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5 of 5 stars to The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
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2 of 5 stars to The Abolition of Sanity: C.S. Lewis on the Consequences of Modernism by Steve Turley
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3 of 5 stars to Beauty Matters: Creating a High Aesthetic in School Culture by Steve Turley
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3 of 5 stars to Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
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3 of 5 stars to The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great by Ben Shapiro
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False Comforts and Fear of Comforts
In his book The Religious Affections Jonathan Edwards explained how the defining feature of real religion is love for God. He defines affections, shows how some affects in a person’s life may not be from genuine affections for God, and then spends most of the book describing the characteristics of true love for God.
One of his concerns, as should be a concern for all of us, is the possibility of false comforts.
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#KeepTheFeast
There is a patronizing way to say, “Just read your Bible,” and there is also a pastoral way to say it. As one of the shepherds of the flock, I urge you, hear and keep the words of this Book.
Revelation promises that those who hear and keep the words will be blessed (1:3), but this is only the last inspired Book in which God offers the blessing. The Psalms begin with blessing.
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❝The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think.”
—Edwin Schlossberg
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As of today I decided to switch from the M’Cheyene Bible reading plan to the #keepthefeast plan. Day one was Psalm 119, and this reading by 88 voices was a great way to start.
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Worthy is the Lamb
Thirty times in the book of Revelation the apostle John refers to Jesus as the Lamb. Far more than any other NT author, John apparently loved that title for the Lord.
In a heavenly vision, “I saw a Lamb standing as though it had been slain” who was worthy to take and open the scroll (Revelation 5:5-6). John described as the heavenly chorus said with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!
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Repent of Defeatist Faith
When it comes to the future, are you more optimistic or pessimistic? We need more qualifications before answering that. When it comes to the future of what? Of world history? Of your house remodel? Of your chances to get married? And what qualifies as optimism or pessimism? Are you allowed to think that the surgery will hurt, and badly, but make you feel better after six weeks of recovery? What if you joyfully plan to give up eating all desserts forever?
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An Eye for Learning
I gave the following talk at our ECS Convocation yesterday afternoon.
Or, Paying Attention to Curriculum and Character
There is an ancient Egyptian myth about Osiris, a god known for many things, including being the ruler of the dead. This is not a Bible story, but it is its own kind of mirror to problems that people have.
Osiris represented tradition, and even more than tradition, he came to represent dangerous failure to change.
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Conquering Worldliness
The apostle John makes an interesting, and optimistic, argument in 1 John 5. He says:
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith. (1 John 5:3-4)
The second half of verse 4 is the first sentence I remember memorizing in Greek: hay nikay hay nikaysasa ton kosmon, hay pistis haymone.
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The Apocalypse
In a few weeks I plan to start teaching verse by verse through another book of the Bible: the book of Revelation. There are good reasons to study The Apocalypse on Sundays, and I’ll probably explain some of my intentions in the introductory message. I’m telling you now, ahead of time, not just so that you can make plans or prepare arguments (one way or another), but so that you can be excited.
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Making Eye Contact with the Judge
Presumptuous sins are sins of undue liberty, of going beyond the bounds. They are willful, understood, and so directly culpable. It’s still breaking the law even when you don’t know the law, but with presumptuous sins we make eye contact with the judge to make sure he’s watching.
David was especially concerned about the enslaving nature of presumptuous sins. When we sin knowing full well what our will is doing, we actually give our wills over to bondage.
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Give Me Understanding
We live in the Information Age. We have data and statistics and algorithms and pages and podcasts. More information will be posted on the internet today than you could consume the rest of your life; you don’t have the time. We have all of this info, and not a lot of understanding to prove it.
Along with many of you, I’m continuing on the #samepagesummer Bible reading plan, and we’re more than halfway to finished.
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A Kuyperian-Sized Blind Spot
The Effeminacy of Silence is a mettlesome post by Douglas Wilson. It’s sad, and it’s a needed kick in the man pants.
I don’t have any complaints about or disagreements with it at all, though I do want to add an observation.
When I think of “Big Eva,” a dozen plus names come easily to my mind. And when all those names come forward what does not come anywhere near my mind is cosmological Calvinism.
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Praise Among the Nations
When we think about world missions and reaching the unreached people with the gospel, when we think about being salt and light to our city, when we think about loving our neighbors in a way that benefits their souls, we should not underestimate the centrality of the Lord’s Supper. Communion is a meal of victory and harmony. When we eat the bread and drink the wine by faith, we remember the Lord’s death, and victory over sin, until He returns, and His final victory over ever enemy.
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5 of 5 stars to The Warden and the Wolf King by Andrew Peterson
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Partial Fide
There are at least four different expectations when it comes to good works. A man could expect that his good works will please the wrong god. Or, a man could expect that his good works, by themselves, will please the right God. Or, a man could expect that his good works mean nothing to God and that God only cares about faith. Or, a man could expect that His good works will be blessed by God because he has faith that God said so.