Each month ChristianAudio.com offers a free audiobook download. This month’s free selection is Donald Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (run time 9 hours; normally $14.98). I have read a number of Whitney’s materials and found them helpful and clear. Use the coupon code MAR2009 to download the book for free this month only.

Here is a description from the site:

It’s not uncommon for an accomplished musician to be able to sit down in front of a new piece of music and play it through without a hitch. To make it seem easy, as if it required no effort. Yet the “freedom” to play with such skill comes only after years of disciplined practice.

In the same way, the freedom to grow in godliness—to naturally express Christ’s character through your own personality—is in large part dependent on a deliberate cultivation of the spiritual disciplines.

Far from being legalistic, restrictive, or binding, as they are often perceived, the spiritual disciplines are actually the means to unparalleled spiritual liberty … Whitney takes you through a carefully selected array of disciplines that includes Scripture reading, prayer, worship, Scripture meditation, evangelism, serving, stewardship, Scripture application, fasting, silence and solitude, journaling, and learning.

You can listen to a free audio sample from Spiritual Disciplines here.

Lenten Series:
    1. What is Lent?
    2. Should Christians Celebrate Lent?
    3. Should I Give Something Up for Lent?
    4. What is Ash Wednesday?
    5. What is Maundy Thursday?
    6. What is Good Friday?
    7. What is Easter?

Many people observe the tradition of “giving up something” for Lent. Is this something that we should practice as Christians, and if so how should we go about it? I must confess that this is not something that we practice in our own home. However, I believe it can be a good thing when done with the proper attitude and a right understanding of the Scriptures.

What is the right attitude in giving up something for Lent? First of all, we should do so in a spirit of love and humility before Christ. It is not a religious requirement, but rather, like fasting, it is something that we do voluntarily in response to God. Also, we should not think that this is a way to gain acceptance before God. Scripture is clear that we are accepted before God by faith in Jesus Christ alone, without any added works of our own. (Romans 4:5)

So what should you give up for Lent? It has been said that the only thing some people give up for Lent are their New Year’s resolutions! If you do decide to give something up for Lent, here are a few guidelines.

1. Don’t make it something light or frivolous, something you would never miss anyway. It is an offering to the Lord, and you should consider it sacred. It is a recognition of the price Jesus paid for you. Don’t make a mockery of it. On the other hand:
2. Don’t make it something so heavy or burdensome that you cannot follow through on it (food, water, air, etc.). The Bible encourages us to consider our vows carefully before making them. It is better not to vow at all than to make a vow and break it. (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5) Some of us would do better to apportion our sacrifice throughout the Lenten period rather than try to make it through the whole season. You might find some personal fast days between you and the Lord scattered throughout the Lenten season to be very meaningful in your spiritual life.
3. Don’t give up something sinful for Lent. It’s not that you shouldn’t give up sin, but repentance is not seasonal. Sin must be rejected daily, all the time, not just given up for a season. Lenten offerings, like fasting, should be the temporary yielding of something good out of love for God.
4. Don’t give up something thinking that somehow God will view you as more righteous or acceptable in his sight because of your sacrifice. If you are a believer, you can never be more accepted by God than you already are in Jesus Christ. Always remember, it is Christ’s sacrifice that makes you righteous in God’s eyes, not yours. “To obey is better than sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 15:22) God wants your heartfelt obedience far more than any sacrifice you may make for him. (Mark 12:32-33)

In the long run, perhaps we should think more along the lines of giving things up for the Lord rather than for Lent. What do you think?

Related post: Giving Up Church for Lent

Stuart Briscoe shares the following wonderful story Captain H. S. May shared with him when Briscoe was preparing to join the Navy at age seventeen.

“The first night in the barrack room I knelt by my bed and prayed.”

“What happened?” I ventured.

“They threw boots at me,” he replied casually, as if this were an everyday occurrence.

“What did you do?” I queried, hardly daring to ask.

Looking at me as if the answer was so obvious he was surprised I should ask, he replied, “I cleaned them and returned them, of course!”

This past weekend was the 2008 Desiring God National Conference. The theme of the conference was on the power of words. Speakers included John Piper, Sinclair Ferguson, Bob Kauflin, Mark Driscoll, Dan Taylor and Paul Tripp. You can find links to the messages in written, audio or video form here: 2008 Desiring God National Conference

Related post: 2008 Desiring God Pastors Conference

We need to encourage one another daily in this battle against sin. The book of Hebrews tells us:

“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:12-13)

Did you get that? Sin is deceitful. Sin never comes right out and advertises itself or its consequences. Sin sneaks into our lives unawares and takes us down slowly one heart decision at a time. But the cumulative effect of all those decisions can be deadly. It is like hardening of the arteries. It doesn’t happen all at once; it takes place over a period of time and often in places unseen. But the damage is building, the danger is real, and all of a sudden you find your heart hardened towards God.

How do you guard against this gradual hardening of your heart? By the daily encouragement of your brothers and sisters in Christ. “Encourage one another daily … so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:13)

(From this past Sunday’s message: Called to Community)

Michael Hyatt (President and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers) shares his thoughts on modesty following the 2008 MTV VMA awards.

It got me to thinking, Where are these girls’ fathers? Has anyone ever taught them the concept of modesty? Or have all the men in their lives simply exploited them as sex objects? Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a prude. But I do think some basic guidelines are in order. These are not rules about skirt length or the amount of cleavage you can show. I’m just not a very good legalist; they are simply guidelines.

I gave these to my girls when they were growing up. Frankly, they haven’t been perfect in following them. Modern culture exerts a powerful influence. Nevertheless, I wanted them to have something that would transcend current fashion and guide their attire once they were older and, perhaps, a little wiser.

Here they are: “Four Guidelines for Modesty”:

1. If you have trouble getting into it or out of it, it is probably not modest.
2. If you have to be careful when you sit down or bend over, it is probably not modest.
3. If people look at any part of your body before looking at your face, it is probably not modest.
4. If you can see your most private body parts or an outline of those parts under the fabric, it is probably not modest.

What do you think about guidelines for modesty?

Related post: Women’s Clothing That is Modest and Trendy

Here are links to all four posts in the Living Together Before Marriage series:

• Statistics on Living Together Before Marriage
• Scriptures on Living Together Before Marriage
• Living Together Without Sex
• What If We Already Lived Together Before Marriage?

Here are a couple C. S. Lewis clips I found on YouTube. The first clip is from Lewis’ March 21, 1944 radio address on BBC. This is the only surviving footage from Lewis’ 1941-1942 broadcast talks (which later appeared in book form as Mere Christianity). In this clip Lewis talks about prayer.

Lewis on BBC (Video length: 9:16)

This is just a portion of the surviving footage. You can listen to the
full audio clip at the BBC website.

The second clip is an excerpt from a lecture where Lewis talks about the novels of his friend and fellow member of The Inklings — Charles Williams.

Lewis talks about Charles Williams (Video length: 1:56)

HT: A Place for the God Hungry
Click here for Narnia related posts.

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’” (Luke 13:31-32)
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Jesus calling Herod a fox catches us a little off guard here. Did Jesus really call people names? Yes, when appropriate. He did not do it to hurt people’s feelings or out of childish anger or to be unkind. But Jesus called a spade a spade.

What did he mean by calling Herod a fox? A fox is a small, weak, wily animal that lives by cunning rather than strength. Jesus was drawing attention to Herod’s crafty, treacherous side. Herod was not a man worthy of trust or respect. He divorced his wife to marry his own niece, who happened to be his own brother’s wife. He beheaded John the Baptist because of a foolish promise made at a birthday party. He was a man of weak character who used his political power for selfish ends.

Now, we need to be careful here. As Christians we are called to love, forgive, forbear and be courteous to others. We should not go around calling people names as a general rule. Jesus rarely did. But there are times when we also must call a spade a spade. Sometimes a thief needs to be called a thief; the unfaithful spouse must be called an adulterer; the pornographer needs to be called perverted. There are times when evil must be confronted and named. There are times when Herod must be called a fox.

(from the message: Traffic and Tears on the Road to Jerusalem)

Bobby Lee Cutts, Jr. was sentenced to 57 years to life in prison yesterday for the killing of his pregnant girlfriend, Jessie Marie Davis, and their unborn daughter, Chloe. Cutts and Davis also have a 3-year-old son, Blake, who is now being raised by Jessie’s mother, Patricia Porter. Through tears of grief Patricia spoke directly to her daughter’s killer in the courtroom, extending the following words of forgiveness before the judge imposed the sentence.

I have had this conversation in my head with you a million times. It is a day I will never in my life forget. When I walked in that room, the presence of evil was so strong in there you could hardly breathe, and I knew my daughter was dead. I never ever thought she walked out of that room. And when you walked up there that morning, Bobby, I never in my heart wanted to believe you could have hurt her, but in my soul I knew you had.

I remember pulling into the driveway the next day and asking God, “Where is my daughter?” and he said, “She’s with me, and she’s fine.” And I made up my mind that day that whoever did that, I would forgive them because I never wanted to allow that kind of hatred into my life. I would have never been able to raise Blake and hate you. And I’ve written a lot of things here, and none of them seem to make any sense. None of this makes sense. There’s mornings I have to cover her picture up or I can’t get out of bed. And I just move on. I pretend that one day she’ll walk through the door again, but you and I know she won’t.

I serve an amazing God, Bobby, a God that forgives and heals and restores people. And I want you to know today that I do forgive you. And I know that it’s only through him that I am able to do that, and I pray that you find him, and you find the forgiveness that nobody else in this room can give you. It doesn’t matter what anybody else in this room feels for you. And that one day you will tell the truth. I think you lied to so many people. I don’t think you know how to tell the truth. I think you’re going to have to learn all over again.

And, your Honor, I may not have a family to go home to after this, but I pray that you make a way for this man to someday be able to get out of there and begin a new life, and to hold his son, maybe as a man. And I hope you pray that I’m able to raise him to forgive you. He knows what you did. You would not believe the stories he’s told us.

In a press conference after the sentencing, Patricia was asked: “Not even just [during] the trial, but beforehand you were very forgiving. How are you able to do that?” Patricia responded:

I know it sounds very cliche, but it’s because of Christ, because I’m forgiven, because I remember when Jesus hung on the cross and he asked his Father to forgive people that killed him. Nobody understands what it’s like to lose a child more than God did. He was able to forgive, and because of that I am able to forgive.

What a tremendous testimony to the power of God’s forgiveness in the believer’s life through Jesus Christ. “Love your enemies, do good to them … Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful … Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:35-37)

As part of an interview at BeliefNet, Amy Grant shares the following about dealing with depression in life:

It’s so funny what age is doing. I never thought getting older would be so great. But when it comes to depression, I have experienced less the older I’ve gotten. And I think part of it is, there are things that I know to look for in myself. I know winter time hits me like a ton of bricks.

My great-uncle told us when were kids, “If you’re born into this family, you need to go take a brisk walk every day.” He didn’t know what endorphins were, but he knew that we battled that downward spiral. If I will make myself get some exercise, that always helps. And then, invest in somebody else. That’s not hard when you’re part of a family. Even if I’m feeling like a piece of wood, I’ll wake up in the morning and I just think, “Somebody’s got to put the bacon on. I will feel better about this moment if I do eggs on toast with a little melted cheese for the kids.” It takes about four minutes to make breakfast for your children in the morning. You start doing little acts of getting beyond yourself. Sometimes it takes days or weeks. But you just learn there is a process to getting out of a slump.

Tiny little things that you have to do, responsibility that you can’t slough off, is good when you battle depression—making lunch for your kids, or having to do laundry because nobody has clean underwear. Rather than grind your teeth over it, go, “Thank God I have got to do this little task that makes me move.” And the more that [I'm] used to the rhythms of [my] own life, the more I realize, as bleak as this feels right this minute, it’ll pass.

Have you ever struggled with depression, whether mild or serious? What has been helpful to you when you are feeling down?

HT: Semper Reformanda

Christianity, culture, creativity and the arts — this has been an area of interest and study for me ever since my days as a student at Berklee College of Music. Here are some of the best books I have read on the subject over the years. Some of these are hard to find, so if you find a good price online, grab them while you can! Here they are, alphabetically by author.

1. The Making of a Christian Mind: A Christian World View & the Academic Enterprise, edited by Arthur Holmes

There are other good books on Christian world view out there, but I have always liked this one. Holmes draws together five concise essays on Christian world view, history, science, psychology and the creative arts.

2. Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, by Madeleine L’Engle

You may be familiar with Madeleine L’Engle through her Wrinkle in Time series. Walking on Water is a wide-ranging book exploring the implications of the incarnation for human creativity and the arts.

3. Consider the Lilies: A Plea for Creational Theology, by T. M. Moore

Not sure what creational theology means? This book is a great place to start. Moore lays the biblical foundation for many of the ideas about creativity found in the other books on this page.

4. Art Needs No Justification, by H. R. Rookmaaker

This one is my absolute favorite. Although Rookmaaker deals primarily with the visual arts, his observations are appropriate to all fields of creative work. And it’s only 60 pages long!

5. The Creative Gift: Essays on Art and the Christian Life, by H. R. Rookmaaker

Another great book by Rookmaaker. This one is longer, and Rookmaaker is able to go into much greater detail.

6. The Christian Imagination: Essays on Literature and the Arts, compiled by Leland Ryken

My sister, Bethany, gave this to me on my 22nd birthday. This is a wonderful collection of essays with contributions from C. S. Lewis, T. S. Eliot, Thomas Howard, Flannery O’Connor, Leland Ryken and others. (Note: Some of these essays, but not all of them, appear in Ryken’s more recent book: The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature and Writing)

7. Culture in Christian Perspective: A Door to Understanding & Enjoying the Arts, by Leland Ryken

Part of the Multnomah Critical Concern series in the 1980′s, Ryken’s book examines literature, art and music in relation to the Christian faith.

8. Rainbows for the Fallen World: Aesthetic Life and Artistic Task, by Calvin Seerveld

Seerveld wrote this book while a senior member at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. Seerveld’s unbridled enthusiasm for God, Scripture and the arts literally leaps off the pages of this book as Seerveld sets forth a biblical charter for artistic activity.

*Bonus: Here is one that I haven’t read yet, but it looks good. Art for God’s Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts, by Philip Graham Ryken.

So, how about you? Do you have any favorite books on Christianity, culture, creativity and the arts to add to the list?

Related post: God’s Good Creation Series