It seems like today, if you are not suffering with some kind of ailment or cancer, you know someone

who is, or I've had a family member or friend who have died because of it. It is a painful

experience to watch someone lose their life and wither away, and at times our faith is crushed,

and our assurance is called into question. Where is Jesus in all of this suffering?

Today, we have the privilege of having on with us a special guest, Mike Abendroth, who's

recently written a book about this experience from his own perspective. We know this will be

encouraging for you. Please stay tuned. And if you get an opportunity to purchase

the book, we would highly recommend it. Stay tuned. If you're new to Theocast, you may not have heard

of this word. It's called pietism. You ever felt like the Christian life is a heavy burden versus

rest and joy, that you wake up worrying about how well you're going to perform instead of

thinking about

what Christ has done for you. It's dread versus joy, really. That's pietism. Piatism causes

Christians to look in on themselves and find their hope, not in what Christ has done, but what

they're doing. And we have a little book for you. It's free. We want you to download it. And we're going to

explain the difference between pietism and what we call confessionalism. Reform theology, really,

how it is that we walk by faith, seeing the joy of Christ. And when Jesus says, come to me and I

will give you rest, what does that look like? You can download it at our website. Just go to Theocast.org.

Welcome to Theocast, encouraging weary pilgrims to rest in Christ. Conversations about the Christian

life from a reformed,

pastoral, and confessional perspective.

Your host today are Justin Perdue,

pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina.

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