Tried With Fire

Great Kings of the Bible: How Jesus is greater than Saul, David, and Solomon , Deepak Reju, CF4Kids , January 2014, 48 pages. Read to me: 5-7, Read myself:8-11. Great Kings of the Bible recounts the lives of Saul, David, and Solomon. Each account sticks very close to the biblical text, giving an overview of each king. Unlike many children's books, their triumphs as well as grievous sins are included. So this does  not  teach a "Dare to be a Daniel" sort of moralism. Rather the author weaves Jesus into the kings' stories by showing how He is greater. Where these human rulers failed, Jesus was perfect. Each of these men died. Jesus rose from the dead, and His kingdom is forever. After growing up reading very moralistic Bible stories, I appreciated that these characters were not held up as paragons of virtue but human beings who fall. I thought David's sin with Bathsheba was handled in an age-appropriate manner and yet stayed true to 2 Samuel 11-12. Also the ...

Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves,‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Luke 3:8 A man that has truly repented is truly regenerated… there is, as it were, a new creation wrought in your hearts. If your repentance is true; you are renewed throughout, both in soul and body; your understandings are enlightened with the knowledge of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ; and your wills, which were stubborn, obstinate, and hated all good, are obedient and conformable to the will of God. Indeed, our deists tell us that man now has a free will to do good, to love God, and to repent when he will; but indeed there is no free will of any kind in any of you but to sin; no, your free will leads you so far that you would, if possible, pull God from the throne… But when you are turned to the Lord by evangelical repentance, you will is changed; your obedience, now hardened and benumbed...

Gospel Assurance & Warnings , Paul Washer, Reformation Heritage Books, April 2014, 252 pages. Gospel Assurance & Warnings is the third book in the Recovering the Gospel series by Paul Washer. This series addresses the need to recover the biblical gospel in a day of easy believism, cheap grace, and man-centered preaching. Divided into two parts, this latest book addresses scriptural assurance of salvation and the warnings to those with false assurance. In the first part, the author uses the 1st epistle of John to answers the questions, "How can I know I have born again, that I am truly a child of God? How can I know that I have believed unto eternal life?" Washer makes it very clear that we are saved by faith alone, by grace alone, through Christ alone. But because of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, we have been made new creatures, given new hearts, and new affections. This should result in visible fruit in our lives even though we still sin and do not...

Let Them Go/Let Us Go, a Frozen parody...

In a recent conversation with my daughter, she reminded me of the importance of context when we read God's Word: "Sometimes we think the Bible is just a PowerPoint presentation. The verses get turned into bullet points. We're interested in getting the answer to a question, so we cherry-pick the "bullet point" and forget that the verse is part of a chapter that's part of a whole book that's part of God's revelation." This got me thinking and resulted in this post at Out of the Ordinary . Read more here. ..

"Are Women Human?" is the title of an address given by Dorothy L. Sayers in 1938 to the Women's Society. If this essay was in the public domain, I would reproduce it on the spot and let you read it for yourself. But alas it is not, so I will try to distill some of Sayers' insights. Sayers believed that an aspect of humanity is being an individual and being respected as such. We have tastes and preferences, strengths and weaknesses. The danger arises when categories dictate who we must be, leaving no room for our individuality. Consequently she felt that men and the feminists of her era fell into this error. On the one side, all girls must like dolls. On the opposite side, all girls can be mechanical geniuses if they are properly trained. Neither idea is sound because all humans are not the same, and if girls allowed to be human, they are not the same either. 1 In addition, the idea of women copying men for that sake alone was simply absurd to Sayers. "Is it ...

We believe that the very best attested fact in all history is the Resurrection of Christ. Historical doubts concerning the existence of Napoleon Bonaparte, or the stabbing of Julius Caesar, or the Norman Conquest, would be quite as reasonable as doubts concerning the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus! None of these matters have such witnesses as those who testify of Him—witnesses who were manifestly truthful, since they suffered for their testimony, and most of them died ignominious and painful deaths as the results of their belief. We have more and better evidence for this fact than for anything else which is written in history, either sacred or profane! Oh, how should we rejoice, we who hang our salvation wholly upon Christ, that beyond a doubt it is established that, “now is Christ risen from the dead.”  But you may ask the question at the outset, “Why is it that the Resurrection of Christ is of so much importance?” Upon it we have said that the whole system of Christianity rest...

This is a repost of a poem by George Herbert. It's long, but it's a beautiful reflection on Christ's sacrifice. O H all ye , who passe by, whose eyes and minde To worldly things are sharp, but to me blinde; To me, who took eyes that I might you finde: Was ever grief like mine? The Princes of my people make a head Against their Maker: they do wish me dead, Who cannot wish, except I give them bread; Was ever grief like mine? Without me each one, who doth now me brave, Had to this day been an Egyptian slave. They use that power against me, which I gave: Was ever grief like mine? Mine own Apostle, who the bag did beare, Though he had all I had, did not forbeare To sell me also, and to put me there: Was ever grief like mine? For thirtie pence he did my death devise, Who at thre...

The thankful list: - Waking up and feeling reasonably well. I started to get a scratchy throat yesterday afternoon, but thankfully it has not progressed. Maybe allergies? There's certainly enough pollen in the air. - A daughter who can drive herself to small group. We're both slowly getting used to this. - Looking forward to Maundy Thursday service tonight and celebrating the Lord's Supper. - Considering all that Christ has done through His death, burial, and resurrection. I'm also contemplating what is in the process of being redeemed even now as we wait the final consummation. Rather mind blowing. - These verses from Bernard of Clairvaux My burden in Thy Passion, Lord, Thou hast borne for me, For it was my transgression which brought this woe on Thee. I cast me down before Thee, wrath were my rightful lot; Have mercy, I implore Thee; Redeemer, spurn me not! What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend, For this ...

As image bearers, our identity is so fundamentally flawed that no amount of metaphysical therapy or healthy living can heal us. Like the caterpillar, our old selves must die. And this begins when we hide ourselves, when we cocoon ourselves in Him. When we humbly admit our brokenness. When we repent, not of our humanity, but of t rying to root our humanity in anything but God Himself ... The paradox of personal identity is that once we accept that we are not what we should be, we are finally in a place to be made what we could be. Once we acknowledge that we are dead apart from God, we are finally able to live in Him. Once we admit the inadequacy of our lives, we are finally able to discover the sufficiency of His. Made For More: An Invitation to Live in God's Image , Hannah Anderson, April 2014, Moody, pp. 59-60.

When we turn to other things for knowledge, when we define ourselves by things like our work, our relationships, our giftedness - even our pain - we create an alternative source of identity. And as we image a false god, our very personhood crystallizes around it. Instead of being fully formed, multidimensional people who radiate the complexity of God's nature, we become one-dimensional caricatures, as limited and superficial as the things that we have devoted ourselves to… When we center our identity on these "lesser glories," we become defined by them, and we end up defining reality by them as well. Like our first parents, we use them to establish our own definition of good and evil and judge ourselves and others by it. When we successfully achieve "good" we feel a high, a moment of fullness in our soul. But whenever it is threatened, we feel threatened. When it is taken from us, we become depressed and feel like we've lost ourselves because in so man...

[F]irst comes the thing, then the idea, then the word. If our ideas are sound to the extent that they faithfully represent the thing, they will be clearly communicable only if we clothe them in words that accurately signify them . Ideas as such are not communicable from one mind to another. They have to be carefully fitted to words, so that the words might communicate them faithfully … How do we ensure that our words are adequate to the ideas they seek to convey? The process is essentially the same as the one we follow when confirming the clarity and soundness of our ideas. We must go back to the sources of the ideas . Often we cannot come up with the right word for the idea because we don't have a firm grasp on the idea itself. Usually, when we clarify the idea by checking it against its source in the objective world, the right word will come to us.   Even though this quote is about good communication in general, D.Q. McInerny's advice could well be applied to how we...

(I've posted this devotional by Spurgeon before, but it's so good that it's worth repeating.) He shall choose our inheritance for us   Psalm 47:4 Our enemies would allot us a very dreary portion, but we are not left in their hands. The LORD will cause us to stand in our lot, and our place is appointed by His infinite wisdom. A wiser mind than our own arranges our destiny, The ordaining of all things is with God, and we are glad to have it so; we choose that God should choose for us. If we might have our own way we would wish to let all things go in God's way. Being conscious of our own folly, we would not desire to rule our own destinies. We feel safer and more at ease when the LORD steers our vessel than we could possibly be if we could direct it according to our own judgment. Joyfully we leave the painful present and the unknown future with our Father, our Savior, our Comforter. O my soul, this day lay down thy wishes at Jesus' feet! If thou hast of ...

Social bankruptcy:

Narcissus "Sir Winston Churchill" I am thankful for the living truth of the gospel revealed in God's Word: And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift...

Sometimes life seems to be on an even keel and then suddenly the combination of past, present, and hormones triggers a meltdown. I'm posting at Out of the Ordinary today and sharing some comfort I received from God's Word during a recent episode. Read more here ….

Your mercy, my God, is the Theme of my Song, The Joy of my Heart and the Boast of my Tongue; Your free Grace alone, from the first to the last, Has won my Affections and bound my Soul fast. Without your sweet Mercy I could not live here Sin soon would reduce me to utter Despair; But, thro' your free Goodness, my Spirits revive, And he that first made me, still keeps me alive. Whene'er I mistake, your kind Mercy begins To melt me, and then I can mourn for my Sins And, led by your Spirit, to Jesus's Blood, My Sorrows are dry'd, and my Strength is renewed. Your Mercy is more than a Match for my Heart Which wonders to feel its own Hardness depart; Dissolv'd by your Presence, I fall to the Ground And weep to the Praise of the Mercy I found. The doors of your Mercy stand open all Day To the needy and poor, who knock by the Way; Your Mercy is endless, most tender, and free; No Sinner need doubt, since 'tis given to me. ...

Is the chicken local? (ht: Thirsty Theologian ) And an encore:

I am thankful for: My job. In these hard economic times, it is not to be taken for granted. I'm also thankful for strength and concentration when the workload requires me to work late like tonight. source Spring. After a colder-than-normal winter, the warmer weather is wonderful. The Bradford pears and ornamental cherries are in full bloom. The birds and squirrels have also been hard at work readying their nests. A robin has decided to build her nest on a gutter downspout right by the patio door. I'm looking forward to observing the babies in the days ahead. Scheduled prayer times with with my daughter. This discipline has made a big difference for both of us. Theologians, both alive and dead, who share their insight with ordinary believers like me. A sovereign and faithful God who never forsakes us.

Just completed: An Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose An Unlikely Disciple is the true story of a liberal, non-Christian, Brown University student who goes undercover at Liberty University for a semester. Roose is interested in learning more about the Evangelical culture that is so foreign to him, so what could be better than infiltrating a bastion of fundamentalism and finding out for himself? Although I would not identify myself theologically with Liberty, in a sense the book shows what "we" look like to an outsider. His story is very interesting and often funny, but it's rather touching and sad as well. It's clear that Roose meets believers who genuinely love the Lord, but it also reveals how easy it is for someone to put on a Christian facade by just doing the "right" things. He left Liberty after one semester acknowledging positive things about Christianity and yet not coming to faith hims...