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There are some quality pics of Abraham Kuyper on the interwebs. This one is hard to find online, and I’m sharing it as my new favorite thing:
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Deadness Also Smells Like Death
As is usually the case, there are ranges on a spectrum when it comes to the question of whether believers should speak and live in such a way that unbelievers would be attracted to the gospel of Christ.
There is one side—usually driven by the Bible and theology, even Reformed, Calvinistic doctrines such as the depravity of man and the need for irresistible grace—of those who argue that Christians and the gospel cannot be attractive to sinners and therefore any attempt to make ourselves winsome is naive at best and probably actually dangerous, you know, slippery slope and all.
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Losing as a weapon
First, this ought to be a great encouragement to the church:
“Losing does not disturb us; it does not unsettle our faith. This is something the Church generally does really well. Speaking frankly, we frequently lose successfully far more often than we succeed successfully. Losing is our secret weapon” (Same Sex Mirage, pp. 258-259). Second, this was written by a postmillennialist, but doesn’t it do a much better job of explaining how a dispensational premillennialist can be optimistic about the progress of the gospel and the “success” of the church while still thinking the world is going to hell?
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Communion That Smells
As we spread “the fragrance of the knowledge of [Christ] everywhere,” God says that we are an aroma “among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance of life to life” (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). Spreading the fragrance happens by preaching (see verse 17), it happens by practice, and it happens when we partake at the Lord’s Table.
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Calvinist Knees
How does a Calvinist confess his sins? That’s not the start of a joke.
We are a Calvinistic church, meaning that we believe that God is God, God rules over all, and that includes His sovereignty in the salvation of men. We believe that He elects spiritually dead men to be brought to Him as worshippers for eternity. He has their names already written in a book. They are a love gift from the Father to the Son as a Bride.
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He Is Neither Here Nor There
I’m late to linking but the point remains piquant: the principles underneath today’s public education are rotten and Christians need to get off the floor.
Whoever the audience is for this blog, I imagine that it’s mostly my friends. If you are one of my friends, I also figure you read Blog and Mablog, and you almost certainly enjoyed #NoQuarterNovember. Wilson’s first post was, Burn All the Schools, and I’m still crying (on the inside) with laughter over this analogy:
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Gaining Weight
I pray that we all gain weight this year.
In a day and age like ours, in a country like ours, the exceptions are the few who need to put on more pounds of body weight. When we think about our daily bread we’re thinking about which kind of carbs we crave, not the minimum portion we need to survive. The abundance of food is a blessing, and of course blessings can be abused, and belt sizes bulge.
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Buried and Barricaded
If you were in the center of a redwood tree I imagine that you would not be affected by much. If you were standing beside a redwood tree I imagine that you would be affected very much by the glory of the tree. Sin buries and barricades our affections. Sin blinds us to the ugliness of our sin, sin dulls us to the poison of our sin. Sin even tries to tell us that sin is satisfying, that righteousness is the sucker-outer of life.
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O Come Again, Emmanuel
Maybe some of you have family that you haven’t seen for a while coming to your house for Christmas, or maybe you are headed to see them. If things are good, you’re even eager to see them and share the day together. You’re looking forward to it, and you’re preparing for it. You’ve invited them, you’ve got their trip itinerary printed and hung on the refrigerator door, you’ve put new sheets on the kids’ beds, you’ve bought enough food for two feasts, and you’ve wrapped the presents and put them under the tree.
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When We Have Problems
The Lord’s response to Paul’s request to have his thorn removed is archetypal. He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9a)
That is a fantastic truth. We should share that on the Internet. Someone should print it in a sympathy card, probably using a gentle, italic font, and adorn it with a soft colored flower. It’s perfect, especially for Paul, and other people.
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Born with Flesh
The apostle John wrote that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). A few chapters later John recorded Jesus, who was talking with some grumbling Jews, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51).
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Deserving a Different Christmas
During this advent season we focus our thoughts on the first coming of the Messiah, about the Father sending His Son from heaven to earth. The Christmas story, as told by Matthew and Luke, is a story of the Son’s contentment with His Father’s decision.
In those days many gods of men were getting a lot of man’s attention. But Jesus didn’t come out of petty or bitter jealousy. In fact, that sort of jealousy doesn’t come from above.
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Intermittent Feasting
I know people, they talk to me. I read things; learning is an ongoing process. One subject that has been brought to my attention from half a dozen directions is that of intermittent fasting. Probably the first time I considered the idea (though he didn’t use the term) was in Robert Capon’s book, The Supper of the Lamb, as he counseled a man who was serious about his eating and his weight not to eat for a while rather than eat/nibble health junk food, you know, something like rice cakes.
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When You Can See More Cracks in Contentment
I thought it would be good to check in on #NoDiscontentDecember. Well, what I mean is I thought it would be good to give you a report about how our #NoDiscontentDecember is going, since the Higgs are the ones who committed to it; we didn’t make you do it. It’s just supposed to be sparking ideas for you and/or your family.
The first thing, now eight days through December, that I can report is that contentment is both harder and easier when you focus on it.
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Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual
3 of 5 stars to Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual by Jocko Willink
GOOD. GET SOME. GET AFTER IT.
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Finished with Discipline
The analogy of the church as a body does so many good things, but there are numerous other ways to think about our relationships. We are also a family, brothers and sisters, and we are an outpost of heavenly citizens on earth.
When we think about “members” as body parts, we affirm our appreciation of and need for one another. When we think about “members” as fellow citizens serving the Lord of heaven, we affirm His calling and acceptance of one another.
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No Discontent December
If you could have only one thing for Christmas, and you knew you would get what you asked for, what would it be? If you could commit yourself to do one thing for Christmas, what would it be? I’m sure there are some great answers, but I’m going to share one as an example.
We decided as a family that there was too much to do in December to have bad attitudes about it.
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A Spoonful of Flour
One note does not make a song. One chord, made of three notes struck at the same time, still does not make a song. One ingredient does not make bread. Imagine if at the Lord’s Supper everyone took a spoonful of flour. We’d definitely need bigger cups for the wine.
The Lord’s Table is a Table for all the members; it is members only, but not because it is closed to those we don’t like or who don’t meet our requirements.
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Finish
3 of 5 stars to Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon Acuff
I enjoy Acuff’s humor (the snark and the 80’s references), and I appreciated his numerous punches at perfectionism especially as it hinders productivity, or at least makes getting things done no fun.
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Motivation Above
What makes a church a church? How is a church formed? There’s a choice. A church could be seen as a group of people who choose to come together, or a church could be seen as a group of people whom God chose to come together. Implications abound downstream of what we see.
Abraham Kuyper published his address arguing that the church should not be supported or controlled by the State.