Tried With Fire

What do you want to experience, to have, to do, to enjoy, and be preserved from in the New Year? James Smith, Spurgeon's predecessor at the New Park Street Chapel, has a few suggestions, and I couldn't ask for anything better for my loved ones or myself. Read more  here .

Christmas vacation is over. Time to go back to work.

God kept His promise from Genesis 3:15: "The New Testament witnesses to the fact that Jesus of Nazareth is the One in whom and through whom all the promises of God find their fulfillment. These promises are only to be understood from the Old Testament; the fulfillment of the promises can be understood only in the context of the promises themselves. The New Testament presupposes a knowledge of the Old Testament. Everything that is a concern to the New Testament writers is part of one redemptive history to which the Old Testament witnesses. The New Testament writers cannot separate the person and work of Christ, nor the life of the Christian community, from this sacred history which has its beginnings in the Old Testament." The Goldsworthy Trilogy: Gospel and Kingdom by Graeme Goldsworthy, 2011, Paternoster Press, pp. 18-19.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  John 1:29

Oh Saviour of our fallen race, Oh brightness of the Father’s face Oh Son Who shared the Father’s mind Before the world knew day or night Oh Jesus very light of light Our constant star in sin’s deep night Now hear the prayers Your people pray Throughout the world this holy day You came down You came down To a stable and manger Not a kingdom or a crown Remember Lord of life and grace How once to save our fallen race You put our human vesture on And came to us as Mary’s son You came down You came down To a stable and manger Not a kingdom or a crown For from the Father’s throne You came His banished children to reclaim And earth and sea and sky revered The love of Him who sent You here Oh Christ redeemer, virgin born Let songs of praise your name adore And with the Father be adored And Holy Spirit evermore You came down You came down You came down You came down To a stable and manger Not a kingdom or a crown Words ...

At His first advent, we adore Him with gratitude, rejoicing that He is “God with us,” making Himself to be our near Kinsman. We gather with grateful boldness around the Infant in the manger and behold our God. But, in the anticipation of His second advent, we are struck with a solemn reverence, a trembling awe. We are not less grateful, but we are more prostrate, as we bow before the majesty of the triumphant Christ. Jesus in His glory is an overpowering vision for mortal man to behold. John, the beloved disciple, writes, “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.” We could have kissed His blessed feet till He quitted us on Mount Olivet, but at the sight of our returning Lord, when Heaven and earth shall flee away, we shall bow in lowliest adoration. His first appearing has given us eternal life, and that holy confidence with which we are looking forward to His glorious appearing, which is to be the crown of all His mediatorial work. There are many contrasts between our...

Calviiiiiiiin! Their latest album includes the hit song, "All I want for Christmas are the Institutes."  ht: Calvinistic Cartoons

I am thankful for: Our small group Christmas party and white elephant last night. Good food and good fun. Finals are over for my girl. I'm thankful for God's enabling grace and strength for her and how she has grown even in just these few months. More sleep at night. 7+ hours is much better 6+. Children's books that make me laugh when they are read out loud. I think authors write with parents in mind, too. Further steps on the road of emotional healing. It can't be rushed. It takes time, but God is faithful. The simple pleasure of decorating the tree. It's fake, but it's still beautiful. The opportunity to spend Christmas with family. As I grow older, these are moments to be treasured. God never fails to keep His promises even when we've blown it. He will accomplish what He has decreed. No exceptions. Photo credit: By Kofler Jürgen (self made by Juko) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.or...

I'm sharing a prayer from The Valley of Vision at Out of the Ordinary : O SOURCE OF ALL GOOD, What shall I render to thee for the gift of gifts.     thine own dear Son, begotten, not created,     my Redeemer, proxy, surety, substitute,     his self-emptying incomprehensible,     his infinity of love beyond the heart's grasp. Herein is wonder of wonders:     he came below to raise me above,     was born like me that I might become like him… Read the rest here . The Valley of Vision , edited by Arthur Bennett, Banner of Truth Trust, 2013, pg. 16. Photo credit: Workshop of Rembrandt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

God had made many visits to men before Christ’s Incarnation, but the most wonderful visit of all was when He came to tarry here, some three and thirty years, to work out our salvation. What but tender mercy, hearty mercy, intense mercy, could bring the great God to visit us so closely that He actually assumed our nature? Kings may, for various reasons, visit their subjects; but they do not think of taking upon themselves their poverty, their sickness, or their sorrow. They could not if they would, and they would not if they could; but our Divine Lord, when He came hither, took upon Him our flesh… Our Lord so visited us as to become our Surety, our Substitute, our Ransom. He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, and the Lord hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. This was wonderful tender mercy on His part; it excels all human conception and language. If, for the first time, you had heard of the visit of the incarnate God to this world, you would be struck with a wond...

Purity is Possible: How to live free of the fantasy trap by Helen Thorne, The Good Book Company, November 2014, 112 pages. In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness about the use of pornography by Christian men. But what about women? Are they purer by nature and thus immune to this temptation? While stereotypes may encourage this idea, Helen Thorne would disagree with this myth because she's been there. She was caught in the trap of pornography, erotica, and sexual fantasy. However, the solution wasn't to muster up self-resolve and stop through sheer will power. Helen found the answer in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Purity is Possible  takes an honest look at this temptation that many Christian women experience. Sexual sin is not minimized in any way and neither is the call to repentance. The author also digs beneath the surface as to what may be the underlying idols that fuel the fantasy. But there is hope because this sin is not beyond the scope of Christ...

ht: Wrong Hands

Clearly, different people can respond differently to the same messages and environment. One way to understand the differences in perceptions is to keep in mind that many victims of sexual abuse suffer from guilt and self-blame as common effects of sexual victimization. This is often due to the deliberate blame shifting strategies that perpetrators employ to ensure the victim’s silence. Having already internalized poisonous beliefs about their culpability and unworthiness, abuse victims are often particularly sensitive to sermon and classroom teachings that reinforce the condemnation and despondency they struggle with daily. As a result, many abuse victims are sensitized to perceive and remember victim blaming/perpetrator exonerating attitudes and teachings that individuals without such life experiences fail to note consciously.  In more concrete terms, abuse victims may be able to detect toxic victim blaming/perpetrator exonerating attitudes in highly diluted concentrations th...

I posted this quote two years ago, but it's worth repeating. Even though Austin Duncan's talk was about dating, his take on practice versus principle can be applied to many non-gospel issues where Christians disagree. Until Christ comes back, there won't be uniform agreement because we interpret scripture differently. The only way to ensure complete agreement is to enforce interpretation and its application, which seems to harken back to pre-Reformation days. God forbid that we should demand that from one another. We should strive to be good Bereans but also like Martin Luther who would not let his conscience be bound to anything other than the Word of God. From  this talk  by Austin Duncan at the 2012 Shepherd's Conference (emphasis mine): When you translate that [biblical] principle into a specific action and decision and seek to call it still a principle  rather  than an application  of  a principle, you can find yourself in a position like the fa...

GLORY to God in the highest,” was an old, old song to the angels; they had sung that strain before the foundation of the world. But, now, they sang as it were a new song before the throne of God, and in the ears of mortal men, for they added this stanza, “and on earth peace.” They did not sing like that in the Garden of Eden. There was peace there, but it seemed to be a matter of course, and to be a thing scarcely needing to be mentioned in their song. There was more than peace there, for there was also glory to God. But man had fallen, and since the day when the Lord God drove him out of Eden, and placed the cherubim with a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life, there had been no peace on earth, save in the breasts of believers, who had obtained peace of heart and conscience even from the promise of the Incarnation of Christ. Wars had raged unto the ends of the earth; men had slaughtered one another, heaps on heaps. There had been strife within as w...

The George Lucas special edition of the new Star Wars trailer: And a cat's reaction:

Dorothy Sayers clearly describes what happens when we forget that people are individual human beings made in the image of God. We are not clones. We are not the Borg . We are not data points to be placed on a bell curve and judged accordingly. God is not a statistician or a manufacturer who churns out copies of a limited set of models over and over again. He is Creator, God, and Father who has fashioned mankind out of His infinite creativity. I think her words are applicable, not just to my country but to the church as well. What have we lost because we have forgotten what it means to be human and to treat others as human beings too? What is repugnant to every human being is to be reckoned always as a member of a class and not as an individual person. A certain amount of classification is, of course, necessary for practical purposes…What is unreasonable and irritating is to assume all one's tastes and preferences have to be conditioned by the class to which one belongs... To o...

I'm posting at Out of the Ordinary today: "I can't imagine what went through Adam and Eve's minds after they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They had lived in perfect communion with God, each other, and creation. But now, by their act of disobedience, sin ruined this harmony forever. Adam and Eve hid from their Creator. They were blame-shifting and about to be expelled from paradise. If I summed up all my moments of regret and multiplied them thousands of times over, perhaps it might come close to what they were feeling. But I also wonder if these words gave them hope even in the midst of the fall. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.  Gen. 3:15" Read the rest of the post here . 

Because I can't seem to close this can of worms, here are links to two papers that survey different views of Genesis 3:16 and the scope of marital submission. Both are written by evangelical, non-egalitarians. Genesis 3:16 - The Pronouncement on Eve by Les Galicinski, M.Div. (ht: A Cry for Justice) This paper has a helpful diagram that lists the theologian and his/her interpretation of Genesis 3:16. Of note, the author does not agree with Susan Foh's recent interpretation but believes that desire is a  desire for her husband. He also cites John Piper and Wayne Grudem as differing from the Foh view, which I find surprising as I was under the impression that CBMW promotes her interpretation. But I may be wrong. What Does "Submit in Everything" Mean? The Nature and Scope of Marital Submission by Steven Tracy, Ph.D., Professor of Theology and Ethics at Phoenix Seminary. Published: Trinity Journal (TrinJ) 29 (2008) pp. 285-312 Dr. Tracy discusses the differe...

Drinking - Honey crisp cider. Enjoying - The 70 degree weather for the first day of December. I was able to wash the car today which was in desperate need of a bath. Listening to - Persuasion by Jane Austen. I've read it several times but listening adds another dimension. Anne's sadness is so moving in her resignation and the maturity with which she handles it. Quite the opposite of Marianne Dashwood. The reader also feels her joy more keenly because it is such a contrast to the beginning of the story. It's tough to choose, but I think Persuasion has moved up to the place of favorite Austen novel. Finished - My 6th NaNoWriMo novel. It's a fun, albeit time consuming diversion. It also forces one to let editing fly out the window and just write! Consequently, it's a good exercise for those of us who tend to edit something to death. Feeling sad - Friends from church are moving this month. Our area has a number of military facilities, so families move in and ou...

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely. (Proverbs 10:9) His walk may be slow, but it is sure. He that hasteth to be rich shall not be innocent nor sure; but steady perseverance in integrity, if it does not bring riches, will certainly bring peace. In doing that which is just and right, we are like one walking upon a rock, for we have confidence that every step we take is upon solid and safe ground. On the other hand, the utmost success through questionable transactions must always be hollow and treacherous, and the man who has gained it must always be afraid that a day of reckoning will come, and then his gains will condemn him. Let us stick to truth and righteousness. By God's grace let us imitate our Lord and Master, in whose mouth no deceit was ever found. Let us not be afraid of being poor, nor of being treated with contempt. Never, on any account whatever, let us do that which our conscience cannot justify. If we lose inward peace, we lose more than a fortune can buy....

Bach played on a glass harp:

Christian Girl Instagram:

1. We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing; he chastens and hastens his will to make known; the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing. Sing praises to his name; he forgets not his own. 2 Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining, ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine; so from the beginning the fight we were winning; thou, Lord, wast at our side; all glory be thine! 3 We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant, and pray that thou still our defender wilt be. Let thy congregation escape tribulation; thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

I hope your Thanksgiving won't be like this one. :)

I sometimes wonder how much of the mess in this world can be traced back to our failure to acknowledge that people are people. All you need to do is turn on the TV or crack open a history book, and you will see sharply drawn lines of division. These lines run deep and are as old as the Fall. Relationships became adversarial. Conflict sprang up between the man and the woman, between brother and brother, and these scenarios are still being repeated on a seemingly endless loop. God's common grace does come to us through the means of education and legal reforms for which I am very grateful. But they can only do so much because they can only address the outside. In the end, the change has to happen from the inside out. I don't believe we can treat people as people until we are humbled at the foot of the cross. When we see the underserved love and favor of God extended to us through the death of Jesus Christ, self-importance, entitlement, and superiority are given a fatal blow....

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:22) This is a promise of promises. It lies at the foundation of our spiritual life. Salvation comes through a look at Him who is "a just God and a Saviour." How simple is the direction! "Look unto me." How reasonable is the requirement! Surely the creature should look to the Creator. We have looked elsewhere long enough; it is time that we look alone to Him who invites our expectation and promises to give us His salvation. Qnly a look! Will we not look at once? We are to bring nothing in ourselves but to look outward and upward to our Lord on His throne, whither He has gone up from the cross. A look requires no preparation, no violent effort: it needs neither wit nor wisdom, wealth nor strength. All that we need is in the Lord our God, and if we look to Him for everything, that everything shall be ours, and we shall be saved. Come, far-off ones, look h...

Amazing picking by Bela Fleck and Sam Bush. Don't let the twitching mullet distract you. :)

I am thankful for: - Small group Thanksgiving dinner last night. - Mental wherewithal for a busy work day. I am grateful to have a job, but I'm also glad when I can shut down my work computer. - Getting re-grounded in the gospel. I have been wrestling with a justice issue lately, namely domestic abuse. There's nothing wrong with caring deeply about justice and wanting to be an advocate in anyway I can. But if I lose my gospel center and only see the here and know and where we've gone wrong, I can become frustrated, pessimistic, and react as though expecting the worst. I cannot forget that real healing only comes through Jesus Christ. He renews and restores from the inside out, He will never crush a bruised reed or extinguish a smoking flax. And there will come a day when all wrongs will be right when He returns. Even so come quickly, Lord Jesus.

When the gospel is recovered in your life after being a Christian for years, every link in the golden chain of redemption becomes meaningful. However, one link is very dear to my heart and has been a comfort in tough times - adoption. Read the post at Out of the Ordinary, which includes an awesome quote from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

Lately I've been digging into the nuts and bolts of Bible interpretation. This was triggered by a journal article I had read which examined different views among conservative Christians on a particular subject. These differing view stemmed from different interpretations of a single New Testament (NT) word which in turn led to different applications. On one side, the meaning was derived with emphasis on the root definition. On the other side, the context was given more weight. As a result, I've been consulting D.A. Carson's Exegetical Fallacies , Invitation To Biblical Interpretation by Drs. Kostenberger and Patterson, and this Tabletalk article. These resources shed quite a bit of light on the pitfalls of interpreting Scripture and the fallacies we inadvertently commit. It's also been highly mortifying. I've committed many if not all of these word fallacies and made assumptions about biblical words that were just plain wrong. After cringing inside at my mistakes...

For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. (Psalm 94:14) No, nor will He cast even so much as one of them. Man has his castoffs, but God has none; for His choice is unchangeable, and His love is everlasting. None can find out a single person whom God has forsaken after having revealed Himself savingly to him. This grand truth is mentioned in the psalm to cheer the heart of the afflicted. The Lord chastens His own; but He never forsakes them. The result of the double work of the law and the rod is our instruction, and the fruit of that instruction is a quieting of spirit, a sobriety of mind, out of which comes rest. The ungodly are let alone till the pit is digged into which they will fall and be taken; but the godly are sent to school to be prepared for their glorious destiny hereafter. Judgment will return and finish its work upon the rebels, but it will equally return to vindicate the sincere and godly. Hence we may bear the rod of chastise...

A Mark O'Connor mandolin classic with a little banjo and dobro...

Tim Hawkins: Atheist Kids' Songs

Crepe Myrtle I am thankful for: - A good night's sleep. Seven plus hours is definitely better than six. - A working furnace especially with the forecast of our first hard frost tonight. - An "Aha!" moment. When I'm wrestling with an issue and trying to make sense of its ramifications, it's a wonderful feeling when something clicks and the dots begin to connect. - Lively discussions with my daughter about words and etymological fallacies. - Midweek meetings of the church. Some of us middle-aged women are reading through Made for More , which has led to some great discussions. Last night was small group where we discussed the latest sermon from Genesis. It's been refreshing to see this familiar book through new eyes, not so much as a collection of nice stories but as the opening act of God's eternal plan of redemption. - That God had no plan B. His purposes stand from eternity to eternity - from huge, earth-shattering, epoch-making events to ...

Newport News Victory Arch "Greetings with love to those who return,  A triumph with tears to those who sleep."

This is a true story. I remembered it recently in the light of the Jian Ghomeshi scandal. I am acquainted with both parties involved. Names have been changed and the story altered slightly for anonymity. Jane had worked as an administrative assistant for several years. She was hard-working and aimed to do her best. The position for executive secretary to the Chief Executive Officer became available in the company where she was employed. She applied. She was interviewed and then offered the job. What a great promotion! Jane was excited about her new position and looked forward to working for Mr. Smith. After a week or two, it became apparent why Jane's predecessors never stayed long in the job. She was expected to run errands for Mr. Smith and his family such as picking up dry cleaning and other busy work, none of which was in her job description. She was also expected to complete her work on time regardless of how much of her day was taken away to fulfill these extraneous ...

Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 34:30) To be the Lord's own people is a choice blessing, but to know that we are such is a comfortable blessing. It is one thing to hope that God is with us and another thing to know that He is so. Faith saves us, but assurance satisfies us. We take God to be our God when we believe in Him; but we get the joy of Him when we know that He is ours and that we are His. No believer should be content with hoping and trusting; he should ask the Lord to lead him on to full assurance, so that matters of hope may become matters of certainty. It is when we enjoy covenant blessings and see our Lord Jesus raised up for us as a plant of renown that we come to a clear knowledge of the favor of God toward us. Not by law, but by grace do we learn that we are the Lord's people. Let us always turn our eyes in the direction of free grace. Assurance of...

ht: Leslie Wiggins on FB

Drinking - My first cup of morning tea. Trying - To wake up. I shouldn't have stayed up late watching the election results on Tuesday night, and I'm still feeling it today. As Christians, we don't put our hope in princes, horses, or political parties, but it was rather gratifying that the American people made a strong statement with their votes. Participating - In 2014 NaNoWriMo  - National Novel Writing Month. The challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. This is my 6th NaNoWriMo.  My genre is satire/humor with science fiction and theology thrown in for good measure. (I had previous villains named Darth Pelagius, Darth Finney, and Darth Osteen.) It's been a fun break to give free rein to the nonsense lurking in the back of my brain. Listening in the evenings - To The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe  by C.S. Lewis. Audio books are story time for grownups, and familiar stories are like visits from old friends. Reading - A new book for the ch...

I'm posting at Out of the Ordinary today. We need to gospel for everything - for when we sin, when we fail and when we're not as grateful as we should be. Read the post here .

The true believer is fit for heaven; he is meet to be a partaker of the inheritance—and that now, at this very moment. What does this mean? Does it mean that the believer is perfect; that he is free from sin? No, my brethren, where shall you ever find such perfection in this world? If no man can be a believer but the perfect man, then what has the perfect man to believe? Could he not walk by sight? When he is perfect, he may cease to be a believer. No, brethren, it is not such perfection that is meant although perfection is implied, and assuredly will be given as the result. Far less does this mean that we have a right to eternal life from any doings of our own. We have a fitness for eternal life, a meetness for it, but we have no desert of it. We deserve nothing of God even now, in ourselves. but his eternal wrath and his infinite displeasure. What, then, does It mean? Why, it means just this: we are so far meet that we are accepted in the Beloved, adopted into the family, and fitt...

Gigue and Double from Lute Suite N.2 BWV 997 Performed by Gonzalo Andrés Molano

Happy Reformation Day!

By Dick Mudde (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons I am thankful for: Morning sun breaking through the clouds. Fall temperatures in that perfect range where you don't have to heat or cool. Pumpkin O's and hot tea. The blessing of midweek fellowship with our small group. Pondering the themes that weave throughout Scripture, making it one cohesive story of God's plan of redemption. It's quite mind-blowing and beautiful to behold. The hope of the resurrection. When our loved ones suffer illness and even when we feel the aches and pains of life in this fallen world, those glorified bodies start looking really good.

I had good intentions of posting more about domestic violence this month, but alas it was not to be. It's funny how the things we care about the most are often the most painful and emotionally exhausting to put into words. There were times when I stared at a blank screen and didn't know where to begin. How do you encapsulate an issue that touches theology, history, and culture? How do you write about something so personal and not dredge up memories and feelings that you'd rather consign to oblivion? I also wrote drafts that are probably too volatile to be published because they tipped a few sacred cows that we cling to as conservative Christians. It helped to get those thoughts out of my head, but I'm still frustrated at the huge blind spot that the evangelical church seems to have - a sort of hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil about domestic abuse within its walls. After much research, thinking, and praying, I am convinced that domestic violence is an imag...

You have real and obvious limits to your wisdom, power, and righteousness. But your heavenly Father is infinite in wisdom, and infinite in power, and is the only source of true righteousness. God has no boundaries, edges, or limitations. In his authority, he bows to no one. You are riddled with imperfections, but God is perfect in every way. Therefore, the key to rest is not in continually lying to yourself in a futile effort to convince yourself you are strong. No, it is when you humbly embrace your foolishness, weakness, and sin that you are in the best position to know peace of heart and to live productively in this broken-down house. So let your smallness drive you to the One who alone is great. There you will experience that he is not only great in wisdom, power, and holiness, He is great in grace, and he will give you what you need. It is not your job to be mighty, not is it within your capacity. That role is reserved for God alone....

Chaconne from the Partita No. 2 in D minor BWV 1004 arranged for classical guitar. It's worth the 13 minutes…

Painting by Robert Bucknell Last week at Out of the Ordinary , Kim wrote of her appreciation for Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Today I'm borrowing her idea and sharing why I love Spurgeon: "I first heard of Charles Spurgeon from a fellow InterVarsity member when I was in college. I still remember his exact words: "Spurgeon is awesome!" To be honest, my first thought was, "Why on earth would someone want to read anything by a long-dead Baptist preacher?" Fast forward nearly 30 years. The bottom had just dropped out of my marriage. I wasn't attending a local church at the time, which is another story. I had no idea where to turn for help, so I called a close friend who promptly told me, "You need to read some Spurgeon." I wasn't sure what advice a 19th-century minister could give to a 21st-century woman who was facing a broken marriage, but I was desperate. I googled "Charles Spurgeon" to see what I would find…" Read more.....

"In Plato's Phaedrus , we hear Socrates describing how a king from Egypt called Thamus informed the god Theuth that the phonetic alphabet was not so great a gift. The god was particularly chuffed about this new technology, which he delivered to poor, illiterate humans, bragging that writing would make the memories of Egyptians more powerful and that it would supercharge their wit. King Thamus shrewdly replies: O most ingenious Thoth… this discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. The specific which you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of the truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and generally know nothing. Was there ever a finer description of Google?" The...

In this broken world you need a place to run for comfort, encouragement, motivation, strength, and rest. There is no better place to run than into the arms of the One who reigns over it all for your sake. No, you won't always understand. Yes, there will be moments when life will seem overwhelmingly difficult. Sure, you will wonder why he has chosen you to go through what you are enduring when the person next to you seems to have it so easy. And there will be times when you are tempted to question his wisdom and love. But in those moments, determine to do this one thing. Determine to run to him and not from him. Run to him with your questions, doubts, confusion, and fear. He loves you; he will not turn you away. He wants you to know rest. This is precisely what he has told you again and again in his Word - that he is in control, so that in those moments when you are confronted with your lack of control, or when life seems out of control, you would know pea...

Yup. That's the name of the piece…

ht: Wrong Hands

I am thankful for fall color: Dogwood berries Turk's cap 

Jonathan Edwards by Simonetta Carr, illustrations by Matt Abraxas, Reformation Heritage Books, 2014, 64 pages, for ages 7-12. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was one of America's greatest theologians and thinkers. Unfortunately, many know him of him only as the author of the sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." But there is much more to his life. In this biography by Simonetta Carr, you will learn about Edwards' childhood, his love of learning, and his love for God. He eventually became a pastor who was instrumental in the First Great Awakening. However, he was removed by his own congregation for taking a stand that the Lord's Supper was only for believers. Edwards pondered over the scriptures and wrote on such topics as original sin, freedom of the will, and religious affections, which are theological classics to this day. Carr's writing makes Edwards' life accessible and interesting, pulling out tidbits of his life that would appeal to c...

To jump start Monday morning, here are a few quotes on work: I do not know that women, as women, want anything particular, but as human beings they want, my good men, exactly what you want yourselves: interesting occupation, reasonable freedom for their pleasures, and a sufficient emotional outlet. What form the occupation, the pleasures and emotion may take, depends entirely upon the individual. 1 No longer must we be relentlessly driven to find identity in our work. No longer must we use our work to one-up each other. No longer must we work out of obligation and duty. By  His  work on the cross, Jesus makes us people who can finally work as we are meant to. Because of Him, our labor is no longer in vain. 2 We can thank Genesis 3 for the toil, but we can thank Genesis 2 for the privilege of tending God's creation. Yes, our work is tainted because of sin, but as His image-bearers, we can glorify God in whatever He gives us to do. 3 1. Are Women Human? , Dorothy L....