Tried With Fire

My top 10 books of 2019 in the order read: You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit - James K.A. Smith This was a complete game-changer. What if we are more than brains on sticks? What if we are affected by habit and practice as much as cognitively? What then is shaping us and what we love? If this is true, and I believe it is, then we need to be aware and deliberate about the habits and daily "liturgies" we engage in. When I started reading it and listening to an audio version, I showed a chapter to my daughter and had to pry the book out of her hands later. I didn't write a formal review but wrote a few reflections here . On Reading Well - Karen Swallow Prior This is a beautifully written book on pursuing 12 virtues through 12 works of literature. This isn't moralizing but reading that requires critical thinking, making connections, and soul-searching. My appreciation for good books has grown since reading Dr. Prior's books. I wish I could hav...

Then end of 2019 is fast approaching, and people are posting their lists of favorite books and future books. I will post a list of my Top 10 for 2019, but there are still two more days to read in 2019, so I want to keep my options open. It's also hard to pare down the list, so I am putting it off for today. In the past, I had compiled a list of what I wanted to read in the New Year. I don't think I will do that for 2020. I have so many books waiting in the wings on a bookshelf near my bed, literally staring me in the face when I wake up and before I go to sleep. I think that visual will be a better reminder than a list that I post and then forget about. I also want to read because I care , not because it's the latest or most popular book as its only recommendation. I've slowly been moving toward reading for pleasure, reading that is not solely for the brain alone, and taking Alan Jacobs' advice: It seems to me that it is not so hard to absorb, and...

"And even to your old age I am He; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you" (Isaiah 46:4). The year is very old, and here is a promise for our aged friends; yes, and for us all, as age creeps over us. Let us live long enough, and we shall all have hoar hairs; therefore we may as well enjoy this promise by the foresight of faith. When we grow old our God will still be the I AM, abiding evermore the same. Hoar hairs tell of our decay, but He decayeth not. When we cannot carry a burden and can hardly carry ourselves, the LORD will carry us. Even as in our young days He carried us like lambs in His bosom, so will He in our years of infirmity. He made us, and He will care for us. When we become a burden to our friends and a burden to ourselves, the LORD will not shake us off, but the rather He will take us up and carry and deliver us more fully than ever. In many cases the LORD give His servants a long a...

A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. Isaiah 42:3 Bruised reeds aren't cool. They aren't tough and strong. They are often needy and require reassurance, support, and a listening ear. They take time. But they give something, too. They give a reason for many of the "one anothers" in the Bible. If everyone had it all together, would we need patience and compassion? How would we learn listening first and talking second if no one had any emotional needs? And what about being stretched in our love for others? How many verses would be unnecessary if we could meet the fictitious expectations of the ideal Christian life that are floating out there? And there are plenty of them. As I write this, I also hear a voice (not audible) in the back of my head saying, "But what about people taking advantage?" But there is a difference between coddling and compassion. Throwing a bruised...

The angel said to the shepherds, "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” The very object for which He was born, and came into this world, was that He might deliver us from sin. What, then, was it that made us afraid? Were we not afraid of God, because we felt that we were lost through sin? Well, then, here is joy upon joy, for not only has the Lord come among us as a man, but He was made man in order that He might save man from that which separated him from God... The angel described the newborn Savior as “Christ.” There is His manhood, for it was as man that He was anointed. But the angel also rightly called Him “Christ the Lord.” There is His Godhead. This is the solid truth upon which we plant our foot. Jesus of Nazareth is “very God of very God.” He who was born in Bethlehem’s manger is now, and always was, “over all, God blessed forever...

I am slowly working my way through Forbearance: A Theological Ethic for a Disagreeable Church . This is such a good book about a very difficult subject. I would probably disagree with the author about quite a number of doctrinal points, but his book has challenged me in how I handle those disagreement. I have every reason to believe he is a brother in Christ and that we agree on how one becomes a Christian. So the question is how willing an I learn from him or another brother or sister in Christ whom I disagree with? And in real life, there's an additional question - how willing am I to invest in that relationship? In our families, we have to deal with disagreements all the time. No one expects perfect harmony between spouses, siblings, or parents and children. That's just being realistic regarding human nature and the process of sanctification. But those disagreements must be talked out for there to be peace and because we love one another . So for the sake of fighting ...

Last week was the last week of classes for my daughter, so she had the looming deadline of turning in the last quantum homework and her sections' lab grades by Friday. We talk and pray every day, so I encouraged her to commit her work to the Lord and trust that he would give wisdom and guide her. After all, he created physics to begin with. The Lord did bring her through with much rejoicing from both of us. However, I found myself worrying during the day last Friday and wondering if she was stressing out or not. Yes. Ironic that I was encouraging her to trust God but not trusting that he was able to enable her to trust him. But doesn't this happen more often than not? The very advice we give our kids, we fail to follow ourselves. But in reality, she and I are both learning these same lessons. I've just had more decades of failure than she has. Self-sufficiency, fear, and the defaults of original sin still need a good deal of mortification. I am thankful, though, that...

Theology For Everyone  has been running a series on the 10 commandments. I contributed this post on the 9th commandment. This particular commandment has been on my heart and mind for quite a while. I actually began pondering its implications when I began reading more American history and realized how much was omitted or tweaked to make the past more palatable. But that is only one example. Being truthful in all areas and at all costs is the ethical outworking of loving God and loving our neighbor. The bar should be set high because God is the arbiter of all truth. At the same time, I am very thankful that God is merciful to 9th commandment breakers of which I am one. "At face value, the 9th commandment could be read as merely a prohibition against committing perjury or lying under oath. However, this commandment encompasses so much more. According to both the Westminster Shorter and the Baptist catechisms, “The ninth commandment requires the maintaining and promoting of truth b...

You know what “good will” means. Well, all that it means, and more, God has to you, ye sons and daughters of Adam. Poor sinner, thou hast broken His laws; thou art half afraid to come to the throne of His mercy, lest He should spurn thee; hear thou this, and be comforted, God has good will toward men, so good a will that He has said, and said it with an oath, too, “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live ;” so good a will, moreover, that He has even condescended to say, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” And if you say, “Lord, how shall I know that Thou hast this good will towards me,” He points to the manger, and says, “Sinner, if I had not had good will towards thee, would I have parted with My beloved Son? If I had not had good will towards the human race, wo...

"He that walketh uprightly walketh surely" Proverbs 10:9 His walk may be slow, but it is sure. He that hasteth to be rich shall not be innocent nor sure; but steady perseverance in integrity, if it does not bring riches, will certainly bring peace. In doing that which is just and right, we are like one walking upon a rock, for we have confidence that every step we take is upon solid and safe ground. On the other hand, the utmost success through questionable transactions must always be hollow and treacherous, and the man who has gained it must always be afraid that a day of reckoning will come, and then his gains will condemn him. Let us stick to truth and righteousness. By God's grace let us imitate our LORD and Master, in whose mouth no deceit was ever found. Let us not be afraid of being poor, nor of being treated with contempt. Never, on any account whatever, let us do that which our conscience cannot justify. If we lose inward peace, we lose more than a fortune can ...