Google+ Page for Thoughts on the Way

If you are a Google+ user, you can now follow the blog from within Google+ if you find that more convenient. Simply visit the Thoughts on the Way Google+ page HERE, and click the red "Follow" icon at the top right of the page.

New Blog! Love Revealed: The Life and Labors of George Bowen

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I've decided to start a new blog dedicated to Bombay missionary George Bowen. It's still in the beginning stages (the timeline and bibliography haven't even been started yet), but I'm hoping to post things there on a fairly regular basis. For some introductory information, see the following:

Why Another Blog?

Who Was George Bowen?

The inaugural post is also up on the home page. The quote from David Wilkerson is very encouraging!

Anyway, please bookmark the site if it sounds at all interesting to you.

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New Website Address

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As of a few days ago, Thoughts on the Way now has a dedicated website address: www.thoughtsontheway.org

If you type in the old address (www.thoughtsonthewayblog.blogspot.com) it will automatically redirect you to the new home, but I don't know how long it will keep doing that. So now is probably a good time to update your bookmarks, feed readers, etc. with the new address.

Thanks!

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The Manhattan Declaration

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By now, many of you have no doubt heard of The Manhattan Declaration. If not, I would encourage you to read THIS post from Justin Taylor's blog to familiarize yourself with what it is. Though there is an impressive list of "religious leaders" who signed it (Including: Randy Alcorn, Kay Arthur, Dr. Bryan Chapell, Chuck Colson, Dr. James Dobson, Dr. J. Ligon Duncan, Dr. Wayne Grudem, Rev. Tim Keller, Josh McDowell, Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Dr. J.I. Packer, Chuck Swindoll, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Ravi Zacharias) I consider it an act of compromise to be on the list. For an explanation of my reasoning, I would direct you to the following:

The Manhattan Declaration: Why didn’t you sign it, R.C.? by R.C. Sproul

The Manhattan Declaration by John MacArthur

Nineteen questions for signers of "The Manhattan Declaration" by Dan Phillips

Standing for truth, in any realm, must never come at the expense of the Gospel. It is the Gospel alone that is "of first importance" (see 1 Cor. 15:1-4). To compromise there, is to compromise everywhere. Unfortunately, that is exactly what The Manhattan Declaration, and those who have signed it, have done.

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A Free Man's Song - Stephen Gates

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UPDATE: This was originally posted back in August, but since then, the site I was using to host the music files went the way of all flesh. I've since found a new site to host the files, so I wanted to update the links, and once again draw attention to this post for those who are interested.

One of the greatest blessings I've experienced over the last few years was the conversion of my friend, Stephen Gates, a couple of years ago. Ever since, he has been a tremendous encouragement to me personally and to the body of believers here, especially through the use of his gifts as a musician.

When God saves a man, He puts a new song in his mouth (Ps. 40:3; Rev. 5:9). Stephen has compiled some of those new songs into an album he calls A Free Man's Song. Three of the tracks are covers ("He Brought Me Out", "Thy Way, Not Mine, O Lord" and "Give Thinks"), while the other seven are originals. You can listen to the entire album below:




If you're having trouble getting the embedded player to work - or if you want to have the album on your own computer - you can also freely download tracks from A Free Man's Song using the following download links:

01 Not Myself.mp3

02 Take Me.mp3

03 He Brought Me Out.mp3

04 Bring Life.mp3

05 Words of Life.mp3

06 Count It Loss.mp3

07 Thy Way, Not Mine, O Lord.mp3

08 Turn.mp3

09 Give Thanks.mp3

10 Saviour.mp3


If you would like to get in touch with Stephen regarding his music, or to send him a gift for his labors, feel free to contact me and I will be glad to put you in touch with him. I know he would certainly appreciate any feedback you might have. Also, if anyone would like a hard copy of the CD, I would be glad to provide that as well.

May the Lord be pleased to use these songs for His glory, and for the edification of His church. I know Stephen desires nothing more than this.

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Justification & Regeneration - 3rd Edition

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Justification & Regeneration by Charles Leiter is now available in an expanded 3rd edition, and can be ordered from Monergism Books or directly from the publisher, Granted Ministries Press. This edition contains a new appendix dealing with frequently asked questions. Here is the new appendix for those who have an older edition of the book (click the arrow in the upper right to go full screen):

This book has been utterly foundational for all of us at Thoughts on the Way, and I would highly encourage anyone who has not read it to check it out. For more information, see the product pages linked to above, as well as THIS review from Nathan Pitchford at Monergism.com, and THIS one from Mason.

Yesterday, I asked Charles if he could summarize the main burdens of the book in two sentences. Here was his reply:

1. The Christian has a permanent standing of acceptance and favor with God, not because of his performance, but because of the righteousness of Another.

2. Growth in the Christian life is not by striving to become someone you're not, but by believing the reality of what God has already made you to be in the miracle of regeneration.

That's as good of a summary of the book as you're going to get!



HT: Chad T. for granting permission to post the new appendix.

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The Pitter Patter of Little Feet

Adalyn Olive Holthaus
Born November 4th at 12:31 PM
8 lbs. 11 oz.
22 3/4"

Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow!

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Justification & Regeneration Almost Gone!

I was informed a few days ago that the latest printing of Justification & Regeneration by Charles Leiter is almost gone. The book is being sold through Monergism Books, and they only have about 70 copies left. Charles is working on getting another printing lined up, but it's hard to tell when the new books will actually be ready. If anyone is still wanting copies from this second printing, now is the time to get them.

For more info on the book itself, check out Mason's review on our site, or Nathan Pitchford's review from the Reformation Theology blog. In addition, here is the entire appendix from J&R dealing with Romans 7.

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RefTagger: A New Feature on the Blog

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Over the past several months, our readership has grown tremendously and we now have about seven people reading the blog (give or take a few). In light of our popularity, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce a new feature to keep our hungry readers coming back for more. The new feature is called RefTagger, and is put out by the people at Logos. RefTagger is a nifty little program that causes each verse reference in a blog post (as well as in the comments section) to automatically become a hyperlink, which means if you click on it, it will take you to a webpage which will then display the verse or verses. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! In addition, you can simply hold your cursor over the verse reference, and a little balloon will pop up, displaying the verse for you without having to go to a separate page, unless the verse(s) are too long to fit in the pop-up balloon. In that case you will have to click on "more," and it will take you to a page showing the complete verses.

To demonstrate, go ahead and put your pointer over these verse references:

Eph. 1:1-3

Rom. 8:28-30

John 1:1

Pretty neat, eh? I think this is a fantastic feature, and I hope it makes reading our blog all the more profitable for the seven people who do. You know who you are . . .

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