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Jana's blog

Me wife is bloggin' again.  check it out at flowerofgrass.blogspot.com

stiff shot of Bible whiskey

"A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy." Prov. 29:1

May God give us broken and contrite hearts.

Rene Girard

"Why does Jesus regard the Father and himself as the best model for all humans?  Because neither the Father nor the Son desires greedily, egotistically.  God 'makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and he sends his rain on the just and on the unjust.'  God gives to us without counting, without marking the least difference between us.  He lets the weeds grow with the wheat until the time of harvest.  If we imitate the detached generosity of God, then the trap of mimetic rivalries will never close over us."

Girard defines this "mimetic rivalry" to be the awakening of desire within us when our neighbor simply has something we don't.  This is like a toddler who wants the toy that the other toddler has in his hand, even though there are hundreds of toys just like it on the floor.

Elijah is six.

"Dad."  What.  "When I get married I am going to get a hotel room."  Me- .................. O-k-a-y.

Kids these days.

All I got to say is BAM

The Mind of A Servant...

"Are you in your right mind?  Aren't there unattractive, thankless people in your life whom you should be loving and serving, but whom you are about to give up on?  Maybe it is a spouse?  Your parents?  Others in the church?  Pastors often hear:  "I work my fingers to the bone in this church and what thanks do I get?"  Is that the way it is?  Your service was for thanks?  Are you in your right mind?  Servanthood begins where gratitude and applause ends.  Do you only serve people whom you like or whom you find attractive or who are like you?  Even sinners do that (Luke 6:32-34).  Christians, like Peter's mother-in-law, give diakonia because they have been healed and given diakonia by Christ (Matt 8:15)."

Tim Keller~pastor in Manhattan

Accepting painful correction

Never ceases to humble me:

"Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline, But he who regards reproof will be honored."

Elijah the Pilgrim at school

Thanksgiving

The reason why Thanksgiving is such a great holy-day is because we concentrate on thankfulness and feasting, two things we need to do throughout the year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Idealism or faithfulness?

Do we seek for the ideal place that will fix our discontents or do we invest ourselves in diligence wherever we are?  It's the faithfulness that matters not your circumstantial location.

Proverbs 12:14,15 "A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, and the deeds of a man's hand will return to him."  What really matters is the performance of your character and life, not so much the  particular external circumstances of your life.

Prov. 12:24 "The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slack hand will be put to forced labor."

10:4 "Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich."

Hard work and Thanksgiving--Amen.

Timothy Keller~"Ministries of Mercy"

"The ideology of the Left believes big government and social reform will solve social ills, while the Right believes big business and economic growth will do it.  The Left expects a citizen to be held legally accountable for the use of his wealth, but totally autonomous in other areas, such as sexual morality.  The Right expects a citizen to be held legally accountable in areas of personal morality, but totally autonomous in the use of wealth.  The North American "idol"- radical individualism - lies beneath both ideologies.  A Christian sees either "solution" as fundamentally humanistic and simplistic."

So, as Francis Schaeffer once said, "...Do not align yourself as though you are in either of these camps:  You are an ally of neither."

Pilgrim William Bradford~2nd Governor of New Plymouth

"Thus out of small beginnings greater things have grown by His hand who made all things out of nothing, and gives being to all things that are; and as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light enkindled here has shone to many, yea, in a sense, to our whole nation; let the glorious name of Jehovah have all the praise."

I have been studying the Pilgrims coming to America.  I am giving a lecture on them at our school, Coram Deo this Fri.  I will try and post the lecture in series here.

Hard Words

More often than not, even for the sweetest of people, "hard words" are what we need for our victory over sin.
"Hard words make soft hearts, and soft words make hard hearts."  Jim Wilson

Alexanders in Oct complete with homeschool co-op and reformation party--me as a cardinal and Elijah as a "papal bull"

True to history, many Roman Catholics were drunks.  Popes/Cardinals were infamous for corruption.  Abigail is the Latin Vulgate.  Hannah is the famous Anne Boleyn.  Somebody had to play the part of the enemy in the reformation party.  The Jews have long had certain individuals dress up as Haman when they reenact the festival of Purim.

Our tradition of slicing through orange

Greenbluff-Apple cider, pumpkin picking trip

Best short piece-incredibly beautiful/practical on God the One in Three

Best poem I've read outside of Scripture is Doug Jone's "Catapoem," which is a catechism on the Holy Trinity done in a poetic form.  You must read it-http://credenda.org/ Volume 17 number 4.  Part of it is upside down to mess with your head, you'll have to print it.

Kids in Manito Park 2010

Our friend BJ, "..like a bride radiant in her glory.."

God made us for hard work

There is a lazy strain in all of us. I think we shy away from encouraging others to work hard because we're always afraid that it will sound like we're exhorting to "works-based-righteousness." Some Christians are so concerned that we will obey in this mindset that they see "works" under every rock and leaf. I think it's more so that we wait until we feel a certain way before we think it's right to obey. I'm afraid we're too sensitive to buffer our laziness with the excuse that "just working harder" will encourage someone to obey out of "duty" and not "grace".. As though duty and grace are really separate, 'cause they're not. Too much theology-speak these days tries to divide those.

James calls the law the perfect law of liberty. Obedience makes for freedom.

And so, instead of the simple message that we need to exert ourselves in greater diligence we get lost trying to step-toe around what we really need to hear.

Teaching children for instance.. As a man with five children I know how hard it is to teach them something sometimes. Instead of doing the harder thing, the more loving thing of giving each child the attention they need I am tempted to a herd mentality. I am tempted to a zone-defense reactionism instead of being a more pro-active father. For example, I might think that my son will learn how to memorize Scripture or learn to sing if he just comes along for the ride as I teach all my children as a group. But no, nothing can replace the individual attention that each child needs. Group devotions are wonderful but not as a replacement for personal interaction with a child.

I need to work harder. I think we all need to work harder. Sometimes the answer is more simple than we want it to be.

And as we do this from being clothed in God's grace ourselves, we will discover that our exertion is duty, love, and yes, grace to us and to the child.

Texas Rangers

Why is it so cool that the Rangers are going to the World Series? "What's the big deal you might say?"

Well, this team more than any other so far, has take the longest to get to the World Series. The team has basically been around for fifty years though 39 in Texas. The Rangers have never even won an American League Division Series, let alone an American League Championship Series.

And... they beat Goliath. The Yankees were the perfect match for this epic victory.

Here's hoping for the world championship!

R.E.M.."Losing My Religion" lyrics and my note

"Life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up

That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no I've said too much
I haven't said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

Every whisper
Of every waking hour I'm
Choosing my confessions
Trying to keep an eye on you
Like a hurt lost and blinded fool
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up

Consider this
The hint of the century
Consider this
The slip that brought me
To my knees failed
What if all these fantasies
Come flailing around
Now I've said too much
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

But that was just a dream
That was just a dream"

I have always found this song chilling. It is well-written, poetic and very sad. Regardless of his particular aim the song seems plain that it is a memoir of failed parenting in my mind. It stands as a great warning to those parents that lose their children's religion. "I thought that I heard you laughing I thought that I heard you sing I think I thought I saw you try But that was just a dream...

GOD'S HOSPITALITY

The hospitality of the Lord Jesus for us is a home filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread and a feast for all senses. He makes a fuss over us. Consider this for a moment: God’s hospitality in all of life to us. He gives us everything to enjoy in what we see. What we behold. Color. Pristine definition of contrast and shape. The arrangement of a well-dressed meal on a white plate. The comeliness of a person’s happy face…Consider how God puts attention in pleasing us through the sensation of touch. That strange feeling in your palms when you just hit a line drive past the shortstop from the sweet part of the bat…just the feeling itsef makes you want to run to first base like a dog with your tongue hanging out. He loves to delight us in the trifles... The feeling of a cup of hot chocolate around the crest of your hand, or even better the waterfall of chocolatey goodness coating your insides like a happy engine. What about that feeling of a fleece blanket on a sleepy Sun afternoon?
Hearing…Why do certain people’s laughs just make you smile? Could sound waves not be so enjoyable? Yes, but that’s not God’s original intention with them. I like the sound of a not—too-close F-15 with full afterburners ignited. (It’s when you see that orange glow appearing from the backside of the turbines.) It just makes you want to shout—YEAH!! Just the sound makes you feel like a man.

It’s a guy thing.

What about music that stops you cold in your tracks, seizes your entire being and takes you to another dimension. The sound of a campfire crackling. Coffee brewing…a toddler’s attempt to communicate……. Glory.
Could you ever have imagined how much good sensation comes from little things called taste buds? Why do we get enjoyment from chewing food? The ungrateful and inhospitable just think of the science of the glory of food something called, "Mastication." "Mastication is the process by which food is crushed and ground by teeth. It is the first step of digestion and it increases the surface area of foods to allow more efficient break down by enzymes. During the mastication process, the food is positioned between the teeth for grinding by the cheek and tongue. As chewing continues, the food is made softer and warmer, and the enzymes in saliva begin to break down carbohydrates in the food. After chewing, the food (now called a bolus) is swallowed. (Just reading this descrip is laborious!) It enters the esophagus and via peristalsis continues on to the stomach, where the next step of digestion occurs.” Eeeehh. Have we forgotten the irony and fun of life? What happens when we lose the wonder and delight of life? We’re like the trolls in heaven in Lewis’ Last Battle who can’t believe and so they spit out the five star meal in front of them because it has become manure for them. They’ve lost thankfulness.
We can take all this for granted. But all of it is a gift, God’s hospitality to us.

Supremely, we know the Lord’s hospitality by the forgiveness we have received from him. God’s hospitality is realized in the incarnation and eventual death of the Lord Jesus. He came with us in our five senses, the sensation of pain in particular. He invited us in. He took our sins upon Himself and bore them on the cross. Ultimate hospitality. And now, through his death and life, He welcomes you in His presence by the Holy Spirit. He is truly present with us and He is our host. He eats a meal with you in peace, and invites us all to that Meal of all Meals—the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Chicago Marathon

I ran it thirteen years ago today. HHmmm. Should I run another one? Anybody want to do that with me? Chicago? New York? If I run in NY I will wear a rangers shirt.

What kind of "Calvinists" are we? How are we different from various stripes of American calvinism? We are sacramental calvinists. We are high church puritans...

Communion Meditation for
Oct 10, 2010 Christ Church Spokane

I desire for a man-centered, feelings based Christianity to be eradicated from our midst. A feelings based Christian life is riddled with doubt and instability. We are sacramental Calvinists… It means our foundation is covenant renewal worship. Christ Himself is the foundation for our life of course. But the way we appropriate this is evident with His Word. And His Word is most concrete when given to us by His ministers in the Lord’s Day Service. The foundation for our Christian walk is not our regular quiet time. It is not our ability to walk victoriously by the Spirit more than another does. No, it is what the Lord does for us every Sunday. He forgives our sins, speaks to us with His Word in Scripture, creeds, prayers, and songs. That is our ballast. These are sure words that allow us to live in confidence throughout the week. The grounding of our Christian life is centered in the objective signs and seals of His favor towards us, namely the Lord’s Supper and baptism. Our feelings and emotions follow the truth of covenant union with Christ, not the other way around. Feelings and emotions are inescapable and important in our obedience, but not as the engine.

This is a sacrament. Meaning that this is a glorious mystery, the union of Christ and His Church through the action of a meal together. The Lord’s Supper is precisely not subjective, that is, something that I muster up from my own head. This is why traditions that reject the sacrament of God make for themselves rival sacraments to feel close to God….. i.e.- The invitation system, speaking in tongues, singing songs that massage your emotions, or sermons that make you feel just right.. The apex is in your feelings about God, helped by whatever external manipulation does the trick. This is why not a few evangelical churches are constantly spinning out some new paradigm or program because the ballast of the Bible is missing---the objectivity of the covenant. The foundation for the maintenance of our joy, for our assurance, for everything, is Christ in worship and in The Lord’s Supper. Why? Because it is God’s Word to us, applied effectually. We look away from our deceptive and flaky hearts to Christ and His work. It is not healthy to muster up emotions within us for the preservation of our faith, we look away from our squirrely hearts to objective words… “This is My body for You,” believe it, eat it, drink it, and have joy in My authoritative Words, not your words, not your thoughts, and not your feelings, says the LORD. We just believe..Joy of joys. Believe by eating and drinking.

For too long Christians that treasure the doctrines of grace still have a feelings based Christianity. For years Christians have embraced as the center of their Christian life their experience or their knowledge. I would call this the predominant norm in American Calvinistc Christianity, a Pietism-laden Calvinism. This is not much more than a step away from modern evangelical Christianity, which is based on your decision, not on God’s promise to you and your children.
Even Jonathan Edwards brethren, for all his great work, had a very subjective focus in his writings. Presbyterianism in his time was far more rationalistic. Many in the 1700’s and esp. afterwards, overreacted against the rationalism and became what’s called pietistic. Pietism can be dangerous because it puts undue emphasis on the experience of the believer and not enough on Christ himself. It is His signs and seals, His and ours covenant renewal. This is why we have a covenant renewal worship service every Sunday. God calls us, forgives us, consecrates us, communes with us, and commissions us. God renews covenant with us not because we fall out of it every week, but because it is the practice of renewal and recreation.
Why does God give us a rainbow with water and refracted light frequently? He didn’t give one rainbow to Noah and then we are to meditate holy thoughts about that one rainbow long ago. No, He gives the covenant signs, and we remember, and He remembers, and our union with Him is strengthened. Like a family that sups together every night, their union with each other is strengthened bodily and spiritually each night. A covenant is renewed, as it were, between them. As a man and wife commune with each other, their union is strengthened. The world is filled with symbol and sacrament, mystery and ritual. And we practice renewal and tradition all the time. In our circles we are trying to recover the older Calvinistic Christianity, a more covenantal Christianity. The grounding of our religious experience in Christ is His objective words and signs—His claim over me in the binding ritual of baptism and the nourishment of covenantal words—“This is My body for you, do this in remembrance of Me.” I fear for many Christians in America that we are overly influenced by an individualistic emphasis of the faith, a vague existential pietism. This points people downward to their own hearts and feelings for assurance rather than away from me, to the One whose Word assures… That’s what I need. I need to look at Him and not myself. I desire for my sheep to be protected from the rampant doubt and depression that creeps into our lives. The antidote for it is not mustering up your feelings just right, it is submitting to and believing his Word. This is why some of the Puritans wrote such long tomes trying to encourage people with what true saving faith looks like…because so many were plagued with doubt that they didn’t have the right religious conversion experience. In other words, for all the great doctrine, there still was too much emphasis on people’s impression and experience, at the expense of the objectivity of God’s covenant, and covenant theology itself, expressed today in covenant renewal worship.

God is not capricious. Are you baptized? Do you believe? Then cast aside your sin and doubt, and receive objective love through his covenant seal now.

Ordination Service

Hey! It looks like my ordination service will be on either Fri Dec 3rd or Sun Dec 5th. I'll post the precise date whenever we figure it out. It will be an evening service and it looks like I'm going to get exhorted from hopefully 5 pastors--Pastors Wilson, Lawyer, Nixon, Bryan, and Spratt. Would love to see you there.

A dose of reality

Gal. 6:3,4 "For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another."

It reminds me of the preacher in Eccl. who says that at the end of the day we ought to just be thankful and content, and enjoy the work that God has wrought through us.

We must be careful how we view ourselves, for it will bleed through our actions.

Just be a servant, don't take yourself too seriously. Don't stand up for your own cause. Don't fight for respect and honor, show by action that you are more interested in God's honor and He will exalt you.

Then, you will be effective...

Entertaining Strangers

Hebrews 13:1,2 says, “Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” “What in the world?” some might say. I think this is a reference to some of the historic moments of hospitality in Israel’s past, and for us to emulate that open-hearted and free generosity. Abraham enthusiastically showed hospitality to three strangers, realizing later that these men were supernatural, and one of them the Angel of the Lord, called a theophany or a Christophany. Israel was to treat strangers with a special diligence. “You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:21). “You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Ex. 23:9). “The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord you God” (Lev 19:34). And that last phrase is important, it’s not a tag on, “I am the Lord your God.” The covenant keeping God has delivered you from slavery, therefore extend that covenant--lovingkindness to those in slavery and who are strangers to us. Entertaining strangers was a necessity in some aspects of near eastern culture, esp. for fellow believers. Many of these strangers in Scripture are actually believers unknown to us—Matt 25: 40 “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” It was an issue of safety and protection sometimes. Lot took care immediately of the strangers in Sodom, probably not knowing they were angels until later. The word angel means messenger, and it often describes those under that category. Rahab protected the “angels” of Israel, the spies, and the widow at Zarephath hosted Elijah.

Wisdom is needed here. Even strangers in Israel had to abide by the laws of the land. In our day and time many who are on the streets are actually criminals, so I don’t think we should feel that whoever shows up on our door step we should invite in. Jana and I have had to face this with folks who come around here. Sometimes guys come around and just want to work.. I think sometimes we can provide some, but it takes wisdom. Pray for us and the deacons as we strive to be Christ to these folks. Many, many times people don’t need cash (though they say they do) they need counsel and some direction. But, pray also and consider serving by starting a food closet here in the bldg.

Friendship and Hospitality 5

"From whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love" (Eph 4:16). Paul does not give us a picture of each member having a personal pipeline of grace from Christ, each drawing his nourishment directly from Him. Rather, the picture is of Christ as the head; he energizes, strengthens, and blesses the whole body. His blessing is mediated through each of the members to each of the others. He does minister to individuals immediately by His Spirit, but He normally builds us in grace by our interaction with the other members of the body. No one can grow in grace without the body. It is impossible to grow up in fullness of maturity apart from its ministry. Fellowship and hospitality are expressions of our necessary and vital relationships with one another. Hospitality is founded upon the covenant union that exists between God's people. We are one body."

Broad-hearted catholicity

“I am a Christian; I consider nothing that is Christian to be foreign to me.” (Christianus sum, nihil Christiani a me alienum puto.)
—Philip Schaff

Friendship and Hospitality 4

"Paul, interestingly, does not place hospitality on the periphery of essential godliness, where the modern church tends to place it. We tend to imagine it as a luxurious virtue, practiced by those who are willing and able and not required for anyone else; it is a luxury that we can occasionally afford. We certainly do not think of it as a central expression of Christian holiness and the glory of God. Paul corrects this notion. If we are not practicing hospitality, we are not loving, and when we do not love, we cease to be a living church. It is bound up with our profession of faith and our sacrifice of self to God."
Wilkins

Friendship and Hospitality 3

"We are not to give unnecessary publicity to our brother's sin. 'He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends' (Prov 17:9). The one who talks unnecessarily about another's sin seeks to estrange him from the rest of his friends, just as he and the gossiper have already been estranged from one another. More friendships are destroyed in this way than in any other. More churches are destroyed by this one error than by any other. Because this is a very serious and constant danger, I and many others have a great and continual fear that it might spring up in our own congregations, and thus we make it a point to warn against it regularly from the pulpit.

Instead, we should just have the courage to speak to one another plainly and in love for:

"Part of loving one's neighbor is telling them the truth. A.W. Pink once said, 'The man who loves me the most is the one who tells me the most truth about myself.'"

From Steve Wilkins book, Face to Face: Meditations on Friendship & Hospitality.

Friendship and Hospitality 2

"A true friend will be a ferocious enemy to yoursin as well as to his own. Instead of a flatterer, we need someone who encourages, someone who loves us and speaks the plain truth to us, willing to give earnest encouragement if we are downcast, and faithful rebuke if we are in sin. He stirs others up by the example of his own godliness and integrity. His desire after Christ provokes others to desire His glory more."

Friendship and Hospitality 1

Whoa! It's been a while.. Ordination prep has had me by the throat. But I have subdued him until my fight with him in the ring on Oct 4. So for now, I have some time to start a little series on Wilkins book, "Face-to-face: Meditations of Friendship and Hospitality."

I will throw in some videos on our recent adventures too here and there.

Thanks for visiting my humble little sight.

Wilkins: "Humans are created as social beings, for they are created after the image of God...He is three as well as one, and the holy communion that is enjoyed by the three persons of the Trinity is the pattern for all earthly communion. We are so constituted by God as to live in the society of others. It is a non-negotiable and undeniable attribute of humanity."

Life is about relationships.. The deeper you go down that well, the more glory you will have in life.

Panhandle of FL

James Jordan-2010 BH Conf on "Wine, Women, Song, and Death"

For the bride to be glorified, the Bridegroom has to be sacrificed. This is Christ and His Church. From Adam’s death, comes Eve. From Christ’s death, comes the Church. Phil 2 Christ poured himself out. It is sacrificial language. Paul said that he is about to be poured out. Pouring out results in glorification.

Christ died for the Church. In Islam, men do not die sacrificially to beautify their brides. They debase women. They die so that they can rape 70 virgins in heaven!

Jordan believes that Islam is Satan's counterfeit New Covenant. We drink wine, they ban it. We honor women's sexuality, Muslims "circumcise" theirs. We glorify women in song. Women are the shape of biblical song. Men sing bass, the foundation of songs, women sing soprano and Alto, the "front" and most glorifying part of songs.

The first Starbuck's--Pike Place Market-Seattle

Andreas Christopher

Andreas says "Da-Da" for everything he experiences. When's he tired and cranky--DADA! When he's happy, Da-Da, when he's desperately trying to communicate-DAADAAAHHHH! It's nice to be appreciated ;)

On the road with Tolkien

Wyoming

Alexander fam first camping trip 2010

This just hit me

"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith."

I Jn. 5:4

Faith will overcome the world.. That's powerful.

Faith in what?

I Jn 5:5:

"Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"

A prayer of thanks

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.” Ps. 100:4-5

Our heavenly Father, You are good. You have always been good, and You always will be good. No good gift will You withhold from those who walk uprightly. Yet we are truly perplexed at the circumstances of our lives sometimes..How can this be good? Yet in your infinite wisdom and perfect plans You allow for pain to enter in and sting us. We cannot understand as You do. We were not there when You laid the foundations of the earth…We see with our eyes 5 ½ ft. off the ground, but You cause atoms to play together on Pluto. You roll the thunderclouds like a 17 year old rolls cotton candy in the spinner. We just eat cotton candy…That’s all we do, as we stare up into Your grandeur, while drooling sugar with squinty eyes. We just sit around the living room staring at this new Jonathan Thomas Kuntz, wondering at the miracle of his black cow lick on the back of his head. Why does food have to taste so good? What is this feeling of forgiveness that we feel? How come people look so beautiful when they smile!? Black and white, brown and pale, fat and thin, young and old, beautiful people made in your image. It is because we are made in your image… You are the source of all beauty, we’re just fragments reflecting You. Your creation preaches your lovingkindness with each gracious flower springing to life from the dust. You will spring us to life after we all enter that veil in faith. We are all on an adventure, one with real stage props, sin and death. Real darkness. But we will rise again and everything will spring to life. We will all meet little Victory Athanasius Cummings.
We are all here to love and to know you and each other. We do not hold the universe in the span of Your control as You do. We do not understand Your vastness, Your glory, that You are awesome beyond imagining. You know the end from the beginning. You are good. No lie is in You. You are truth. We know that You will triumph over wickedness, over death. Everything heinous will be reckoned. Yes, you are sovereign. You are the King of all providence. You allow pain to come so that somehow, somehow in the deep of our dark—we may know You more.. You are worthy. Show us your glory! Everything’s going to be okay because You are God. So, for this reason, we give You thanks for dry and dusty old stodgy reformed systematic theologies and the like…because we have been reminded there that yes, You are the Calvinistic God…You know what is going to happen because You have orchestrated everything in Your most loving and wise providence. Nothing can happen to us that first does not come through your all-wise loving hands. We are thankful for good ole’ doctrine..Because in it we learn something of You…Esp. when things get rough. We can rest.

We give you thanks Abba, Father, that we are not in a evolutionary washing machine of time, chance and violence. We do not have to placate polytheistic gods so that we will not have drought. We don’t live in fear-filled superstition as though the world was controlled by a pantheon of warring and petty gods. We don’t serve Allah, the brutal demon tyrant. We don’t serve the Buddha who blurs right and wrong, justice and injustice. We condemn the gods of the Bhagavad Gita, that tyrannize the universe in perversion. There is a God who reigns, and You are this God. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, David and Samson, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with You and the Holy Spirit are one God, world without end.

Amen.

My defense for it

"During breakfast, Tolkien glances at his newspaper, but only in the most cursory fashion. He, like his friend C.S. Lewis, regards 'news' as on the whole trivial and fit to be ignored, and they both argue (to the annoyance of many of their friends) that the only 'truth' is to be found in literature. However, both men enjoy the crossword."

One would expect the crossword reference from men like that. My only further input is that I justify theology like that too!

Yoga

Yoga for Immunity and Vitality

"Sit cross-legged or in a chair with spine straight. Stick your tongue all the way out and keep it out as you rapidly breathe through your mouth. Continue this breathing for 1 to 3 minutes. Not only will your body strengthen its defenses, but your spirit will be lifted to the sky."

This is written on the side of an Echinacea tea box with a picture of a woman in a yoga position tongue all the way out and eyes closed... Then in small font.."Before doing this exercise or participating in any exercise program, consult your physician."

This is the most hilarious satire of yoga, and the best part is that I think it might be real.

Our beloved Hannah

Hannah's been asking us some deep and crucial Q's about eternal security and assurance these days.

We praise God for the Spirit's continued working in her heart. Just yesterday, Hannah came out and confessed some lieing and deceit from almost a yr ago and confessed her sin.

One morning, after her own reading of the account where Samuel rebukes Saul's disobedience, we talked about obeying God supremely above our own desires, esp in light of Saul's departing the faith.

This, in conjunction with the 3 excommunications in our church the past year and a half, has really got her attention. And I'm so grateful for this.

Mommy, in one bedside heart-to-heart one night was encouraging Hannah in the assurance of Christ's salvation for her. This is one beautiful moment in the conversation:

"Hannah, do you see how your head is resting on your pillow right now? That is how you can rest in Jesus' grace in salvation for you."

Hannah, when hearing this, welled up with tears...

Way to go Mom!

And Praise be to God for his working in Hannah by His Spirit to ask these Q's.

We're about to start a little I JN. Bible study with Hannah and Abigail in conjunction with all this and Pastor Joost's preaching through the book.

Clear Light

"The best light comes in through the clearest glass: too much paint keeps out the sun." Spurgeon

Live in the Light.

Live in faithful, honest confession.

"The lamp of the body is the eye."

If your heart isn't clear then your life will not be clear.

Don't try to paint and embellish God's too clear truth.

This little piece will bless your day and beyond, esp. in Easter time

"What is the chief end of man? What is the greatest calling of every subject of the Kingdom of God? Your central purpose from beginning to end, first to last, your greatest task and privilege is the worship and glory of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This being the case, the central purpose of education is the training of Christian worshipers. The reason you are reading this essay is so that you might chant, sing, clap, pray, kneel, raise hands, listen, eat, drink and shout with understanding, reverence and joy to the end that the God of heaven and earth will send justice like summer rain and mercy like a downpour on the earth. The reason you study math, science and art is so that your imagination will be filled with wonder and awe at the Creator of the most mind blowing project ever: the world. And whether you are learning to read music or playing an instrument, whether your hand is holding a pencil or gesturing in the theater, you are training yourself for the warfare of worship. You are teaching your body gratitude; you are teaching your soul thanksgiving. There is hardly an adequate evaluation of your progress, but the best grade you can receive is the outworking of a thankful heart. If you have truly learned Algebra, if you have mastered the story of Western Civilization, if you can tell me the names of the constellations that whirl about our heads, then you will do it with laughter in your voice, you will do it with joy in your heart and gratitude in your bones. Worship is the point of learning because worship is the point of life. And worship is the point of life both because this is the chief honor of every faithful subject in the Kingdom of God and because it is the head of many waters, the council chambers of the King of all the earth. From the world gathered at the table of the Lord issues the great judgments of the King.
Hitler’s world is the story of eternal collision, unending struggle and violence. In that world blood and genes are the fundamentals of life, and pure Aryan blood is Hitler’s absolute best. But the Christian story scoffs at the small-mindedness of German nationalism even as it scoffs at American imperialism. The Lord of Heaven derides Hitler’s arrogant racism and sickening genocide as much as He abhors the slaughter of the unborn in our own country. But this is all the inevitable end of evolutionary thought. If the world is a galactic mosh pit, then bigger is better, might does make right. However, history tells the story better. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. But blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God. And the sons of God are welcome at His table. The gospel declares the pure and undefiled blood of Jesus Christ, whose blood purifies every nation of the world. Hitler was right: pure blood will conquer the world. But ironically (for Hitler) that blood is the blood that was shed by an innocent Jewish man two thousand years ago. The sons and daughters of the Most High are family through the blood of Christ and are therefore invited to the family meetings. The Christian faith encompasses all of life, visible and invisible. Forgiveness cleanses the soul, and fruit proceeds out of the heart. In a mystery, the visible and invisible mingle and mix. In a wonderful glory God adopts us into His family with water and faith, He feeds us with His word and bread and wine. And we bless one another with words and smiles and hugs. Joy makes bones strong, and wisdom gives long life. We live in the world that God made, a world where heaven and earth touch, for we have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God. In Christian worship we ascend into the throne room in heaven to ask the Father for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Fate speaks, destiny beckons and all of the scrapings of Hitler are like sand in the wind. But the Lord speaks, the Triune God beckons and the prayer of the righteous man avails much."

Toby Sumpter

Toby is pastor of Trinity Reformed Church in Moscow, ID and has three little ones-River, Felicity, and Tovia.

For the rest of the absolutely amazing article go here: http://resources.veritaspress.com/Sep06_epistula.htm It is the "feature article." It's not that much longer.

Wake up and smell the grace...

"Each morning that greets me is full of hope

Not because I am successful at what I am doing,

Or because the people near me appreciate me,

Or because circumstances are easy,

But because God is, and he is my Father.

To look at the morning any other way

Is to believe a lie.

To live in hope is to live in truth;

To live in truth is to bring him glory;

To bring God glory in my daily living

Is the highest form of worship."

How People Change

Presbyter Porter special brew for 2010 Knox Presbytery

Tolkien was right, trees are worthy of poetry

The theology of trees

The Bible has a lot to say about trees. Fig trees being cursed, righteous men referred to as trees, lust-filled Israel provoking the LORD under trees, the trees of the knowledge of good and evil and of course, the tree of life.

Jesus died on a tree, and He became the tree of life.

In the end there will be a tree. "On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." This is fulfilled from Ezek 47 and many other passages.

The righteous are to be "like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither Ps 1:3.

In fact, certain trees are associated with various stages in redemptive history:

Period: Arboreal Imagery:

Eden-- Trees of life and of the knowledge of Good and Evil
Noah-- "Gopher" wood for the Ark
Abraham-- Terebinth or Oak trees
Wilderness-- Acacia for the Tabernacle
Settlement-- Palms
David-- Cedar
Temple-- Olive, Cedar, Cypress
Kingdom-- Fig
Restoration-- Myrtle
New Covenant-- Mustard, Olive *James Jordan

Trees are more important than you think... Trees are like ladders to heaven. Jacob sees a ladder and angels ascending and descending. Jesus spoke to Nathaniel, "You shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man," fulfilling Jacob's vision of the promised Messiah- John 1:51. The most famous counterfeit tree was the tree/ladder of Nebuchadnezzar. He saw himself as the tree of life, the king of this world. "God ordered that this presumptuous Tower of Babel Tree be cut down, with only a stump remaining (Daniel 4:14,15). This meant that Nebuchadnezzar would be bestially insane for seven years, to teach him not to play god (Daniel 4:16, 20-33)." James Jordan~Through New Eyes p. 87

"I am in the market for some present tense....I want to think about trees. Trees have a curious relationship to the subject of the present moment. There are many created things in the universe that outlive us, that outlive the sun, even, but I can't think about them. I live with trees. There are creatures under our feet, creatures that live over our heads, but trees live quite convincingly in the same filament of air we inhabit..." Annie Dillard

Trees are rich, beautiful, profound symbols of God's world and our humanity.

We grow like trees. We mature like trees. May God make us like mighty oaks whose branches and leaves provide shade, shelter, and security for generations..because of that tree.

..."They alone seem to unite the earth and the sky-the known, invadable world with everything that is beyond our grasp and our power." Diane Ackerman

Consider what the Ten Commandments are all about

This will be worth your time! I ran across this in How People Change ~a fantastic book.

"The first three commands focus on what or whom you worship. They command us to make the one true God our God, and condemn making a god of anything else. The order of the commands is important, because the commands begin by focusing on our heart tendency toward idolatry."

Deut 6:4,5 is key here: "These two verses capture the essence of the first three commands." It's all about worship.

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

"The reason we fail to keep commands 4 through 10 is because we have failed to keep the first three. If you break commands 1 through 3, you will break commands 4 through 10. Your...sinful responses to life grow out of a heart that has defected to worship something else.

'Remember the Sabbath' At the heart of the fourth commandment is the call to honor and obey God in your worship, work, and rest. But when commands 1-3 are broken, I worship and serve myself and use my time for my own self-interest. I make work my god and define myself through my career. I elevate personal peace and comfort above God.

'Honor your father and your mother' At the heart of the fifth commandment is the call to honor and obey God by respecting those in authority. But when commands 1-3 are broken, my will and honor become primary.

Are you picking up on the pattern here? With every command you can ask yourself, "at the heart of this one is the call to honor and obey God by....

So, with the sixth command (Do not murder) "honor and obey God by loving, serving, and forgiving others. But when commands 1-3 are broken, I demand to be loved and served by others. When I am wronged, I demand revenge."

Are you picking up that pattern too? When we begin to displace our utmost affection for God, (commands 1-3) then we will break commands 4-10.

Seventh: Do not commit adultery. "We honor and obey God by remaining sexually pure and by keeping my promises to others." But when we worship ourselves, our pleasures rule.

Do not steal: "...by freely and joyfully sharing my resources with others." It's opposite: "I want things for myself."

Do not bear false witness: "...by speaking truthfully, in ways that build up." Opposite: "my words are used to make me look good and you look bad."

Do not covet: "...by rejoicing in the blessings of others." Opposite: "I want what you have, and I don't want you to have it!"

Abortion

Standing outside an abortion clinic today...

Many angry drivers passing by..

One yells out his car thinking he's gonna really bring it saying, "GET A LIFE!"

HHmmm.. Maybe we should have signed him up for the rally too..

Chronicles of Narnia

So what is everyone's favorite Chronicles of Narnia passage?

Mine is the unscaling of Eustace in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader on pp's 104-through the top of p. 111.

John Newton and Doug Wilson

Newton-
"And I am afraid there are Calvinists, who, while they account it a proof of their humility that they are willing in words to debase the creature, and to give all the glory of salvation to the LORD, yet know not what manner of spirit they are of. Whatever it be that makes us trust in ourselves that we are comparatively wise or good, so as to treat those with contempt who do not subscribe to our doctrines, or follow our party, is a proof and fruit of a self-righteous spirit. Self-righteousness can feed upon doctrines, as well as upon works; and a man may have the heart of a Pharisee, while his head is stored with orthodox notions of the unworthiness of the creature and the riches of free grace."

Wilson-
"The Pharisee who went down to the Temple to pray actually began his prayer with one of the solas-Soli Deo Gloria. 'I thank Thee, God...' Perfectly orthodox. And he went home unjustified to boot."

New Covenant succession

Reading I Kings 12 this am.

It is staggering to see how much apostasy took place in the OT. How could the most eminently wise King Solomon have such a foolish son-Rehoboam? Yet he failed to secure proper covenant succession and so many great men in the older covenant did fail in this way.

Adam with Cain

Noah with Ham

Abraham had Ishmael.

Isaac had Esau

Jacob had several sons that were downright wicked.

David's failure as a father is infamous.

And now Solomon is perpetuating the iniquities of the fathers from generation to generation.

But a part of the blessing in the New Covenant is a reversal of this trend..

I believe this is a part of what Jer 31:33,34 says.

The beauty of family

Give Praise