Tried With Fire

I am no fan of mysticism, at least the version I was exposed to. It sounded so very spiritual and even got some things partially right, but the focus was wrong. It was hammered in time after time that I could do nothing in myself. I get that. Jesus said so Himself loud and clear. But what was the answer to this dilemma? Your only choice was to turn inward and constantly take your spiritual pulse as to whether you were "in Christ" or not. That in itself is highly problematic because "in Christ" became a vague higher spiritual plane that one strives for, NOT the act of God Almighty who justifies the ungodly. "Christ" also became a buzzword too with very little connection to Jesus as a real person. Also if God placed us "in Christ" and we can take ourselves out, what does that say about the power of man versus the power of God? The gospel was seen as baby stuff that got us in the door. The bigger and better stuff was up to us to achieve. This l...

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:30.  How far does God’s foresight extend? It extends, we believe, to the entire man and all about him. God ordained of old when we should be born, and where, and who our parents should be, and what our lot in infancy, and what our path in youth, and what our position in manhood. From the first to the last it has all happened according to the divine purpose, even as it was ordained by the divine will. Not only the man, but all that concerns the man, is foreordained of the Lord, “The very hairs of your head,” that is to say, all that which has anything to do with you, which comes into any kind of contact with you, and is in any sense part and parcel of yourself, is under the divine foresight and predestination. Everything is in the divine purpose, and has been ordered by the divine wisdom; all the events of your life—the greater certainly, the smaller with equal certainty. It is impossible to draw a line in providence,...

I'm posting at Out of the Ordinary today: The coming of Christ has been on my mind of late. Part of it is because my pastor has just finished preaching a series on Revelation. The other part is the lingering sorrow that has been weighing on my heart. I am not a melancholy person by nature, but I can't seem to shake this undercurrent of sadness. Don't get me wrong, there are many moments of joy and laughter. There are many times of encouragement in God's Word and with his people, but there is lament mixed with praise. What is going on? Am I getting inundated with too much news? Has the optimism of youth been replaced with the pessimism of middle-age? Am I feeling helpless in the face of so much suffering that is not just out there but close to home? Christ's second coming is looking better and better, and yet his return isn't meant to be just an escape hatch from this broken and sin-cursed world. In my weariness, I turned to the passage that everyone ...

“The LORD looses the prisoners: the LORD opens the eyes of the blind: the LORD raises them that are bowed down: the LORD loves the righteous: the LORD preserves the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked He turns upside down.” Psalm 146:7-9. Some are bowed down with bereavement. Well may she be bowed down who has just committed to the earth the beloved of her heart, and well may he go mourning whose first-born son has been taken from him by a sudden stroke. Well may some lament, who have lost the choicest friend that man ever had, and find that half their life is gone in the death of that beloved one; yet, “The Lord raises them that are bowed down.” Come; tell your grief to Him who pitied the widow at the gate of Nain. Come; pour out your sorrow before Him who wept with the beloved sisters at Bethany when Lazarus was dead. He can help you, for He “raises them that are bowed down." Some are bowed down sadly by the burdens of life. They have ...

These are quotes from people directly involved in the crisis when Prince Edward County (PEC) closed their public school system to avoid compliance with Brown v. Board of Education. Helen Carter was a black staff member of the American Friends Service Committee. This is Quaker community service group who came to PEC to assist the black community in finding education alternatives for their children but also to try to bring reconciliation. John Hurt and Gary Smith were two of the children who lost 5 years of their education. I can't help but ponder their words in the light of events this week. "How can we in our tragedy act in such a way as not to allow the hatred which is all about us to consume us and become a part of ourselves?"  Helen Carter, 1961 1 "I wouldn't say the wound has been healed, but it's been dressed well enough that no one wants to take the bandage off it." John Hurt, 1992. 2 "I think that the Southern thing is be nice about ...

The cow really is a sphere . ht: Julia Stone on FB

If I had lost a loved one in an airplane crash, would it be helpful to tell me that there are greater odds for dying in automobile accidents? Would that give me greater comfort knowing that my loss was not as statistically significant? Hardly. This would be callous and cruel. Then why do we trot out statistics when someone raises issues of human suffering? For example, if you bring up domestic abuse against women, someone will raise the point that men are also abused by their wives. However, pointing out abuse against women is not a denial of abuse against men. Folks, this is not a binary choice. But what ends up happening is the validity of the studies becomes the subject of debate. The discussion becomes theoretical, and people fall through the cracks. Why do we do this? Is there some numerical threshold that needs to be crossed? If I can prove that X number of people have suffered this plight, then it is worth considering? I've seen this play out in social media over a vari...

"Hath God forgotten to be gracious?"—Psalm 77:9. Once more; if this were the case, the Lord must have forgotten his own self ; for grace is of the essence of his nature, since God is love. We forget ourselves and disgrace ourselves, but God cannot do so. Oh beloved, it is part and parcel of God's own nature that he should show mercy to the guilty and be gracious to those who trust in him. Hast thou forgotten as a father thy children? Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion upon the son of her womb? These things are barely possible, but it is utterly impossible that the great Father should forget himself by forgetting his children; that the great Lord who hath taken us to be his peculiar heritage and his jewels should cease to value us and forget to be gracious to us. I think I hear some one say, "I do not think God hath forgotten to be gracious except to me. " Doth God make any exceptions? Doth he not speak universally w...

I was in the 5th grade at my elementary school. I don't remember much about the actual building, but I remember the stairwells. Metal hand rails with chipped paint, well-worn steps, and the combined odor of sneakers and Janitor-in-a-Drum. There were swinging wooden doors with glass panels at each floor so you could see if someone was on the opposite side and not knock them over by accident. I was getting ready to go down the stairs and was in the process of pushing the stairwell door when I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the glass. I will never forget the shock when I saw my face. I saw an Asian girl with glasses looking back at me. It may sound crazy, but I was so used to being around white kids that I forgot I was Chinese. I don't know what I expected to see, but it wasn't me. The Immigration Act of 1965 had been in place for several years, but you could still count the Asian families on one hand. White students outnumbered black students probably 5:1, if not more...

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Revelation 22:21. The grace of that wondrous person who is God and man in one person and whom we call Lord, is now solemnly invoked upon you. Read the text again and pause a while in the middle to enjoy, “The grace of our Lord.” Whatever familiarity we have with Him, we call Him Master and Lord, and He says, “You do well, for so I am.” Let us never forget that! The grace that comes from His majesty, the grace that comes from His headship, the grace that comes from His divinely human supremacy over His Church, which is His body—this is the grace which we desire for you all! Read the next word, “the grace of our Lord Jesus”—may that be with you—that is to say, the grace of our Savior, for that is the meaning of the word, Jesus. All His saving grace; all that which redeems from guilt, from sin, from trouble—all that which saves us with an everlasting salvation—may that be yours to the fullest! Then comes the other word, “the...

I've begun reading about the closing of Prince Edward County schools from 1959-1964. It's been eye-opening to say the least, given my ignorance about America's civil rights history. It's also a window into the blindness of the sin of racism. But this story is also about the power of education and the power to withhold it. Education can be used as a means of advancement and a weapon against ignorance, but what happens when it is deliberately withheld? Is this a form of oppression? When I read Karen Swallow Prior's bio of the English reformer, Hannah More, she fought for the education of the poor, but it was limited. They were only taught to read, not write. Boundaries of class needed to be preserved. Withholding or even giving a limited education achieved that end. Fast forward to 1950's Virginia. In 1951, black high school students in Farmville went on strike to protest the terrible conditions of their schools. The Commonwealth was already ranked 45 out ...