The Imperatives of Christ
The will of the Father and the will of the Son. Keeping the commands of Jesus begins with recognizing what they are. The following outline is a collection of Jesus’ imperatives. As you read through …
Piercing Heaven
Today, I completed the prayer book Piercing Heaven, Prayers of the Puritans, edited by Robert Elmer. It is 321 pages and was in frequent use during personal prayer from beginning to end. The book’s prayers …
The Ordo Fidei Anglicana
The following assembled notes are from a beginning study of personal interest in the divine office using the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (1928), the Lectionary (1945), and the King James Bible with the Apocrypha …
The Synaxis of Saints
A synaxarion of the Orthodox Church is a liturgical text that compiles the lives of saints, feast days, and significant events commemorated throughout the Orthodox Christian liturgical year. Derived from the Greek word “synaxis,” which …
De Spiritu et Littera
In Augustine’s treatise De Spiritu et Littera (“On the Spirit and the Letter”), he addresses the critical theological issues of grace, human will, and the law. He confronts the ideas propagated by Pelagianism, a doctrine …
Holiness by J.C. Ryle
Having carefully read Holiness, by J.C. Ryle, I sought to put forth an effort to better understand what holiness is. To inform my spirit what it specifically is from the authority of biblical imperatives and …
Blessed Are the Misfits
Today I completed the book Blessed Are the Misfits by Brant Hansen. The book was a refreshing and honest look at who people are and how they’re unique, beautiful, and sometimes peculiar. The book addresses …
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
The book O Come O Come, Emmanuel is a devotional compilation of materials structured in liturgical form. It is a work of beautiful material that follows the liturgical format of Be Thou My Vision. The …
Rock and Sand
“Rock and Sand: An Orthodox Appraisal of the Protestant Reformers and Their Teachings” by Dr. Josiah Trenham significantly contributes to the ongoing dialogue between Orthodox Christianity and Protestantism. Published in 2015, this work aims to …
A Message from Enfield
After the Puritan period of Christian faith and practice, few figures drew as much reverence as Jonathan Edwards. Born on October 5, 1703, in East Windsor, Connecticut, Edwards emerged as a figure who significantly influenced …
The Story of a Soul
“Story of a Soul” (“L’Histoire d’une Âme”) is an autobiographical work by St. Thérèse of Lisieux (Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin), a Carmelite nun and one of the most venerated figures in modern Catholicism. The book was …
All of Grace by Spurgeon
In “All of Grace,” Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the renowned 19th-century Baptist preacher, offers a timeless exploration into the heart of Christian theology: the doctrine of grace. Not merely a theoretical exposition for academic theologians, this …
Gentle & Lowly by Ortlund
“Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers” is a book by Dane Ortlund that delves into the character and heart of Jesus Christ. Published in 2020, the book provides readers with …
Where the Bells Toll
Tollhouses, in Eastern Orthodox theology, refer to a somewhat controversial and debated concept about the soul’s journey after death. The term “tollhouse” is a bit of a metaphor, suggesting that just as one might have …
The Institutes: Prolegomena
In the turbulent backdrop of the 16th-century Reformation, a profound voice emerged that would shape the contours of Protestant theology for generations to come. In his seminal work “Institutes of the Christian Religion,” John Calvin …
The Abolition of Man
C.S. Lewis’s “The Abolition of Man” is a defense of objective values against the encroachments of subjectivism and relativism. While Lewis’s arguments are informed by various sources, the classical Greek philosophies of Plato and Aristotle …
In the Lord I Take Refuge
In the book “In The LORD I Take Refuge,” the author, Dane Ortlund, wrote a commentary alongside each chapter of the book of Psalms. As a Presbyterian pastor with a Ph.D., he offers reflections and …
Mere Christianity
Mere Christianity is a profound work of theological literature written by British writer and lay theologian C.S. Lewis. First published in 1942, the book is a timeless and influential work in Christian apologetics. Much of …
About James
☩ U.S. military veteran and electrical engineer with an MBA from Pepperdine University and an M.A. in Theological Studies. My background includes wilderness exploration with over 140 mountain ascents and travel throughout Europe and the Americas. My life is in Christ, under the authority of Holy Scripture, with ongoing pursuits in engineering, literature, the sciences, and theology.
