrow. Moving toward a mind settled upon truth requires two steps. Reassess Your Value System First, Jesus prescribes a reassessment. He asks, “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6: 25). And […]
There is an important distinction we need to make when thinking about worry. Living without worry does not mean being reckless. There are matters that ought to concern us, things that deserve our immediate attention and action. Being carefree is not the same as being careless. We should, therefore, sometimes express intense care and concern for the advancement of the Lord’s work and the welfare of his people. There is such a thing as good worry and appropriate anxiety. We should be concerned about the welfare of our nation, the state of our own souls, the health of the church, the peril of the lost, the future of our children, and the care of our aged parents. The Christian is […]
We are pleased to announce that all four of our new LifeLine Mini-books are now in stock: Help! I’m Addicted Help! My Baby Died Help! My Sibling Has a Disability Help! My Teen is Depressed
We are pleased to announce that Help! I’m Addicted by Jim Berg is now in stock. Everybody knows somebody who is addicted to something. But maybe addiction is more personal for you. Maybe you once had real hopes and dreams, desires and possibilities. But then you became an addict, and what started out as fun or an attempt at relief from pain and shame grew into something bigger. Here Jim Berg shows that no matter how tangled your life has become, God offers you hope and help through his word and his people. Jim Berg, DMin in Biblical Counseling, teaches at BJU Seminary, is certified with the Association of Biblical Counselors (ABC), serves as a council member of the Biblical […]
Genuine love requires speaking words of correction. But I’m afraid that one of the main reasons we’re so apprehensive about offering correction is because we’ve so rarely seen it connected to genuine love. Correction without love is cold, harsh, judgmental, and often cruel. We’ve all experienced this kind of correction before, and it hurts. Correction without love comes from seeing ourselves as somehow different from those we’re correcting. We stand with God in judgment of the pitiful sinner standing in front of us… Our correct place is not next to God looking down in judgment on sinners. We belong standing side by side with our fellow sinners before a perfectly righteous and overwhelmingly gracious God. As we stand side by […]