Tried With Fire

For your listening pleasure, this is 4th movement of Symphony No. 5 in D major/D minor, Op. 107, also known as the Reformation  Symphony by Felix Mendelssohn . The theme of this movement is taken from "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." This work was composed in 1830 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession .

Domestic abuse is one of those problems that is rarely addressed in the church. While we know it exists out there, we prefer to believe it doesn't take place in the Christian home. Why the discomfort? I think one reason is because of this question: What if the marriage ends in divorce? These are three possible camps regarding divorce among Christians that I am aware of: No divorce for any reason whatsoever. Divorce only for adultery and possibly abandonment. Divorce for adultery, abandonment, and abuse. I stand firmly in the third camp. For an in-depth defense of this position from scripture and church history, I would refer you to these lectures by Pastor David Dykstra (ARBCA). They are worth your time, and I would do them a disservice if I tried to duplicate his seven talks in one blog post. Rather, I am going to offer two hypothetical scenarios with the hope that you will consider how your position on divorce determines how you respond. Scenario 1. A man in your co...

A letter to the editor from a male mechanical engineering student at Eastern Washington University recently went viral. This letter was addressed to the women in his engineering classes and highlighted the subtle discrimination toward women in this field of study. One statement was of particular interested to me because my experience was more like that of this male student: I did not, for example, grow up in a world that discouraged me from focusing on hard science.  I grew up in a Christian family with several female scientists including my mom. I studied chemical engineering and computer science in the 80's when women were beginning to break into these previously male-dominated fields. I don't recall any derogatory attitudes. The course material alone was sufficient to weed out students from the programs regardless of their gender. After grad school, my first manager and client contacts were women. So based on my limited observations, I don't think discouraging g...

There is a real spiritual “presence” of Christ with the hearts of all true-hearted communicants in the Lord’s Supper. Rejecting as I do, with all my heart, the baseless notion of any bodily presence of Christ on the Lord’s table, I can never doubt that the great or­dinance appointed by Christ has a special and peculiar blessing attached to it. That blessing, I believe, con­sists in a special and peculiar presence of Christ, vouch­safed to the heart of every believing communicant. That truth appears to me to lie under those wonderful words of institution, “Take, eat: this is My body.” “Drink ye all of this: this is My blood.” Those words were never meant to teach that the bread in the Lord’s Supper was literally Christ’s body, or the wine literally Christ’s blood. But our Lord did mean to teach that every right-hearted believer, who ate that bread and drank that wine in remembrance of Christ, would in so doing find a special presence of Christ in his heart, and a special revelation of...

It's my turn at Out of the Ordinary today in which I write about my favorite event of the Protestant Reformation,  Martin Luther's trial at the Diet of Worms, and a lesson from his example. Read the post  here . Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason-for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves - I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one's conscience is neither safe nor sound. God help me. Amen. 

The peace of the true Christian is not a vague, dreamy feeling, without reason and without foundation. He can show cause for it. He builds upon solid ground. He has peace with God, because he is justified. Without justification it is impossible to have real peace. Conscience forbids it. Sin is a mountain between a man and God, and must be taken away. The sense of guilt lies heavy on the heart, and must be removed. Unpardoned sin will murder peace. The true Christian knows all this well. His peace arises from a consciousness of his sins being forgiven, and his guilt being put away. His house is not built on sandy ground. His well is not a broken cistern, which can hold no water. He has peace with God, because he is justified. He is justified, and his sins are forgiven. However many, and however great, they are cleansed away, pardoned, and wiped out. They are blotted out of the book of God’s remembrance. They are sunk into the depths of the sea. They are cast behind God’s back. They are ...

ht: Becky on FB

Heath aster I am thankful for: - The wonderful news that friends are expecting their first baby. - Wildflowers that add bright spots of color. - The combined pleasure of knitting while listening to a good mystery. - Saints who offer a helping hand. In this case, help with a mower that won't start. - Saints who are willing to wrestle through difficult issues together. - The ordinary means of grace as a means of sanctification. In particular, the blessing of celebrating the Lord's supper. - The love of God in Christ Jesus. (Rom. 8:39)

"Christians need to realize that while passion for family living and family values may feel timeless, how that is communicated and carried out in any place or any given generation will differ. We must be on our guard  that nostalgia for the traditional family, however that is defined, does not prevent us from ministering to the real needs of our communities... How do these nostalgic images and evangelical musings on the traditional family link to violence? you may wonder. The answer is quite straightforward. We teach and preach that the family is  sacred, ordained by God, honored by Christina people. The family may be sacred, but sometimes it is not safe. In our enthusiasm to support family, we often overlook that important fact. Statistically speaking, women, men and children are more likely to be harmed or threatened or injured within their own family home than outside it. When we place the family on a very high pedestal, we must recognize that the result is a cha...

Fear not, beloved brethren, to begin serving Christ. He to whom you commit your souls has all power in heaven and earth, and He will keep you. He will never let you be cast away. Relatives may oppose. Neighbors may mock. The world may slander and sneer. Fear not! Fear not! The powers of hell shall never prevail against your soul. Greater is He that is for you, than all they that are against you. Fear not for the Church of Christ, my brethren, when ministers die, and saints are taken away. Christ can ever maintain His own cause, He will raise up better and brighter stars. The stars are all in His right hand. Leave off all anxious thought about the future. Cease to be cast down by the measures of statesmen, or the plots of wolves in sheep's clothing. Christ will ever provide for His Own Church. Christ will take care that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. All is going on well, though our eyes may not see it. The king...

A pun for Tanzania? You bet! Read on at your peril. Here are some additions to the list: After the economic down turn, it was a po' land. When the taxi driver drives off leaving the Cockney short-changed, he shouted, "'e jipped me!" If you are introducing your friend, Anna, to some guy whose name you don't know, say, "Guy, Anna." I went on a boat ride with my friend, Wanda, but it was no fun because I had to keep yelling, "Row, Wanda!" The Spanish-speaking, glass-bottle-only person's reply when being offered a beverage in an aluminum container, "Can? Nada." If it rains goats and sheep, you get baaa rain. They named the new health club after the founder of the telephone, The Alexander Graham Bell Gym. When an infant descendent of Martyn Lloyd-Jones cries, he wails. There's a new herbal cooking craze - rue mania.

I am thankful for: Blue skies and sunshine after many rainy days. Cooler nights and a furnace which still works. Spotting some warblers on their Southward migration. Hurricane Joaquin missing the East coast. There was a lot of flooding, but the damage could have been even worse. Saturated ground, pine trees with shallow root systems, and tropical storm winds are a bad combination. A smaller small group, thought-provoking discussion, and the freedom to express our opinions on issues where we might disagree. Galatians sermon series. I'm thankful for faithful preaching of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit's application to hearts and lives. Photo credit: Malcolm Campbell [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Social media can be a rather rude place at times. There are moments of thoughtful give-and-take, but there are moments when the interaction consists of name calling those in the opposition. Maybe I'm becoming an old fuddy-duddy, but I'm not impressed with the latter. Rather than strengthening a person's position, it seems to weaken it, in my opinion. Any reasonable debate about an idea is lost in the rapid exchange of derogatory comments, and maybe that's the point. Maybe we've lost the whole concept of debating ideas for the sake of the truth in the desire to have the last word, even if that last word is an insult. In With Good Reason , the author gives details of several fallacies of presumption. Here's what he has to say about the fallacy of begging-the-question epithets: [T]he error lies in the use of stated language that reaffirms what we wish to prove but have not yet proved. An epithet is a descriptive word or phrase used to characterize a person,...

One of my favorite managers from years ago was a retired Marine Corps fighter pilot. I happened to notice an interesting pin on his lapel one day and asked him what it was. It looked like a worm to me, which seemed odd, but he confirmed that it was a worm, a silkworm in fact. During a combat mission, his plane was shot down, and he was saved by his parachute. So the pin was a sign of membership in a club whose members owed their lives to the lowly silkworm. I did a search on the Internet, after hearing my boss' story, and found that parachute manufacturers founded these survivors' clubs . From their perspective, groups like this would be great PR. You couldn't ask for better testimonials than from people who were living proof that your product did the job.  Now let's move to a different group of survivors, survivors of domestic violence. Compared to people saved by their parachutes, abuse survivors are not good PR. Rather than being living proof that something wor...

Does any one ask me, What is the best safeguard against false doctrine ?—I answer in one word, "The Bible: the Bible regularly read, regularly prayed over, regularly studied." We must go back to the old prescription of our Master: "Search the Scriptures." (John 5:39.) If we want a weapon to wield against the devices of Satan, there is nothing like "the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God." But to wield it successfully, we must read it habitually, diligently, intelligently, and prayerfully. This is a point on which, I fear, many fail. In an age of hurry and bustle, few read their Bibles as much as they should. More books perhaps are read than ever, but less of the one Book which makes man wise unto salvation. Rome and neology could never have made such havoc in the Church in the last fifty years, if there had not been a most superficial knowledge of the Scriptures throughout the land. A Bible-reading laity is the strength of a Church... If we would not be...

File under conspiracy theories: ht: Marcia on FB

On this very rainy Thursday, I am thankful for: - Technology that allows advanced notice for bad weather. - Hurricane Joaquin may not be heading our way if the latest prediction holds out. Still praying it heads out to sea as the Northeast doesn't need another Sandy. I also don't want another Isabel. - Conveniences I take for granted like electricity, clean water, modern appliances, etc. - The women who are reading Openness Unhindered   together. We've had good discussions on the practical implications of the gospel for our identity and how we relate to those outside of Christ. I'm also very thankful God is using this to deepen our friendships through sharing and prayer. - The comfort that God rules and reigns over the big and the small.