Tried With Fire

"The doctrine of the Pharisees may be summed up in three words: they were formalists, tradition-worshippers, and self-righteous. They attached such weight to the traditions of men that they practically regarded them of more importance than the inspired writings of the Old Testament... Remember, all this time, they did not formally deny any part of the Old Testament Scripture. But they brought in, over and above it, so much of human invention, that they virtually put Scripture aside, and buried it under their own traditions. This is the sort of religion, of which our Lord says to the Apostles, "Be careful and be on your guard."... "The doctrine of the Sadducees, on the other hand, may be summed up in three words: free-thinking, skepticism, and rationalism... But the practical effect of their teaching was to shake men's faith in any revelation, and to throw a cloud of doubt over men's minds, which was only one degree better than infidelity. And of a...

J.S. Bach cello suite No. 1 in D performed by John Feeley, classical guitarist:

ht: Baptist Humor

"[W]e need to recognize that Christendom is a system which is partly merged with culture while trying to sustain itself separately. But Christendom, like all institutions when endangered, tries to protect itself. And if you doubt that, you expose a case of child abuse by a pastor and watch what happens. Christendom has used scripture to support or conceal slavery, racism, domestic violence, and many other cruelties that our God hates. I fear the Christendom today has become less interested in truth and more interested in power..." "Christendom is not Jesus Christ. Do not be deceived..." "Do not follow the siren of culture even if someone baptizes it for you. Its categories are not God's. Do not be seduced by the allure of Christendom nor heed the word of God when it is used to sanction something that is utterly unlike Jesus Christ... Know Christ so well that you can discern what is unlike Him no matter how seductive or the religious garb it wears......

We have been told from ancient times that the unexamined life is not worth living, and I agree with that. And yet I must find myself in a small minority because I find it difficult to find many people who put their own philosophies and their religious convictions under a microscope and ask themselves, "Why do I believe what I believe? Do I believe it simply because it has been passed on to me by my parents or the subcultural community that I have been in?"... Why do you believe what you believe? Because what you believe determines how you live. And so it is a very important question to ask yourself particularly as a Christian, because there is real sense in which we are called upon to justify to our believe systems, not just to our neighbor but to ourselves, because we are called to be mature in our faith. Paul tells us to be babes in evil but in our understanding to be adults, which means we have to use the minds that God has given us to see the basis for our truth. This ...

The Lord Jesus is "a friend who never changes." There is no fickleness about Him: those whom He loves, He loves to the end. Husbands have been known to forsake their wives; parents have been known to cast off their children; human vows and promises of faithfulness have often been forgotten. Thousands have been neglected in their poverty and old age, who were honored by all when they were rich and young. But Christ never changed his feelings towards one of His friends. He is "the same yesterday and today and forever." [Hebrews 13:8]  The Lord Jesus "never goes away from His friends." There is never a parting and goodbye between Him and His people. From the time that He makes His home in the sinner's heart, He abides in it forever. The world is full of separations and departures: death and the passage of time break up the most united family; sons move on to make their way in life; daughters are married, and leave their father's house forever. Scat...

Performed on November 28, 1985 by the incomparable duo of Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax. This is the entire sonata, and worth the 27 minutes. Get a cup of tea or coffee, sit back, and enjoy!

"Exercising care over the formation of our minds is not a purely academic pursuit; it is also a spiritual one. God enjoins us in Scripture to pursue intellectual virtues. The Bible is unequivocally clear that Christians are to superintend the life of the mind. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by he renewing of your minds" (Rom. 12:3). God cares about how you think, not just what you think. A godly mind is not merely one devoid of vile thoughts, nor are the faithful stewards of the mind necessarily the ones who die with all their doctrinal p's and q's in place (brainwashing might as effectively accomplish this)..." "According to the Christian tradition, to forge virtuous habits of moral and intellectual character is part of what is required for us to grow to the full stature of all that God intends for humans to be. Becoming virtuous is part of what makes us fit residents of the kingdom of heaven, ready and able to do God's ...

This song is very fitting given current events and Sunday's sermon by a visiting pastor: Music and text by Kevin Twit and Mac Purdy, sung by Matthew Perryman Jones ©1995

“And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. “And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” Mark 4:37-40 (KJV) Here are the chosen disciples of the Lord Jesus in great anxiety. The faithful little flock which believed when Priests, and Scribes, and Pharisees were all alike unbelieving, is allowed by the Shepherd to be much disquieted. The fear of death breaks in upon them like an armed man. The deep water seems likely to go over their souls. Peter, James, and John, the pillars of the Church about to be planted in the world, are much distressed. Perhaps they had not reckoned on all this. Perhaps they had expected that Christ’s ser...

The discussion continues about women's ministry, blogging, writing, platforms, etc. Deb gave a little blogging history that was new to me, and there have been additional posts from Lisa ,  Aimee , and Debi . However, after letting my thoughts simmer a bit more since Monday , I had an epiphany of sorts. I am a firm supporter of a Word-based ministry for women. I strongly believe we need to start with who God is and what His Word says about Himself, the Gospel, and who we are in Christ. Based on this foundation, appropriate application will follow. However, I don't believe my gift is to specifically  teach the Word to women. I know sisters who are passionate about this, but as for me? I don't think I have this calling. So where does this leave me? As I was trying to find an answer, I began to ask myself, what is my passion? What has been my goal for my daughter, the most important younger woman in my life? These questions were in the back of my mind as we were ...

If you are truly convinced that there is some solution to all human problems, that one can conceive an ideal society which men can reach if only they do what is necessary to attain it, then you and your followers must believe that no price can be too high to pay in order to open the gates of such a paradise. Only the stupid and malevolent will resist once certain simple truths are put to them. Those who resist must be persuaded; if they cannot be persuaded, laws must be passed to restrain them; if that does not work, then coercion, if need be violence, will inevitably have to be used—if necessary, terror, slaughter. Lenin believed this after reading Das Kapital, and consistently taught that if a just, peaceful, happy, free, virtuous society could be created by the means he advocated, then the end justified any methods that needed to be used, literally any... So we must weigh and measure, bargain, compromise, and prevent the crushing of one form of life by its rivals. I know only t...

Last week, Lisa and Aimee got the ball rolling with their posts ( here and here ) on women's ministry and specifically where middle-aged women fit into the picture. As a woman in her 50's, I appreciate that my friends have started this discussion, so if you haven't read their posts, please do. However, I want to take a step back even further and consider what are the expectations of women's ministry ? I've broken this one question into three sub-questions which have spawned even more, so consider yourself forewarned. Who is the focus of women's ministry? The go-to verses about women's ministry are Titus 2:3-5, older women teaching younger women what is good. There is no question of the need to train those who will carry on after we are gone. But is this the sum total of what women's ministry should be? Namely, is the focus only on the younger generation? If so, could this lead to the possibility of older saints falling through the cracks? What is the...

"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" —Mark 4:37-40. Many of God's children get on very well so long as they have no trials. They follow Christ very tolerably in the time of fair weather. They fancy they are trusting him entirely. They flatter themselves they have cast every care on him. They obtain the reputation of being very good Christians. But suddenly some unlooked for trial assails them. Their property makes itself wings, and flies away. Their own health fails. Death comes up into their house. Tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word. And where now is ...

Trio for violin, cello, and piano Op. 17 Allegro moderato by Clara Schumann

The Irish Lutheran twins debate Richard Dawkins:

I am thankful for: The gift of laughter. An opportunity to write just for the fun of it. Books that make me think and books that are just for fun. Texas-style chili and cornbread with small group last night. The good report from a family member's medical test. The renewing of the mind, even if it is a slow process. Upcoming Sunday school class on suffering. The reminder from my pastor that without the Reformation, we would not have the gospel or the Bible in our own language. Praise God for His faithfulness in guarding the truth and keeping His people. Photo credit: By Alireza Shakernia (Autumn) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

It's my turn again at Out of the Ordinary: You may be wondering why I chose this post title. The King James version of James 5:11 commends Job's patience, not his friends'. But that's the point. Job's friends weren't very patient, were they? To their credit, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar started out well. When they heard of their friend's tragic loss, they joined him in his grief and sat silently in the dust for a week. (Job 2:11-13) But when the week was over, they opened their mouths and inserted their feet. I don't think they wanted to add to Job's wounds with their words. I'm sure they wanted to help him out of his distress by offering the best advice they could, but they made things worse. Now it's easy to criticize Job's friends, but I don't know if I would have done any better.  Read the rest of the post here. ..

Some recent reading: Ordinary by Michael Horton. I have not read Radical nor do I think Ordinary is specifically countering David Platt's book. But I think Horton is very valid in his criticism of American Christianity's weakness in succumbing to the next big thing and elevating those things as being more spiritual, almost like another form of two-tiered Christianity. There were many good points, particularly the importance of the means of grace and the local church. It rambled a bit at times and could have been a bit more concise. I'm glad I read Ordinary, but I prefer The God of the Mundane by Matthew Redmond. Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges. We recently had a Sunday school class on this book. I had read the book several years ago, and it was nice to refresh my memory. Bridges has a knack for taking theological issues and making them more accessible. My only criticism is the wordiness and sometimes his analogies do not have the best one-to-one corr...

I want you to know the length and breadth of your portion in Christ. I want you to understand the full amount of treasure to which faith in Jesus entitles you. You have found out that you are a great sinner. Thank God for that. You have fled to Christ for pardon and peace with God. Thank God for that. You have committed yourself to Jesus for time and eternity: you have no hope but in Christ's blood, Christ's righteousness, Christ's mediation, Christ's daily all-persevering intercession. Thank God for that. Your heart's desire and prayer is to be holy in all manner of conversation. Thank God for that. But oh, lay hold upon the glorious truth,—that believing on Jesus you shall never perish, you shall never be cast away, you shall never fall away! It is written for you as well as the apostles, "My sheep shall never perish." Yes! reader, Jesus has spoken it, and Jesus meant it to be believed. Jesus has spoken it, who never broke His promises. Jesus has spoken ...