Motivation for obedience….

What should be the motivation of Christian obedience? Please listen to this: Q & A with Tim Keller, 4 | Desiring God 

"In the long run, beauty is your motivation. But in the short run, do it because it’s your duty to do the right thing." Tim Keller

Psalm 119:57, "The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words."

Prayer of Thirst

One of my favorite passages is Psalm 42, 43. Please enjoy Tim Keller's sermon Prayer of Thirst . 

"This is a prayer for the depressed, who’s tears have been her food day and night, who feels like God has forgotten her, who keeps asking herself, “why, my soul, are you downcast?” But in the transparency about his spiritually numb state, the psalmist thirsts for God as a dear pants for water. As we wrestle with faith in the disturbingly dark moments of our soul, this psalm calls us to put our hope in God, to praise him because he is our Savior, who thirsted for us on the cross that we might find ourselves satisfied in him, who’s love directs us to the spring of living water welling up to eternal life."

Psalm 42:5, "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." 

Endurance……...

Here's a good sermon on pastoral endurance. “Endurance Needed: Strength for a Slow Reformation and the Dangerous Allure of Speed” — Mark Dever (T4G 2016) on Vimeo

“But if you define success in terms of faithfulness, then you are in a position to persevere, because you are released from the demand of immediately observable results, freeing you for faithfulness to the Gospel’s message and methods, leaving numbers to the Lord.” Mark Dever

2 Timothy 2:12 "If we endure, we shall also reign with him…."

Liberal Intolerance

Here's a thoughtful article. A Confession of Liberal Intolerance - The New York Times

And here's a quote: It’s important to have a frank discussion on campuses about ideological diversity. To me, this seems a liberal blind spot.

More: Liberal Nicholas Kristof Admits There is Conservative Discrimination on College Campuses | LawNewz

Real Time with Bill Maher: Ben Affleck, Sam Harris and Bill Maher Debate Radical Islam (HBO) - YouTube

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Listen to Steven J. Lawson's lecture on Martyn Lloyd Jones. And here are most of Loyd-Jones' Sermons.

“Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his greatest and highest when upon his knees he comes face to face with God.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Ephesians 1:16-17, "I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him...."

Amazon.com: D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Books

Couples that pray together….

The Data Don’t Lie: Couples That Pray Together Actually Do Stay Toge... | Christianity Today 

Here's a key quote. "The best religious predictor of being happy in a relationship is praying together as a couple. Taking your faith directly into the domestic sphere seems to reap real benefits for black and Latino couples. And evidence says that’s true for basically everyone in the United States."

Matthew 18:19-20, "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."