Tried With Fire

I am Out of the Ordinary today writing on the hope of the resurrection even in the midst of Alzheimer's. I sometimes imagine what life was like in the Garden of Eden. There was perfect harmony with God and between all of creation. There was no illness or death, which is hard to fathom. Yet this was the reality of the state of innocence before the Fall. But that reality is no more. Once sin entered the picture, a new reality took hold. What was once whole and healthy is now broken and dying. Even if you never had a single sick day in your life, the rate of decay is going to eventually outpace the rate of cell growth. Surgery may be able to nip this and tuck that. Medical research may provide new treatments, but there is no fountain of youth. There is no elixir of life. The sad prognosis of this present reality has been on my mind quite a bit lately because I have a family member with Alzheimer's. The disease is still in its early stage, and I'm very thankful for the...

"Wait on the Lord."—Psalm 27:14. It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God's warriors than standing still. There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to take. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption? No, but simply wait. Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God, and spread the case before Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of aid. In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is sweet to be humble as a child, and wait with simplicity of soul upon the Lord. It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly, and are heartily willing to be guided by the will of God. But wait in faith . Express your unstaggering confidence in Him; for unfaithfu...

ht: Grammarly on FB

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia I am thankful for: A big mug of P.G. Tips to help burn off the mental fog. Laughing so hard with my daughter that my stomach hurts. Good discussions in small group about baptism, the Lord's supper, and ambition. Having my daughter stop and ask if she can pray for me when I am distressed. Reminders that this world is not my home and the grave is only a temporary stop on the way to something much better. Christ alone. "Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to the cross I cling."

There has been some lively discussion in social media over the extent that headship and submission go beyond the home to opposite-gender interaction in general. For the record, I affirm male elders in the church. I believe Ephesians 5:22-33 still applies to marriage today. But I do not believe that the human race should be divided ontologically by gender into those who lead and those who follow. Being made in the image of God, which does include gender, is much more complex than that. I am also concerned that practices, which would fall under the heading of Christian liberty, are taught as principles, thus binding the consciences of believers. Therefore, I concur with the concerns of the folks at the Mortification of Spin. (Read the posts here:  Aimee #1 , Carl , Todd , Carl #2 , Aimee #2 ) I especially appreciate Aimee sticking her neck out and writing about this issue. I've had many concerns over the years, but I've been a chicken about expressing them. Maybe I haven't ...

Imago dei has been rather life changing for me especially in terms of my identity. In his sermon No Little People , I appreciated Francis Schaeffer's brief discourse on this doctrine's importance in how we relate to humanity as a whole and to fellow believers. I am also reading Ordinary   by Michael Horton   with my small group. One of the problems Ordinary addresses is celebrity Christianity, so I found it interesting how Schaeffer relates a right understanding of imago dei to leadership and warns what may happen when we forget this common ground: Our attitude toward all men should be that of equality because we are common creatures. We are of one blood and kind. As I look across all the world, I must see every man as a fellow creature and I must be careful to have a sense of our equality on the basis of this common status. We must be careful in our thinking not to try to stand in the place of God to other men. We are fellow creatures. And when I step from the creat...

“A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another: as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34, 35 The love which Christ commands His followers to have towards one another is not the ordinary love of man to man as such, but the love of the new-born man to the new-born man. Let us who love the Lord, love each other fervently in that sense. This is a love which arises out of a totally new union. A man who is a Christian belongs to a very special family. That family circle does not comprehend the whole human race—it is a family inside the larger human family, yet separated from it by an inner spiritual life. What if I say that the distance between the saved and the unsaved is like a great gulf? It is true that by the almighty Grace of God, there is a way across that gulf and many pass over it—still, the gulf is very deep and broad. But the moment a man is born unto God he e...

I am thankful for: The start of another school year for my daughter. Lord willing, she will complete the requirements for her associate degree in computer science in December and transfer to a local university for her bachelor's. I'm thankful for the affordability of community college, its close proximity to home, and the good experience my daughter has had with her professors. I'm also thankful for her hard work and love of learning. Fellowship (and cheesecake!) with some of the ladies in the church. Daily work and daily bread. The promise of the resurrection of our bodies. This is looking better and better as I grow older. That God is just. It's easy to get discouraged when you see the injustice and evil in the world across many fronts. As I get involved in these issues, I don't want the problems to grow larger in my eyes than God Himself. I can't forget that He is holy and righteous. He does not turn a blind eye to sin. He has compassion for the...

This morning, Tim Challies linked to an article at Christianity Today (CT) which looks at the results of a survey on whether divorce is a sin in particular situations. The two pools of participants were evangelical pastors and non-clergy Americans. When asked about divorce in the case of abuse, one-third of the Americans believed divorce was a sin in the case of abuse. By implication, the sin of divorce is the same or perhaps worse than the sin of abuse. Let that sink in for a moment. The CT article links to "Till Death Do Us Part", a series of articles in the Post and Courier on domestic violence in the state of South Carolina.  Sadly, SC has been among the top 10 for violence against women for the last 15 years. In their research, the reporters have found : Awash in guns, saddled with ineffective laws and lacking enough shelters for the battered, South Carolina is a state where the deck is stacked against women trapped in the cycle of abuse, a Post and Courier invest...

"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name."—Psalm 29:2. God's glory is the result of His nature and acts. He is glorious in His character, for there is such a store of everything that is holy, and good, and lovely in God, that He must be glorious. The actions which flow from His character are also glorious; but while He intends that they should manifest to His creatures His goodness, and mercy, and justice, He is equally concerned that the glory associated with them should be given only to Himself. Nor is there aught in ourselves in which we may glory; for who maketh us to differ from another? And what have we that we did not receive from the God of all grace? Then how careful ought we to be to walk humbly before the Lord! The moment we glorify ourselves, since there is room for one glory only in the universe, we set ourselves up as rivals to the Most High. Shall the insect of an hour glorify itself against the sun which warmed it into life? Shall the potsherd ...

From this article, which is applicable to other types of introverts too. (ht: Rachel Miller on FB)

Passiflora lutea I am thankful for: A break from the typical August heat. I will gladly take nights in the upper 60's and days in the 80's. The anticipation of fall. I am looking forward to soup and sweater weather. The chick returning to the nest. My daughter was traveling for a couple weeks and is back home. I am sleeping much better now. :) Wildflowers that brighten my minimally tended yard. Reminders that it is Christ's perfection and not my own which makes me acceptable to God. A Heavenly Father who is both immanent and transcendent, loving and holy, righteous and compassionate.

I am reposting a review of Openness Unhindered by Rosaria Butterfield at Out of the Ordinary today. Read the post here. As providence would have it, the Mortification of Spin team has done a podcast on the book today with another one to follow in a few weeks. Listen  here .

"Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." It will be so at the last . I shall not venture far into prophecy. Some brethren are quite at home where I should lose myself. I have scarcely yet been able to get out of the gospels and the epistles; and that deep book of Revelation, with its waters to swim in, I must leave to better instructed minds. "Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of that book;" to that blessing I would aspire, but I cannot yet make claim to interpret it. This much, however, seems plain,—there is to be "a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." This creation, which now "groaneth and travaileth in pain," in sympathy with man, is to be brought forth from its bondage into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Blessed be the Lord Jesus, when he brought his people out of their bondage, he did not redeem their spirits only, but their bodies also: hence their material part is the Lord...

ht: Tragedy Series

Heath aster - Symphyotrichum ericoides I am thankful for: Central air conditioning. After more than a month, my AC unit was finally replaced yesterday just in time for the dog days of August. Audiobooks that free up my hands. Sound sleep after many restless nights. Church family that is looking after me while my daughter is away. I'm also thankful it will be only a few more days until she is home. Sermon series on the ordinary means of grace. These messages have given me a greater appreciation for Word and sacrament and to not take them for granted. Praying God's revealed will in His Word when I don't know what to pray for a given situation. God's comfort. He knows my frame, and He is full of compassion.

Big Bun sporting airplane ears in 2009 Big Bun took a sudden downturn last week-end. Although his appetite was almost back to normal, his back legs became progressively weaker, and he lost the use of his left front paw. Thus he was unable to sit up or walk. I took care of him as best I could by bringing food and water right to his mouth and changing his bedding as often as necessary, but this could not go on. So on Monday, he took his last visit to the vet, and we said goodbye. I had what I thought would be my big cry on Sunday evening as I sat next to him and gave him pets. However, there was another deluge when the vet came to take him away. So after more than a decade, there are no bunnies in the house. Even though they were never noisy, it seems even quieter. I had hoped Big Bun would live a little longer following Lizzy's loss, but it was not to be. Was it grief, old age, or a combination of the two? I will never know. I am in no hurry to adopt another bunny at the mo...

But if a Christian is consecrated, does this mean he will be in a big place instead of a little place? The answer, the next step, is very important: As there are no little people in God’s sight, so there are no little places. To be wholly committed to God in the place where God wants him—this is the creature glorified. In my writing and lecturing I put much emphasis on God’s being the infinite reference point which integrates the intellectual problems of life. He is to be this, but he must be the reference point not only in our thinking but in our living. This means being what he wants me to be, where he wants me to be. Nowhere more than in America are Christians caught in the twentieth-century syndrome of size. Size will show success. If I am consecrated, there will necessarily be large quantities of people, dollars, etc. This is not so. Not only does God not say that size and spiritual power go together, but he even reverses this (especially in the teaching of Jesus) and tells us t...

Shall trial shake us? Nay, in all this we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Shall sorrow move us? Faith tells us of a land where sorrow is unknown. Shall the death of saints move us? Faith tells us not to sorrow as those who have no hope, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, them also that sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. Shall the pains and weariness of this frail body move us? Faith tells us of a time at hand when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and death shall be swallowed up in victory. Shall privation move us? Faith tells us of a day when the poverty of our exile shall be forgotten in the abundance of our peaceful, plenteous home, where we shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. Shall the disquieting bustle of this restless life annoy us? Faith tells us of the rest that remaineth for the people of God—the sea of glass like unto crystal on which the ransomed saints shall stand—no tempest, no tumult, no shipwreck there. Sh...