Simul Justus et Peccator

Quote

2011-05-24T15:13:00.002-05:00

I kind of like this quote from The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins. Makes me think of how our work can become our idol.

"I think you do [know your efforts don't matter]. This game you play. Trumpets on the wind, the tricolor fluttering bravely in the grey morning. Up the Republic. Remember Easter nineteen-sixteen. But tell me this, my friend. In the end, do you control the game or does the game possess you? Can you stop, if you want, or must it always be the same? Trenchcoats and Thompson guns, my life for Ireland until the day you lie in the gutter with a bullet in your back?" -Steiner to Devlin. pg 341.

Hayes Carll

2011-05-12T10:38:00.000-05:00

I've become a fan of Hayes Carll.

KMAG-YOYO stands for "Kiss My Ass, Guys. You're on your own."

Econometrics Song

2011-05-10T13:24:00.001-05:00

Sheer brillance.

The best is the part about making t-stats higher. . . . I mean, we're scientific.

Salvation is of Christ

2011-05-10T11:31:00.000-05:00

When salvation is only Christ's doing, nothing of mine, His proprium, it is outside of me - extra nos. The salvation is altogether His and is as sure as He is sure! To the extent you insert a reference to yourself you lose the certainty and rob Him of His honor. -- Dr. Norman Nagel, notes on Systems II

The Law of God is good and wise

2011-05-05T15:26:00.000-05:00

The law of God is good and wise,
And sets His will before our eyes,
Shows us the way of righteousness,
And dooms to death when we transgress.

Its light of holiness imparts
The knowledge of our sinful hearts,
That we may see our lost estate
And seek deliverance ere too late.

To those who help in Christ have found
And would in works of love abound
It shows what deeds are His delight
And should be done as good and right.

When men the offered help disdain
And willfully in sin remain,
Its terror in their ear resounds
And keeps their wickedness in bounds.

The law is good, but since the fall
Its holiness condemns us all;
It dooms us for our sin to die
And has no power to justify.

To Jesus we for refuge flee,
Who from the curse has set us free,
And humbly worship at His throne,
Saved by His grace through faith alone.

-by Matthias Loy, Lutheran pastor

FASB Comment Letters on MTM

2010-08-24T14:44:00.000-05:00

My workmate Anne said she saw this and thought of me. Apparently I'm known for briefly speaking my mind without any crap or puffery. Dunno where she got this idea ;)

Cute Quote on the Gospel

2010-08-24T10:15:00.001-05:00

This is a bit old. I was reading the Hamersma's blog about their children Meredith and Lucas and came across this quote. It warms my heart to see young, covenant children gain an understanding in the Gospel.

Finally, Meredith has been enjoying her children's Bible (The Jesus Storybook Bible - by far the best I've ever seen). The other day she came over to me and announced: "The Story of the Bible". I asked her what that story is. Here it is:

"Jesus died on the cross. He said 'ouch ouch!'. Then he camed alive again. He was happy."

Stockpile

2010-08-22T18:28:00.003-05:00

It that time of the year. I need to start rotating my stockpile of food into my consumption and resupply my stockpile. I realize I'm going to need to start storing more lipids like olive oil and probably something other than rice and beans. The first question is: what else? The Mormons have a good website for measuring out a year's supply for food but I'm not sure I really know what to do with thirty of forty pounds of flour and dry grain. If World War III is happening I doubt I'll have time to learn how to cook. The second question is: how do I turn pinto beans and brown rice into something I will actually enjoy eating? If I don't like it, I'm going to make it, not eat it, and go to McDonalds of China King Buffet.

Horton: Righteous Sinners

2010-08-22T15:09:00.003-05:00

Following my last post, I'd like to share another quote from Horton's Putting Amazing back into Grace.

According to Scripture, there is one act of faith which unites us with Christ, and, once we are united with Him by this one act of faith, both justification (a once-and-for-all declaration of righteousness) and sanctification (a gradual, slow, and painful process of growing in righteousness) becomes ours in Christ. All at once, we are justified, but only in gradual progress are we sanctified. Nevertheless, both the declaration and the process are given through the same condition of faith alone in Christ alone (Rom. 8:30; 1 Cor. 1:30; Eph. 2:8-10).

This speaks to Horton's prior quote (which is actually later in the book but I quoted in my previous post) about altar calls and rededication. I know so many burnt out Christians who are trying to discipline themselves into perfection. They yearn for an easy life of repose and recreation but deny themselves joys in life in the name of spiritual discipline. Little do they know, this effort is sinful and wretched. Their sanctification does not come by effort but by grace. These people seek sanctification in the strangest of places-- by giving up secular music or TV, by forgoing Godly blessings in relationships, by being afriad of decisions, by seeking vocations in the ministry or in what they think to be ministries instead of getting real jobs. Beloved, if you are in Christ, you have sanctification. You cannot work for it nor can you impede it. Picture the ocean tide. It rolls in and out without any of your effort. This is grace. God justifies and then He sanctifies. Not by our will, but by His will.

Horton on Altar Calls and Rededication

2010-08-21T11:06:00.005-05:00

Last night I couldn't sleep. I'd finished all my novels and Warriors for God so I turned to "Putting Amazing Back into Grace" by Michael Horton. I found several of his comments quite insightful.

"'The altar call?,' I responded. 'We were supposed to have gotten rid of altars in the Reformation, substituting the Lord's Table, since Christ was crucified once and for all at Calvary!' . . . Rededication became for many, including myself, the equivalent of the Mass, sacrificing Christ again and again, hoping each time that I now had the amount of grace I needed to make it. . .Then too, one can almost wonder whether the Roman Catholic 'altar call' is at least more biblical. After all, it grew out of the scriptural sacrament of Holy Communion, whereas, our altar call is little more than a century old."

The altar call has become common place in evangelical churches. Typically, at the end of a service, the Pastor will ask if anyone wants Christ and, if so, to pray and prayer and come forward. To begin, Horton makes a very valid point. Christians don't have altars anymore. We no longer require a sacrifice, for we have Christ. The nomenclature is almost heretical.

Most importantly, one must wonder what the altar call signifies. It is not found in Scripture. Never the less, evangelicals rely on this as a means of grace. Need saving faith? Come forward. Need more grace to cover your rowdy Saturday night? Come forward. The idea of finding grace outside of where Christ has promised it to be found is little more than Catholicism. They admit to having seven sacraments, I wonder if Baptists realize they have invented a third.

Christians speak of being born again but then also undergoing a second experience where "it really became personal" or "then I started to take it seriously." These second experiences usually happen at a rededication ceremony- at a summer camp, at a youth group retreat. The little Baptist admits to leading a life of sin but seeks more grace and favor from God to turn from this life. The poor Dispie needs extra grace-- more grace than he or she already has. Interestingly enough, the Bible does not speak to Christians requiring additional grace. Christ is sufficient. All sins-- past, present, future-- are covered by His blood. We don't need a rededication. We already have Christ! The rededication ceremony implies Christ is somehow lacking. By running to the altar, one essentially attempts to sacrifice Christ again, to squeeze a little extra forgiveness out of Him. This, once again, is almost heresy.

The Bible does speak to a ceremony where grace is provided to the believer: Communion. Oddly enough, the churches that emphasize rededication almost always use it as a substitute for a weekly communion service. There is often time for emotionalism and man-made trickery, but rarely is there time for what the Bible commadns. It is at the Lord's Table where we find a fountain of grace, predestined as a means to ensure confidence that we are fully forgiven. The message of the Lord's Table is all those rowdy things we did on Saturday night, all the sins we commit, are ALREADY forgiven. We passive receive it as the officer of the church hand out the bread and wine. This message is fundamentally different from the rededication or the altar call. They speak "Do something and receive grace." The Table speaks "I already have forgiven you, Beloved. See my broken body and flowing blood. Sit back and rest."

If you are in Christ, your are a new creation. Your sins are forgiven. Pleading with God is not necessary. Do not run to the altar, run to Christ.

Kings of Camouflage: Cuttlefish

2010-08-20T23:45:00.001-05:00

I still like shows about animals. I haven't matured much since pre-school. Here's a VERY good Nova documentary on the cuttlefish. It is now my favorite cephalopod.

Office Hours: Protestant Orthodoxy

2010-08-18T10:54:00.004-05:00

There is a very good podcast episode at Office Hours, which is produced by Westminster Seminary California, entitled "Protestant Orthodoxy in the Classical Period" by Martin Klauber. I suggest it to everyone.

Protestant Orthodoxy is roughly defined as the second generation of Protestant theologians. After Calvin was called to Geneva, he had to teach the children as well as the adults in what the Reformed preach. In the second generation, Calvin was no more. Thus, the Protestants had to create a seminary to teach and train pastors. It is here that Protestant Orthodoxy began, where scholastics began to organize and teach theology.

2010-08-14T13:08:00.003-05:00

This morning I was pleasantly surprised to find a package in my mailbox at work. I hadn't ordered a book from Amazon and pondered it must be some sort of textbook from a professor as I brewed my coffee. When I sat down in my office, I opened the package to find Warriors of God by James Reston, Jr. This was perplexing as no professor would mail me such a book unrelated to my research. It was then I read the enclosed note.

Mike- congrats on passing the [comps] exam! Please accept this gift as a token of our friendship. It's a very enjoyable read! Best, Irfan

Irfan and I have grown quite close during our stay at A&M. I doubt many could even understand why an orthodox Protestant and a conservative Muslim would have so much in common. My heart was warmed by this kind and thoughtful gesture.

I am excited to read this book. It's about the Third Crusade and narrates the lives of Saladin, a Muslim warrior who united Egypt and Syria and re-conquered Jerusalem, and Richard the Lionheart, King of England. I hope this book will help me understand the corrupt history of the Roman "Church" as well as gain insight into why Muslims across the globe hate the West.

I am very frightened by the modern Dispensationalists (Baptist and their less literate Pentecostal brethren) giving Israel carte blanche in the Middle East. The Dispie-Baptists seem hell-bent on creating God's Kingdom on Earth by military and economic might. Don't get me wrong, Israel is a free nation who has a right to defend herself. My concern is when this right to self-determination and self-defense is motivated by a belief God supports one side over the other. Either way, I am excited to begin this new book.

The Blarney Pilgrims - James Connolly

2010-08-07T13:24:00.002-05:00

I like listening to Irish folk music while at the office against my will. I loathe Marxism but when mingled with Irishmen, it produces a catchy tune.

Elizabeth meets the family

2010-08-07T13:09:00.003-05:00

Joany and Bobby brought Elizabeth Rose to meet the Reeves family in Wichita. I can't wait to meet her :) But here is Grandma meeting her great-grandbaby and Aunt Kathy meeting her new great-niece.

The Planes of Pearl Harbor

2010-08-07T12:44:00.012-05:00

Last night I finished Days of Infamy by Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen. It was an amazing novel and I recommend it to anyone who loves history. I thought I'd post some picture of the planes that are discussed in the book, mostly because I keep telling my Dad about them :)

The Grumman F-4 Wildcat was the primary fighter used by the US. The Japense surprised the US with their new Mitsubishi Zero, which was faster and more maneveurable than the Wildcat. Fighters engage other planes. For example, when the USS Enterprise is under attack by dive bombers and torpedo bombers, Wildcats were launched to blunt the attack. Attacking forces will include fighters in their forces to protect their bombers.

Dive Bombers' purpose is to attack enemy ships above the waterline. During this time period, dive bombers would be famous for their near verticle descent in order to accurately place the bomb. The US used the SBD Dauntless whereas the Japs used the Aichi Val.

Torpedo Bombers attack enemy ships below the waterline. The common tactic around Pearl Harbor would be for torpedo bombers to fly very low, often only five to ten feet above the ocean. This would allow them to be level when launching the torpedos. Obviously, this opens bombers up to attack from above. They were often considered sitting targets for enemy fights. The US employed the TBD Devastor; while the Japs, the Nakajima Kate.

I'm sure I'll be posting updates as technologies progress.

The Clancy Brothers - The Easter Rising 1916

2010-08-05T08:11:00.001-05:00

I always liked this story told to song. I'm Irish by heritage (but not an Irish-American as there is no such thing as a hyphenated American). I have a lot of free time while running, SAS, if you couldn't tell. It tells the story the struggle for freedom.

A gay rules on gay marriage. The results aren't surprising.

2010-08-04T17:13:00.003-05:00

I'm sure everyone is aware of my feelings on gay marriage. Those aside, it's a bit strange that Judge Walker did not recuse himself from a case in which he has a vested interest. By strange, I mean "unjust."

More Balkans

2010-08-03T18:39:00.001-05:00

An animated map of the Balkans (you have to click on it)

Thought of European Geography

2010-08-03T18:25:00.007-05:00

I found a pretty entertaining animated map of European political geography from the BBC. It's been entertaining me whilst I am a good grad student and babysit my SAS code. I think it's very interesting how the borders of the Balkans evolve over time and lead to World War I. See the First Balkan War and the Second Balkan War. To go back even further though, one should think about the overturned Treaty of San Stefano.

The above picture is from a masterfully done historical atlas at WHKLMA.

St. Ephraim the Syrian

2010-08-03T10:36:00.001-05:00

Found this wonderful prayer on Weedon's Blog. Thought I'd pass it along.

Woe is me, O Lord! Thy grace draws me toward life, but I instead prefer death. Thou takest pains that I might become as honorable as the angels; but I, in my depravity, debase myself. My sins have multiplied, O Lord, and ceaselessly do they multiply, and there is no limit to their multitude. And who will mourn for me or pray for me? Do Thou, O my Savior, Thyself condescend to have mercy on me through Thy grace and regard me who despair with compassion! -- St. Ephraim the Syrian, A Spiritual Psalter #54

Econ Rap

2010-07-27T15:20:00.001-05:00

I shared this with my friend Bret, today. I saw it a while ago but didn't post it. It's got a good beat and is extremely accurate.

MADE COMPS MY BITCH!!

2010-07-27T14:49:00.000-05:00

Yes, that and that curve allowed you to pass.

From: xxx, Michael
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 2:40 PM
To: xxx, Michael
Subject: RE: comprehensive written exams

So I guess you gave me a lot of points for spelling my name correctly, Huh?

From: xxx, Michael
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 2:37 PM
To: xxx, Michael; xxx, Harrison; xxx, Bradley; xxx, Kathleen
Cc: Shaub, Michael
Subject: comprehensive written exams

Howdy, All: Congratulations: You have all unconditionally passed the written exams. Whoop!

mike

PCUSA vs PCA

2010-07-27T11:01:00.002-05:00

Our recent General Assembly discussed the Strategic Plan and women "deaconess" positions. The PCUSA apparently had weightier matters to discuss:

I wish I could tag this as humor but it's really more of a tragedy.

What School Should be like

2010-07-24T13:19:00.003-05:00

School should be like this. We'd produce competent, productive males who respect women and love America. Instead we produce gays and liberal arts majors. By 18, they would have jobs and families instead of excessive debt and boy-band mentalities.

Birthday Thoughts

2010-07-16T11:35:00.004-05:00

Today I am a quarter century old. I never fully thought I would make it this long. My dad grew up thinking he would be dead by his 21st birthday due to Soviet invasion. I always expect the worst. There is eminent threat of stagflation, radical Isalmic terrorists, and Marxist China intent on our destruction. Nevertheless, by God's grace, I live.

I have much to thank God for on this 25th birthday:
1) I was raised by wonderful parents. My mother gave up her career to raise my sister and I. My father worked long hours so he could provide for our family. He started saving for my future before I was even conceived. My sister has always looked out for me. She is a blessing of a Big Sis. Every hard time I have had, she has been there with comfort and advice. She has found Jay, whose self-sacrifice and devotion is worthy of her.
2) I have a wonderful extended family. My cousin Brian is like a brother to me. I was always the nerdy kid while growing up and at times lacked close friends. Despite his being an all star High School Football player and later a Marine, he always treated me with love and respect. I had a Grandfather who never met a man he did not like. I had a Grandmother who delighted in her grandchildren and filled us with baked goods and Christmas visits. I have a Grandmother now who writes me monthly and smiles on all my endeavours.
3) I have God's grace. I don't know why he chose to call such a stubborn and unbelieving person to Himself. It is a mystery why He would put His love upon me. He used the Catholic Church to bring about a depression and angst over my sin. He used my lonesomeness to reveal His covenant faithfulness to me. He called me through Scripture and lead to Himself.
4) After many years of struggling, I have found a wonderful church in the PCA. God has brought me through a watered-down works-based evangelicalism to a Godly faith. I have found tremendous comfort in the beauty of the Reformed redtemptive historical approach to Scripture. God has been planning the salvation of His people, of which I am one, since before the dawn of time.
5) I have several families which have taken me under their wings. I have learned what it is to love a wife and die to yourself through the Hamersmas, the Toveys, the Stevens. Here in Texas I have my Godly officemate Brad and his family.
5) I have several close brothers in Christ who contribute to my sanctification. Ming, T-Rea, Nick Jones, Paul Snow, Bounds, and Peter. I am indebted to their love towards me. They are always a phone call away. I would take a bullet for them without hestitation.
6) I have an abundance of liquidity and resources. I have never gone without and have saved a significant amount of money for the future (hopefully for a family). Every time I have sought a job, I have gotten numerous offers. When I dropped resumes for my first job, I got three replies in under an hour and over ten within the day. I have more than any Mayberry has ever had. This is because of God's grace working through the instruction of my father and through Providential organization of economic events.
7) I have a future which is probable. I am on my way to a PhD, which will one day provide stability and prosperity for a wife and a family. I have worried and doubted yet I stand shoulders above my family's wildest expectations. Tenure and compensation are more than my Dad or Grandfather could ever hope. Nevertheless, it is within my reach.
8) I have a future which is certain. I have Christ and His Wedding Supper to look forward to. My Beloved will one day stand before me face-to-face. I will know no other yearning but a yearning for Him.
9) I have moved to a new state but have found family here. I had RUF and now the Navigators. I have the Wilde Family, the Lawsons, Dave Jones, Victor, etc.
10) I am a lucky man. But I don't believe in luck (Han Solo). I believe in Providence and God's unmerited favor.

Another baby!

2010-07-14T13:42:00.003-05:00

My officemate, Brad, had his boy John Lawson at 12:45 pm today. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was 19.5 inches long.
Congrats, Brad!

Spurgeon: Unhewn stones

2010-07-14T11:03:00.002-05:00

"If thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it."—Exodus 20:25

God's altar was to be built of unhewn stones, that no trace of human skill or labour might be seen upon it. Human wisdom delights to trim and arrange the doctrines of the cross into a system more artificial and more congenial with the depraved tastes of fallen nature; instead, however, of improving the gospel carnal wisdom pollutes it, until it becomes another gospel, and not the truth of God at all. All alterations and amendments of the Lord's own Word are defilements and pollutions. The proud heart of man is very anxious to have a hand in the justification of the soul before God; preparations for Christ are dreamed of, humblings and repentings are trusted in, good works are cried up, natural ability is much vaunted, and by all means the attempt is made to lift up human tools upon the divine altar. It were well if sinners would remember that so far from perfecting the Saviour's work, their carnal confidences only pollute and dishonour it. The Lord alone must be exalted in the work of atonement, and not a single mark of man's chisel or hammer will be endured. There is an inherent blasphemy in seeking to add to what Christ Jesus in His dying moments declared to be finished, or to improve that in which the Lord Jehovah finds perfect satisfaction. Trembling sinner, away with thy tools, and fall upon thy knees in humble supplication; and accept the Lord Jesus to be the altar of thine atonement, and rest in Him alone.
Many professors may take warning from this morning's text as to the doctrines which they believe. There is among Christians far too much inclination to square and reconcile the truths of revelation; this is a form of irreverence and unbelief, let us strive against it, and receive truth as we find it; rejoicing that the doctrines of the Word are unhewn stones, and so are all the more fit to build an altar for the Lord

Happy Fourth

2010-07-04T11:12:00.000-05:00

Dearest Friends,

Today is the day we remember our nation's great struggle for liberty. It is my hope that all of you thoroughly enjoy it by living in the freedom purchased by previous generation's courage and blood. However, as all of you know, I cannot celebrate any event, however small, without referring back to Calvinism. I share with you a passage from the very first Reformed text I ever read: The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination by Loraine Boettner. Many of you whom I have known for a while have already read this. I hope remembering it again will rekindle your love for our Church. Those who have yet to read it, I hope you learn how the Presbyterians and their Reformed comrades were instrumental in starting and winning the American Revolution.

SDG,

Michael Mxxxxx

Calvinism in America

When we come to study the influence of Calvinism as a political force in the history of the United States we come to one of the brightest pages of all Calvinistic history. Calvinism came to America in the Mayflower, and Bancroft, the greatest of American historians, pronounces the Pilgrim Fathers "Calvinists in their faith according to the straightest system." . . . It is estimated that of the 3,000,000 Americans at the time of the American Revolution, 900,000 were of Scotch or Scotch-Irish origin, 600,000 were Puritan English, and 400,000 were German or Dutch Reformed. In addition to this the Episcopalians had a Calvinistic confession in their Thirty-nine Articles; and many French Huguenots also had come to this western world. Thus we see that about two-thirds of the colonial population had been trained in the school of Calvin. . . .

. . .With this background we shall not be surprised to find that the Presbyterians took a very prominent part in the American Revolution. Our own historian Bancroft says: "The Revolution of 1776, so far as it was affected by religion, was a Presbyterian measure. It was the natural outgrowth of the principles which the Presbyterianism of the Old World planted in her sons, the English Puritans, the Scotch Covenanters, the French Huguenots, the Dutch Calvinists, and the Presbyterians of Ulster." So intense, universal, and aggressive were the Presbyterians in their zeal for liberty that the war was spoken of in England as "The Presbyterian Rebellion." An ardent colonial supporter of King George III wrote home: "I fix all the blame for these extraordinary proceedings upon the Presbyterians. They have been the chief and principal instruments in all these flaming measures. They always do and ever will act against government from that restless and turbulent anti-monarchial spirit which has always distinguished them everywhere." When the news of "these extraordinary proceedings" reached England, Prime Minister Horace Walpole said in Parliament, "Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson" (John Witherspoon, president of Princeton, signer of Declaration of Independence).

History is eloquent in declaring that American democracy was born of Christianity and that that Christianity was Calvinism. The great Revolutionary conflict which resulted in the formation of the American nation, was carried out mainly by Calvinists, many of whom had been trained in the rigidly Presbyterian College at Princeton, and this nation is their gift to all liberty loving people.

J. R. Sizoo tells us: "When Cornwallis was driven back to ultimate retreat and surrender at Yorktown, all of the colonels of the Colonial Army but one were Presbyterian elders. More than one-half of all the soldiers and officers of the American Army during the Revolution were Presbyterians." . . .

. . . Says Motley: "In England the seeds of liberty, wrapped up in Calvinism and hoarded through many trying years, were at last destined to float over land and sea, and to bear the largest harvests of temperate freedom for great commonwealths that were still unborn. "The Calvinists founded the commonwealths of England, of Holland, and America." And again, "To Calvinists more than to any other class of men, the political liberties of England, Holland and America are due." . . .

. . .In his book, "The Creed of Presbyterians," E. W. Smith asks concerning the American colonists, "Where learned they those immortal principles of the rights of man, of human liberty, equality and self-government, on which they based their Republic, and which form today the distinctive glory of our American civilization ? In the school of Calvin they learned them. There the modern world learned them. So history teaches," (p. 121).

Chriscentric TULIP

2010-07-01T18:26:00.000-05:00

Reformation Polka!

2010-06-30T10:40:00.001-05:00

I love it!

Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors

2010-06-29T03:34:00.001-05:00

Bit sleep deprived so forgive me (haha, pun) if this is less formal and more wandering than my typical posts:

RW Glen is a favorite pastor of mine. Sure, he's not PCA but nobody is perfect :-)
Anyhow, I listened to one of his sermons on forgiveness back in March. It was one of those sermons that keeps kicking around your head. I really don't like it because it confronts my sins and makes me want to forgive people I don't want to forgive people.

Pastor Glen correctly states that Lord's Prayer should be rendered 'Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.' The PCA has had this right for some time, but I realize many have learned it with different words as I did. Basically, his point is that forgiveness is like a debt. This debt image is useful in understanding what forgiveness entails.

How does one forgive people? I must realize that I am a debtor to God. As the parable in Matthew 18 says, I have a huge debt I can never pay off. Call it 150,000 years of an average wage. I can't pay God back but, in Christ, God no longer remembers my sins (Jer 31:34). Once I realize how indebted I am to God, I will stop caring about the buck-oh-five someone owes me. Christ absorbed the cost of my debt by paying with His precious blood (1 Peter 1:18-19). It is only when I truly gaze upon the pain and suffering of Christ's death that I can understand His love for me. He forgave me. Thus, I have to forgive other people.

How? The debt image is useful here. Make payments. When I feel the pain of someone else's sin, when I want to lash out or malign their name, I swallow the pain. This is making a payment. I choose to accept the sinner despite their sin against me. This debt image shows two things: First, that forgiveness is not a one time thing. Most debts are paid down by payments. Second, forgiveness hurts and it sucks. It sucks writing a check and giving up money. Nevertheless, Christ continues to forgive my manifold sins. Christ endured the pain for my debt. By grace, I will follow and obey.

I've been blogging a lot. I tend to do that when I'm thinking. Helps to organize my thoughts / distract me when I'm at work waiting on SAS to merge.

Good Day

2010-06-28T13:29:00.005-05:00

Could today get any better?
1) Byrd is dead.
2) SCOTUS ruled in favor of the Constitution when it comes to gun laws.
3) SCOTUS ruled in favor of the Constitution when it comes to the PCAOB/SOX. And it's all the sweeter since Mr. Kagan lost his case.
4) Nate and Jenee have posted more pictures of Jolie :-)
5) My car registration went off without a hitch and I got another Gingrich book at the library.
6) The radio is currently playing "Way out Here" by Josh Thompson.

Common grace is good.

Jolie Adelaide Stevens has arrived!

2010-06-28T07:49:00.003-05:00

Jolie Adelaide Stevens was born at 11:08 pm last night. She weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz.. Praise God for the Stevens and for their new baby girl!

Meikle: The soul's enlargement in heaven

2010-06-28T01:44:00.000-05:00

Meikle reminds me of God's Kingdom. Remind me of Revelation 21:3-4, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

The love of the Triune God will be before me. All bliss will be mine. No more sorrow. No more sin. Only Christ.

Yes, in fine, the soul which would be content to shine as the least star in the sky of glory, shall, in the visions of God, be extended to a transparent heaven, and spread into a cloudless sky, in which all the perfections of God shall sparkle like the stars, and the graces of the Holy Spirit, like so many planets shall roll round the sun of righteousness, eager to approach his assimilating beams, his vivifying rays: while God, the sum and source of bliss, fixed in his love in the center of the soul, shall spread his quickening flames to every corner of the heart.

No more vexations, like vapors exhaled by the heat of righteous indignation, shall fill my atmosphere with the suffocating fogs of anguish, or fall in showers of sorrow that end in streams of briny tears. Thunders and tempests there no more molest—where all is tranquility; no eclipse—where all is light; no shadow—where all is illumination; no evening—where all is everlasting day.

This sky, spread out by the fingers of redeeming love, this new created heaven, is not only beauteous—but shall be strong to stand forever; and then, and there, O how shall union be strengthened, holiness increased! How shall joy heighten, wisdom grow, knowledge ripen, communion be most free, and ecstasy and rapture swell, fill, and overflow forevermore!

Bayly's Evening Prayer

2010-06-27T22:07:00.005-05:00

I have been looking for more formal prayers to use during my evening vespers. My own prayers are too wandering and full of omissions. Someone referred me to The Practice of Piety: Directing a Christian how to walk, that he may please God by Lewis Bayly.

His evening prayer is quite long, I won't even quote the entirety of it. Bayly details all of one's sinful faculties. Even one's memory is sinful, a fact I have not yet fully considered. Bayly claims the promises of Christ's blood and cries for the promised Holy Spirit. It was truly a Godly meditation.

O most gracious God and loving Father, who art about my bed and knowest my down-lying and my uprising, and art near unto all that call upon thee in truth and sincerity, I, wretched sinner, do beseech thee to look upon me with the eyes of thy mercy, and not to behold me as I am in myself; for then thou shalt see but an unclean and defiled creature, conceived in sin, and living in iniquity, so that I am ashamed to lift up mine eyes to heaven, knowing how grievously I have sinned against heaven and before thee; for, O Lord, I have transgressed all thy commandments and righteous laws, not only through negligence and infirmity, but oftentimes through wilful presumption, contrary to my knowledge; yea, contrary to the motions of thy Holy Spirit reclaiming me from them: so that I have wounded my conscience, and grieved thy Holy Spirit, by whom thou hast sealed me to the day of redemption. Thou hast consecrated my soul and body to be the temples of the Holy Ghost; I, wretched sinner, have defiled both with all manner of pollution and uncleanness: my eyes, in taking pleasure to behold vanity; mine ears, in hearing impure and unchaste speeches; my tongue, in leasing and evil speaking; my hands are so full of impurity, that I am ashamed to lift them up unto thee; and my feet have carried me after mine own ways; my understanding and reasoning, which are so quick in all earthly matters, are only blind and stupid when I come to meditate or discourse of spiritual and heavenly things; my memory, which should be the treasury of all goodness, is not so apt to remember anything, as those things which are vile and vain; yea, Lord, by woful experience I find, that naturally all the imaginations of the thoughts of my heart are only evil continually; and my sins are more in number than the hairs which grow upon mine head, and they have grown over me like a loathsome leprosy, that from the crown of my head to the sole of my feet, there remains no part which they have not infected; they make me seem vile in mine own eyes—how much more abominable must I then appear in thy sight! And the custom of sinning hath almost taken away the conscience of sin, and brought upon me such dulness of sense and hardness of heart, that thy judgments denounced against my sins by the faithful preachers of thy word, do not terrify me to return unto thee by unfeigned repentance for them; and if thou, Lord, shouldst but deal with me according to thy justice and my desert, I should utterly be confounded and condemned; but seeing that of thine infinite mercy thou hast spared me so long, and still waitest for my repentance, I humbly beseech thee, for the sake of the bitter death and bloody passion which Jesus Christ hath suffered for me, that thou wouldst pardon and forgive me all my sins and offences, and open unto me that ever-streaming fountain of the blood of Christ, which thou hast promised to open under the New Testament to the penitent of the house of David; that all my sins and uncleanness may be so bathed in his blood, buried in his death, and hid in his wounds, that they may never more be seen, to shame me in this life, or to condemn me before thy judgment-seat in the world which is to come. And forasmuch, O Lord, as thou knowest that it is not in man to turn his own heart, unless thou dost first give him grace to convert; and seeing that it is as easy with thee to make me righteous and holy, as to bid me to be such, O my God, give me grace to do what thou commandest, and then command what thou wilt, and thou shalt find me willing to do thy blessed will: and to this end give me thy Holy Spirit, which thou hast promised to give, to the world’s end, to all thy elect people; and let the same Holy Spirit purge my heart, heal my corruption, sanctify my nature, and consecrate my soul and body, that they may become the temples of the Holy Ghost, to serve thee in righteousness and holiness all the days of my life; that when, by the direction and assistance of thy Holy Spirit, I shall finish my course in this short and transitory life, I may cheerfully leave this world, and resign my soul into thy fatherly hands, in the assured confidence of enjoying everlasting life with thee in thine heavenly kingdom, which thou hast prepared for thy elect saints, who love the Lord Jesus and expect his appearing.

PS: I am on the look for a personal liturgy. Perhaps something consisting of a prayer and devotion for every morning and evening of a month/year. Lutheran, Anglican, and Reformed are all acceptable.

Generation Kill Quote

2010-06-27T15:06:00.003-05:00

My dad is a United States Marine, along with my cousin and one of my uncles. Anyhow, I read this quote on my cousin's profile and looked up the full verision. A liberal from Maryland writes the Marines who are in Iraq that war is not the answer and he does not support them. Corp. Person replies. Hiliarious:

Dear Frederick, thank you for your nice letter, but I am actually a US Marine who was born to kill whereas clearly you have mistaken me for some sort of wine-sipping Communist dick-suck. And although peace probably appeals to tree-loving bisexuals like you and your parents, I happen to be a death-dealing, blood-crazed warrior who wakes up every day just hoping for the chance to dismember my enemies and defile their civilizations. Peace sucks a hairy asshole, Freddy. War is the motherfucking answer.
-Corporal Josh Ray Person

Nate and Jenee are having a baby!!

2010-06-27T12:33:00.001-05:00

Jenee is in labor as I type this!! God bless the Stevens with a healthy, happy baby girl! Cover them with your kindness. Give Jenee strength, Nate patience, and the doctors skillful hands.

Dropkick Murphys

2010-06-26T12:31:00.005-05:00

I love the Dropkick Murphys. Not really country music but oh well. They're angry socialists and I can empathsize with their arguments about being screwed over. They're wrong on politics but they get the fallen nature of man and injustice in a way country music doesn't. They also understand how one must rely on others in this life, which speaks against my individualism. (Please note you may never hear me say country music is deficient in anything ever again)

Reckless Kelly manana!

2010-06-24T23:58:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow I get to see Reckless Kelly in concert! Boo-yah!

Sure, they are Unamerican. But they understand idolatry , women, marriage, a good time, and a whole lot more! If you need me, I'll be at the Hall.

Things Republicans Hate

2010-06-24T12:16:00.003-05:00

I do hate most of these things . . . special thanks to Diego.

http://thethingsrepublicanshate.com

Addendum: I am still reading this and laughing my ass off.

Meikle: Love in its fourfold extension

2010-06-24T01:37:00.001-05:00

Meikle's next chapter describes the love of God towards the Christian. I have little to add, other than a nerdy comment that Paul must be viewing space as four dimensional rather than three dimensional. Funny how he doesn't mention time, but Meikle does appear to use length as a synonym for time. Joking aside, I share because it is a good meditation on God's love.

"I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God's love." (Ephesians 3:17-18)
Some things may have—height as the heavens, depth as the sea, and breadth and length as the earth. But divine love has a height which cannot be seen, a depth which cannot be sounded, a length which cannot be limited, and a breadth which cannot be measured! O Lord! may I know your love in its depth, in bringing me out of the lowest hell; in its height, in setting me on the Redeemer's throne; in its breadth, in making me an heir of God; and in its length, in eternalizing my bliss in the regions of glory! This love, in its depth, recovers and restores fallen man to endless felicity; in its height, crowns and confirms the church of the first-born; the inhabitants of the better country walk at liberty in its breadth, and rejoice in its length, its eternal duration. . .
Your glorious love extends to every point, to every quarter. In the rugged path of life, it supports me; amidst the sorrows of life, it comforts me; in the hour of death, it is my sun and shield; and at the day of judgment, shall spread all heaven before me. This love, in its depth, answers my necessities; in its height, crowns my highest expectations; in its breadth, replenishes my soul with goodness; and in its length, satiates my most enlarged desires of mind, and suits the eternity of my existence. In the depth of this love, the Son of God became man: and in its height men are made the sons of God. It locks the gates of hell, so that I shall never fall into perdition: it opens the gates of heaven, so that I shall enter in, to swim in an ocean of love, whose height and depth, breadth and length, shall be the subject and the song of the church triumphant around the throne, through everlasting day!

Meikle: The disposal of Providence always best

2010-06-23T22:42:00.002-05:00

My prayers are often guided by my own desires. But I am finite. I cannot see the end from the beginning. I do not know what is good. If only I had the faith to believe this. Meikle (and that is how his name is spelled, I realized I transposed the e and i in an earlier post) writes on this in his book Solitude Sweetened:

Why would I still take the government of myself out of your hand, and choose according to my fond desires? Can my ignorance penetrate through the thick darkness of futurity? Who would choose a blind mad-man to guide him through some lonely ways and intricate meanders, with which neither the traveler nor the guide are acquainted in the least: since he might lead him where he desires, and stab him as he strays?

It is surely safer to walk by faith in God, than to be led by my whims. I choose what is most agreeable to me; but God chooses what is most advantageous for me--and proves, in his disposal of me, that his love to me is greater than my love to myself. I love blindly—but he loves with the wisdom of a God! I would have my prayers answered at my time—but God answers them at his time, which is always the best time. I would have my blessings in large sums—but he gives them in small parcels, because I could not bear them all at once. So the prudent mother feeds her child, not according to the irregular appetite of her infant—but according to its real necessity, to afford nourishment.

I especially like Meikle's point that God loves us more than we are able to love ourselves. I have never thought about Christ's merciful love in this way. I love myself enough to pray for things I want and be offended or hurt when people wrong me. I love myself enough to look down on others who are enslaved to different, or even the same, sins. But this self-love is finite and destructive. God's love is infinite, agreeable, and advantageous to me. I can enjoy blessings that arise because they are from God and full of His goodness. I can rejoice at blessings that are denied because they were not good for me. The one constant is God's love, which is beyond my own selfish love.

Grandpa's WW2 Pictures

2010-06-22T11:38:00.005-05:00

My Grandfather died my freshmen year of high school. He is quite a man. He never really graduated high school. He grew up in a small town in Nebraska. When World War 2 came, it was decided that he needed to fight. Thus, he was given a diploma and sent off to join the Navy. I was recently thinking about him during Father's day and found these two old photos. The first he took while at Iowa Jima in 1945. The second is a picture of Grandpa while in the Navy.

Miekle: Comfortable Conclusions

2010-06-21T21:36:00.000-05:00

I read the next chapter in Miekle's "Solitude Sweetened" and found several quotes that were too good to be kept to myself. There can be no understanding of salvation without an understanding of one's own sin.

"Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound!" -Romans 5:20

If my sins mount up to heaven—your mercy is above the heavens! Though my sins reach to the very throne to accuse me—there is ONE upon the throne who will not condemn me! My sins, in their seven-fold abominations, can rise no higher than the throne, but the rainbow of redeeming love and grace is both around and above the throne, and that in its seven-fold beauties—power, wisdom, justice, goodness, holiness, mercy, and truth. And as all the different rays meet in one glorious beam of light, so all the attributes, all the perfections of God, are summed up in love! . . .
Sin may raise the tempest of wrath, but can do no more. But Christ not only calms the raging tempest, but gives peace of conscience, flowing from intimations of peace with God, and makes me heir of all things! Where sin abounded—grace did much more abound! Where misery has surrounded me—mercy has crowned me! Sin is too strong for me—but your grace is too strong for sin!

Why, then, am I so vexed with fears, doubts, and unbelief? Because I am sinful? On that very account, Christ, who knew no sin, was made sin—that I, who knew no righteousness, might be made the righteousness of God in him. But I am a great sinner! Then, he is a Savior, and a great One! Where is boasting now soul? See—it is great mercy in God, great merit in Christ—which saves a great sinner! Since rich and free grace builds the temple of salvation, let it have all the glory!

But I fall often into the same sin! That is my failing, over which I ought to mourn, and by which I should be driven out of all boasting in my own holiness, high attainments, and religious duties; and cry, with tears of holy joy, "Grace, grace to him that has laid the foundation, carries on the whole work of redemption, and will, with shouting bring forth the topstone!"

Meikle: Prayer and Submission

2010-06-21T20:22:00.007-05:00

Providence brought me to a nice devotional by James Meikle today entitled, "Solitude Sweetened." I cannot find very much information about the author. He was apparently in the Royal Navy during a time of war when he wrote this text. Judging by this date of birth and death (1730-1799), I believe it may have been the Seven Years War (but that is merely speculation).

The third chapter of this text is entitled Submission. I do not know if it was originally intended to be a prayer, but I think it can surely be used as one. My private studies on prayer has lead me to conclude that I am quite horrible at prayer (I'll add that to my list, which already contains: Loving Christ, life, and video games). Meikel:

Will any, or will I, pretend to teach the Most High knowledge, seeing he is excellent in all his working, and perfect in all his ways? Then, since I cannot direct him, why am not I submissive to his disposal? Can I predict events, or foresee futurities? No! How then can I promise myself serenity from a cloudless sky? or fear storms from an obscured heaven? when, as to the first, the gathering meteors may suspend an unexpected shadow before the sun; or, as to the second, the gathered clouds may scatter, and let the welcome beams refresh the weary world. So, Lord, as from present appearances, future contingencies cannot be discerned—it is my duty, and shall be my study, to be WHOLLY, FULLY, and FOREVER, at your disposal, to whom all your works, all my purposes, and all my wanderings, are known from the beginning!

O! how the Christian should glory in God's choosing for him the lot of his inheritance, and be content with that condition which Heaven accounts best for him, though not the grandest or greatest; nor the richest or happiest; nor that state he most desires. I am not my own—for I am bought with a price, and dearly paid for too! Would it not be too daring for me to instruct God how to decorate the heavens, how to set the sun, station the moon, place the poles, plant the stars, and guide the wandering planets? Now, I am as much his by right, (yes, in the ties of love, more,) and as much at his disposal, as any of these his other creatures; and if I cannot complain of his conduct with these, why quarrel at his providences toward me?

Another thing which ought to encourage to submission, is, that God's way is not only equitable in itself, but profitable for his people, for the latter end of the righteous is peace; and the end of the Lord is always gracious to his afflicted ones—who chooses them in the furnace of affliction, brings light out of darkness, order out of confusion, real good out of seeming evil; and, finally, brings through fire and water to a place of eternal glory!

Luther: Extra Nos

2010-06-18T12:10:00.005-05:00

It appears everywhere I turn there is sin corrupting this world. My Reformed theology tells me this is to be expected, but I still have a heavy heart. People I love are in sin and unbelief. People sin against me and I sin against people. People I know are suffering the loss of a child; others are unemployed and hurting. My prayers seemingly go unanswered.

It is when I heavy a heart heart and wet eye I look to Scripture and Dr. Luther, BAMF. He and I have a similar disposition. He can point me to Christ unlike most others. I share some comforting quotes to point you to God and not to yourself.

And this is the reason why our theology is certain: it snatches us away from ourselves and places us outside ourselves (nos extra nos), so that we depend not on our own strength, conscience, mind, person, or works but on what is outside ourselve (extra nos) that is, on the promise and truth of God, which cannot deceive.
-Dr. Luther, Lectures on Galatians

Scripture does not tell us to "suck it up" and press on a man. My inner man tells me "In this world of temptation, in this city of sin, there's none that can save you but the strength from within." Damn these lies. My strenght is outside of me(extra nos in Latin). My strength and will is fractured and weak. As Luther says, I have the promises and truth of God. These are yea and amen. He will work everything for good (Rom 8:28), that He will never leave me or forsake me (Heb 13:5), that He will not forget me (Is 49:15-16), and that He is good. I must leave my old self behind and follow the Man upon the Cross. This pain and brokeness is not without reason but will glorify the One who gave Himself for me.

If His [Christ's] unspeakable goodness were to go right to our hearts, nothing would be too vexing or too hard for us to suffer or bear for His sake, that we only abide in His love.
-Dr. Luther

Promises

2010-06-17T12:50:00.002-05:00

Spurgeon spoke of three promises ealier this week. I have been meditating on these and find them a wonderful comfort. I share in hopes that you may think of God's rich graces to those of us who believe.

God will not forget us. Humans who claim to care may forget and deceive us, but Christ will not. The nails in His hands remind Him of His love for us.

Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me

-Isaiah 49:15-16

God's love and compassoin for us are more certain than even the mightiest examples of physical reality.

For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,"
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

-Isaiah 54:10

We are forever Christ's. No one can change that.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

-John 10:28

Luther: We do not know how to pray

2010-06-16T21:35:00.003-05:00

Please note that references are made to David P. Scaer's Concordia Theological Quarterly article Luther on Prayer published in October of 1983.

I remember when I told a Bible Study that I didn't know how to pray for something. If I pray for something, then I want it. If I want it, then I idolize it. My peers were shocked in horror at the thought that one of their own would not know how to pray nor would he be able to be pure and sinless in his prayers. Admitting that we cannot pray is admitting we cannot influence God, an idea repugnant to the secular as well as to most of the churched. Nevertheless, Scripture tells us that I, even as a Christian, am a utter fool when it comes to prayer. Romans 8:26-27 tells us:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Similarly, the Lord's Prayer is initiated by one of Christ's disciples asking "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1). The problem with my prayers is me. I am a sinful, petty, selfish wretch. My lust for this world creeps into every one of my thoughts, even every one of my prayers. Moreover, my finite mind cannot grasp God's Sovereign Will in the world. I see down the hall way; God sees the entirety of the maze.

However, the Holy Spirit is at work. Just as Christ stands between me and the wrath of God during judgment, the Holy Spirit stands between me and throne of God during prayer. He intercedes for me. He prays for things I do not know how to pray for. Scaer writes:

The Spirit gives a new and larger dimension to our prayers. Luther makes the wise observation about Paul's words 'we do not know how to pray' that they do not mean that Christians are praying for foolish or harmful things, but that they have not realized the full dimension of what God intends to give them because of their prayers. . .Luther writes, "Therefore in heeding our prayers and coming to grant our requests God destroys our weak thinking and our still too humble ideas, and He gives us what the Spirit demands for us." It as as if a son wrote a letter to his father asking for silver and the father disregarded the letter and prepared to give the son gold."

Luther likens the Holy Spirit's work as an artist viewing a lump of clay. Our prayers are coarse and in unpleasing form. The Holy Spirit takes these and fashions them into something wonderful. This should be reassuring to the Christian. We approach our Father not through cogent prayers, but through the intercession of the Holy Spirit. Our prayers do not persuade God or convince Him of our need; He hears Himself as the Spirit groans for us. Luther again writes:

Therefore, when everything is hopeless for us and all things begin to go against our prayers and desires, then those utterable groans begin. And then 'the Spirit helps us in our weakness.' For unless the Spirit were helping, it would be impossible for us to bear this action of God by which He hears and accomplishes what we pray for.

Beloved, your prayers are weak and worldly. Beloved, your Father knows this and has sent His Spirit to pray for you and through you. Rest on this.

The Grace of Facebook

2010-06-15T19:20:00.003-05:00

My heart is usually heavy when I realize how far I am away from my home. Texas is not a bad place but I doubt any place other than Palm Harbor will ever be my home. Facebook let me talk to my oldest friend ever, Shawn, and a good brother, Nick Jones, for some time today. Shawn is even moving to Texas for six months for a job. Oh, heaven help Big Thicket, it's about to have two kids who have been scheming since Mrs. Vaca's class cause trouble there. Thank you, Lord, for the bless of technology. Thank you for friends I have known since Kindergarten and friends I made when I needed them most.

Calvin: The Gospel moves us away from this present life

2010-06-15T12:09:00.003-05:00

This life is frustrating. It rarely makes any sense and this leads me to prideful unbelief. By God's grace, this life is but a temporary aberration. The Gospel teachs me that I will soon spend eternity at the Wedding Feast of my Beloved. There time will still stand as I drink in His beauty, am washed by His love, and delighted with unceasing pleasure in His goodness. Calvin reminded me of this fact when I read his institutes today:

Surely the gospel does not confine men's hearts to delight in the present life, but lifts them to the hope of immortality. It does not fasten them to earthly pleasures, but by announcing a hope that rests in heaven it, so to speak, transports them thither.
-Institutes, II.10.3

This reminds me of "Thy Kingdom come, they will be done" in the Lord's Prayer. The Christian life, in a very large part, consists in reminding oneself of this fact. There is a rest and there is a Promised Land. We live in it already, but not yet.

Soccer is Gay

2010-06-14T14:18:00.003-05:00

Yes, I admit to watching the World Cup. It's summer time and it's better than watching no sports at all. Soccer recently did hold a press release that I did not find shocking:

Soccer Officially Announces It Is Gay

VoV: Divine Support

2010-06-13T00:30:00.002-05:00

Pray these promises to God. He will sustain you and honor you if you are His.

-----------------------

Thou art the blessed God, happy in Thyself, source of happiness in Thy creatures, my maker, benefactor, proprietor, upholder. Thou hast produced and sustained me, supported and indulged me, saved and kept me; Thou art in every situation able to meet my needs and miseries.

May I live by Thee, live for Thee, never be satisfied with my Christian progress but as I resemble Christ; and may conformity to His principles, temper, and conduct grow hourly in my life. Let Thy unexampled love constrain me into holy obedience, and render my duty my delight. If others deem my faith folly, my meekness infirmity, my zeal madness, my hope delusion, my actions hypocrisy, may I rejoice to suffer for Thy name.

Keep me walking steadfastly towards the country of everlasting delights, that paradise-land which is my true inheritance. Support me by the strength of heaven that I may never turn back, or desire false pleasures that will disappear into nothing. As I pursue my heavenly journey by Thy grace let me be known as a man with no aim but that of a burning desire for Thee, and the good and salvation of my fellow men.

-Divine Support

Luther on Christ as High Priest

2010-06-12T10:10:00.002-05:00

"Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess." - Hebrews 3:1

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess." -Hebrews 4:14

Priest is a strong and lovely word. There is no lovelier or sweeter name on earth. It is much better to hear that Christ is called “Priest”, than Lord, or any other name. Priesthood is a spiritual power which means no other than that the priest steps forth, and takes all the iniquities of the people upon himself as though they were his very own. He intercedes with God for them and receives from Him the Word with which he can comfort and help the people. It is lovelier and more comforting than “Father” and “Mother”, for this name brings us everything else. For by being a priest He makes God our Father and Himself our Lord. When I believe in His priesthood, then I know that His work is none other than to be seated in heaven as our Mediator, and that He makes intercession for us, before the Father, without ceasing, and all the time speaks on our behalf. This is the highest comfort which can be given to any man, and no sweeter sermon can be preached to our hearts.

-Martin Luther, Exposition of Genesis

Theology and Poetry

2010-06-12T09:54:00.002-05:00

Rev DP Cassidy of Redeemer in Austin, TX posted a wonderful thought on theology and poetry. Since I don't ever had original thoughts of my own, I pass it along:

This is why Pastors and Christian leaders of all kinds must be immersed in both theology and poetry. The poetic manifests first the beauty with a hidden technical precision. Theology manifests first technical precision with a hidden beauty. If our reading is only theological we might become excellent technicians (and these are needed), but we will not paint the images of truth that listeners desperately need to purge the imagination, renew the mind, capture the heart, and redirect steps. Equally, if we read and contemplate only the poetic we might become curators of the beautiful (and these too are needed), but we will drift into mere sentimentality and make human experience rather than revealed truth the message we communicate. If however we embrace both we will stand in the long tradition of authentic spirituality most especially seen in the ancient Church fathers, in a theological tradition that gathers theology and poetry, technicality and beauty, into one magnificent summation as the encounter of Mystery.

Expressing Christ's beauty is not simple or straightforward. By preaching Reformed theology, we convey the truth of the beauty. However, through hymns and images, we can more easily let recipients drink of its beauty and richness. Is it any wonder the best hymn writers (Newton, Watts, Cowper) were also Reformed?

Spurgeon on Unanswered Prayer III

2010-06-12T00:12:00.006-05:00

Today I shall continue my comments on Spurgeon (BAMF)'s Sermon No. 334 entitled, "Unanswered Prayer" In the first two sections, Spurgeon confesses the painful confusion that accompanies a believer whose prayers go unanswered. Christ, as our High Priest, can empathize with this displeasure as He literally had God turn a deaf hear to His cries on the cross. Understanding that our Savior cried out in the midst of His atonement for our sins should motivate Christians to continue to trust God, continue to pray, grow in fervency for prayer, and continue to hope. This response is not possible for natural man, but must be the result of Divine grace being poured into our wretched and unbelieving hearts.

Spurgeon finalizes his sermon with two sections offering possible explanations on why prayer goes unanswered and why God delays in answering some prayers. "Occasionally, to all believers, I suppose, there will come staggering moments, when they scarcely know how to reply to their doubts, because certain of their prayers have not been answered." God may not respond to prayers because:

First, unanswered prayer may many times lie in something connected with sin. Spurgeon cites John 14:13-15 "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments." In these verses, one finds a connection between love, commandments, and asking in Christ's name. I am weary of this explanation as every Saint who prays to God remains a sinner. Answering pray is an act of grace from God. My monergistic faith chafes at the thought of earnings a blessing or an answered pray from God. Nevertheless, there may be validity in this. If we abandon God's Law and do not struggle against sin, God may appear silent towards our prayers.

Second, God may refuse our prayers as this can be a sort of disclosure to us as to wherein our sin lieth.

Unanswered prayer should be to every Christian a search-warrant, and he should begin to examine himself to see whether there be not something harbored within which is contrary to the will of God [meaning our sanctification]

Here I am more in line with Spurgeon's reasoning. Supplications to God reveal our desires. When we desire a good thing beyond its use, or desire something that is outright despicable, God is not obliged to answer that prayer. For some time I wanted to attend UNC and work with Dr. Shackelford there. It became an idol; I had to be the smartest guy in the room with an impressive position in the Academy. There was even an abundance of PCA churches in North Carolina. Nevertheless, God did not answer my prayer for this. Looking back, one potential reason is that I was praying for sin.

Sometimes there may be great in the prayer itself. Are not our greatest sins often connected with our holiest things? . . .Christian, beware; thou mayest sin against God in the prayer-chamber as well as thou canst in the market

Similarly, third, a prayer may go unanswered because it is asked for from a wrong motive. This is almost entirely synonymous with the prior explanation. Asking for good things: friends, relationships, community, good health, etc can be done for sinister motives. God, in his mercy, denies affirmative answers to these prayers.

If, for instance, a Christian minister asks that he may win souls in order that he may gain reputation and fame . . he will probably not be heard, for he asks from an unworthy motive. If I seek to be useful merely that I may be known to be a useful man or woman, I am really seeking my own honor, and can I expect God to minister to, and pamper that?

The final reason why God may deny an answer to a prayer is the result of ignorance. By this, Spurgeon means that we are demanding something which God does not promise. God promises our sanctification and our fellowship with Him. He does not promise health, wealth, and prosperity (despite what Joel Osteen says). God will never leave us nor forsake us. God will never allow us to be plucked from His hand. God may allow starvation, suffering, loneliness, depression, betrayal, imprisonment, and martyrdom. We must not confuse God's promises, which we can demand, with a child's potentially fanciful requests to His father.

But folks must be very foolish to suppose that, because they ask God that such and such a debt may be paid by miraculous means, it will certainly be done. I have a right to ask for anything which God has promised me, but if I go beyond the range of the Divine promises, I also go beyond the range of assured and confident expectation. The promises are very large and very wide, but when one gets a fancy in his head, he must not suppose that God is there, in his fancy.

This is quite a crushing blow to my ego-driven prayers. Most of my prayers are supplications which are vastly beyond what God promises. I should not have a confidence that God must answer them. I will confess when I truly thought about this today, and in days past, my initial response was "Then why pray?" If God's smile is not ensured on my prayers outside of God's promises, then is there any profit to it? I can identify an optimal strategy and pursue it with gusto. Certainly there must be a benefit. [And for those of you still reading, it is here that I depart from Spurgeon's sermon on my own thoughts] For several weeks no, I have been quoting Phil 4:6-7 and 1 Peter 5:7.

Do not be anxious about anything,but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Phil 4:6-7

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. -1 Peter 5:7

Supplication in prayer serves as a buffer against idolatry. First, we are humbled before an omnipotent God. I would not ask for things from God if I thought I were sufficiently strong to obtain these things for my self. Thus, supplications glorify God. Second, supplications to God guard our hearts from worry and unbelief. This is something mystical which I do not know how to fully explain in words. By babbling to our Father like a child, we realize that he cares for us. He is present in our struggles and in our longings. He is ours and we are His.

In summary, God may not respond to our requests because they are sinful, to aide us in discovering our sinful idols, because of wrong motives, and because they exceed His promised boundaries. Even though almost all of our prayers are beyond God's promises (or at least my sorry prayers are), our supplications glorify God for His power and comfort our hearts with God's love.

Morning Prayer

2010-06-10T09:59:00.001-05:00

O God the author of all good, I come to Thee for the grace another day will require for its duties and events. I step out into a wicked world; I carry about with me an evil heart. I know that without Thee I can do nothing, that everything with which I shall be concerned, however harmless in itself, may prove an occasion of sin or folly, unless I am kept by Thy power. Hold Thou me up and I shall be safe.

Preserve my understanding from subtilty of error, my affections from love of idols, my character from stain of vice, my profession from every form of evil. May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore Thy blessing, and in which I cannot invite Thy inspection. Prosper me in all lawful undertakings, or prepare me for disappointments. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full and deny Thee and say, Who is the Lord? or be poor, and steal, and take Thy name in vain.

May every creature be made good to me by prayer and Thy will. Teach me how to use the world and not abuse it, to improve my talents, to redeem my time, to walk in wisdom toward those without, and in kindness to those within, to do good to all men, and especially to my fellow Christians. And to Thee be the glory.

Spurgeon on Unanswered Prayer II

2010-06-09T19:22:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, I began summarizing C.H. Spurgeon's, BAMF, sermon on Unanswered Prayer. Spurgeon opens with an acknowledgment of the painful confusion which typically lives in the believer whose prayers remain seemingly unheard. As any good Calvinist Divine, Spurgeon traces this pain back to the Cross. It was on the tree on which our Savior hung that God did not answer His prayer. Christ cried "My God, my God, why hast thou foresaken me?" to a Father that turned His back on our Savior. Spurgeon's introduction is not merely devotional boilerplate, but a necessary aspect to a Christian's battle with unbelief. In Christ, the Christian finds a Friend who can empathize.Next, Spurgeon then moves to a section entitled "A General Guide For Our Conduct" which I shall comment upon in this current post.

Supposing that we have been seeking some blessing from God for many months, and have not obtained it; whether it be a personal blessing, or on behalf of others, what ought to be our conduct under such a trial as that, the trial of a long delay, or an apparent refusal?

The first thing a Christian is to do is "[He] must not cease to trust God." Notice in the reference text, Psalm 22:2, the cry"O my God" precedes the moan of "but thou hearest not." The Psalmist, while feeling entirely abandoned and ignored by the Almighty, does not forsake the Theistic nature of our God. God is not a God or simply the God, but my God. The Lord is more than one's feelings or experiences, He is greater and worthy of trust. Remember, Christ endured far worse yet did not find reason to doubt. "Trust in the Lord at all times ye people, and pour out your hearts before him."

Oh! Believe him to be good and true! You may not know why it is that he deals so strangely with you, but oh! never think that he is unfaithful for an instant, or that he has broken his word. Continue still to trust in him. You shall rewarded if you do, and the longer your faith is tried, it shall be with you as when the ship is longest out at sea, it goeth to the richest [climates], and cometh home with the heaviest and most precious freight.

The second conduct which a Christian is to pursue is to "Never cease to pray." This seems counter-intuitive. My prayers are not answered, what is the benefit? Prayers engender confidence, which stings all the more when it is broken. No man wants to trust a friend who regularly lets him down. The Psalmist does not follow this sinful instinct, instead he writes "I cry in the daytime. . .and in the night-seasons I am not silent."

The glare of daylight should not tempt you to cease: and the gloom off midnight should not make you stop your cries.

It is when we lack the desire to pray that we must pray the most. Satan knows that if he can keep us from our Father's ear then he can lead us astray.

"And while you never cease from your trust, nor from your prayer, It is when the grow more earnest in both." This is the third conduct of a Christian with unanswered prayers. It is during the period of God's alleged rejection of our heart that we learn we need Him the most. I was when Anfechtungen hit that Luther pleaded "Help, Dear Lord!"

It is not every knock at mercy's gate that will open it; he who would prevail must handle the knocker well, and dash it down again, and again, and again. As the old Puritan says, 'Cold prayers ask for a denial, but it is red-hot prayers which prevail.'

Spurgeon likens our prayers to a heavenly battering ram. We must assault the gate of heaven with all of our strength. We are only able to do this when we realize our complete reliance on the Hand of God. I don't cling to my office chair because I know my life does not depend upon it. Men in the rough seas do cling to their lifesavers, however. Likewise, we must cling to our prayers with earnestness as they are how we speak to our Father.

Finally, "yet again, cease not hope. . .As long as there is a place of prayer,, and a promise of an answer, no believer out to give way to despair. "Go again." said Elijah to his servant seven times. IT must have been weary work to the prophet to wait so long." We must not concede the possibility of Divine rescue. Abraham did not know if God would spare Isaac, but believed that God could raise the dead. God will be our rescue, in this life or the next.

God commands the Christian to unnatural conduct when his prayers are not answered. We are called to continue to trust, pray, and hope. These are to grow exponentially. We are categorically incapable of this. Yet, even when God seems unwilling to hear His child's prayer, He does not withhold His grace. Christ purchased our right to to be heard by our Father. While He may look to ignore you, His grace is present. Look to the Cross, there, and there alone, will you will find the answer to your prayers.

Continue to trust; continue to pray; increase in your fervency, and in the hope that the blessing will yet come. It did come to the Savior. The morning broke upon his midnight after all. Never tide ebbed out so far as in the Savior case, when the great stretches of misery and sorrow were visible where once God's love had rolled in mighty floods.

Spurgeon on Unanswered Prayer I

2010-06-08T18:01:00.005-05:00

Prayer is curious thing. On the one hand, we are commanded to pray. God our Father loves our speaking to Him, He cherishes it as any good earthly father does. Yet if I had to offer a point estimate on the proportion of prayers I have had answered, it would be fairly close to zero. This is a conundrum. The ever-present prideful cynic that lives within me regularly chastises my desire to prayer, his arguments are persuasive from a strictly empirical approach. If God, who so richly blesses the White Middle-America that I typically associate with, wishes to me to pray to Him, why is there apparently so little incentive? Given this cynic-self's sway of me, and his intimate knowledge of my frail faith, I look to the Divines of Old. In this post, I hope to introduce Spurgeon's thoughts on unanswered prayer.

On September 20th, 1866 Spurgeon spoke on the topic of Unanswered Prayer. The text for the evening was Psalm 22:2, "O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest me not; and in the night-season, and am not silent." The Psalmist does not shirk from honest expression in prayer, "but thou hearest me not." This is so often the prayer of the Christian Pilgrim in this world of losses and crosses. Scripture acknowledges this painful experience, why should man be so proud as to pretend his unanswered yearnings are no angst to him? Spurgeon writes that the Psalmist "prayed with strong crying and tears . . it did appear as if God had utterly forsaken him."

Instead of denying this discomfort, Spurgeon points the reader directly to Christ. Our Beloved Redeemer felt forsaken for us. On the cross He cried, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" (Mark 15:34). Christ felt forsaken because he was forsaken. This is the first point that Spurgeon makes:

"Now, wherefore was the Savior permitted to pass through so sad an experience? How was it that he, whose lightest word is prevailing with heaven, that he who pleads with Divine authority this day in his continual intercession, was permitted, when here below, to cry, and cry, and cry again, and yet to receive no comforting answer? Was it not for this reason, that he was making an atonement for us and he was not heard because we as sinners did not deserve to be heard?

Christ suffered the loss of God ignoring His prayers so that we might not suffer this same fate. While we may feel as if we are ignored, we are not. Christ was ignored for us.

"He was not heard, that we might be heard. The ear of God was dosed against him for a season, that it might never be dosed against us: that forever the mourner's cry might find a way to the heart of God, because the cry of Jesus was for awhile shut out from mercy's gate"

This is a wonderful comfort! While our prayers may seem vane and futile, Christ our High Priest knows the very same pain we are experiencing. The only difference is that Christ's prayers were ignored so our prayers might be heard. His blood bought us salvation, grace upon grace, and an open ear to a loving Heavenly Father.

"It will already comfort you to know that Christ has been where you are. It will already guide you to know that he was set you an example, and that he bids you follow in his steps. Let us now draw near to his sorrow, and think on it for a while for our instruction and comfort."

I fear ending this blog post on this subject will give the impression I am depressed. I am not. Spurgeon and Luther's works on prayer have been an amazing source of encouragement to me today. I am just searching the Mighty Words of God for His truth. God has blessed me with a smooth day and an abundance of friends. I will, by God's grace, continue with the second part of Spurgeon's sermon soon.

The Joy of Twins

2010-06-08T13:44:00.002-05:00

Interactions with my advisor, Sean concerning his two new covenant babies:

Me: "How are are the kids?"
Sean: "My son crapped and pissed on me today."
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Sean: "My wife wanted me up for the 1am feeding and the 4am feeding. That legitimately SUCKED"
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Sean: "My son peed in my father-in-law's face. You need to remember to strategically place a washcloth when changing boys." (mental note for future)
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Sean: "My daughter cries at the drop of the hat. That doesn't make me hurry to get to her, I just move normal pace. Apparently I'm heartless"

Country Music and Jonathan Edwards

2010-06-07T22:59:00.007-05:00

Country music expresses human emotions unlike any other art form. Brad Paisley's "No"
(Theology disclaimer) I doubt Brad Paisley is a Christian for a number of reasons, this does not discount the common grace teaching which he voices. (/Theology disclaimer)

Reformed theology expresses the Divine Truths of Scripture unlike any other system of belief. I share from Jonathan Edwards' "The Most High: A Prayer Hearing God"

OBJECTION. I have often prayed to God for certain mercies, and he has not heard my prayers. — To this I answer, . . . . .
III. It is no argument that he is not a prayer-hearing God, that he exercises his own wisdom as to the time and manner of answering prayer. Some of God’s people are sometimes ready to think that he does not hear their prayers, because he does [not] answer them at times when they expected, when indeed God hears them, and will answer them, in the time and way to which his own wisdom directs. — The business of prayer is not to direct God, who is infinitely wise and needs not any of our direction, who knows what is best for us ten thousand times better that we, and knows what time and what way are best. It is fit that he should answer prayer, and as an infinitely wise God in the exercise of his own wisdom, and not ours. God will deal as a father with us, in answering our requests. But a child is not to expect that the father’s wisdom be subject to his, nor ought he to desire it, but should esteem it a privilege, that the parent will provide for him according to his own wisdom.

As to particular temporal blessings for which we pray, it is no argument that he is not a prayer-hearing God, because he bestows them not upon us. For it may be that God sees the things for which we pray not to be best for us. If so, it would be no mercy in him to bestow them upon us, but a judgment. Such things, therefore, ought always to be asked with submission to the divine will. God can answer prayer, though he bestow not the very thing for which we pray. He can sometimes better answer the lawful desires and good end we have in prayer another way. If our end be our own good and happiness, God can perhaps better answer that end in bestowing something else than in the bestowment of that very thing which we ask And if the main good we aim at in our prayer be attained, our prayer is answered, though not in the bestowment of the individual thing which we sought. And so that may still be true which was before asserted, that God always hears the prayer OF FAITH. God never once failed of hearing a sincere and believing prayer; and those promises forever hold good, “Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: for every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.”

Fasting

2010-06-07T09:37:00.008-05:00

I have recently undertaken a period of alternating, day-long fasts to seek guidance from the Lord in a large decision that is upon me. As always, I seek the insight of men of nobler character and far greater intellect to guide my period of focused prayer. I share several choice tidbits with you. I encourage you to take up fasting, it has revealed to me sins that I was no aware of.

All fasts ought to proceed from a free and willing spirit, and such a one as is truly humbled, and not framed to win applause and the liking of men, much less to the end that a man might merit righteousness by them. But let every one fast to this end, that he may deprive the flesh of that which would cherish it, and that he may the more zealously serve God.
-Bullinger

When almighty God smiteth us with affliction, or some great calamity hangeth over us, or any other weighty cause so requireth, it is our duty to humble ourselves in fasting, to bewail our sins with a sorrowful heart, and to addict ourselves to earnest prayer, that it might please God to turn his wrath from us, or supply us with such graces as we greatly stand in need of.
-James Ussher, Irish Reformer

Do Not Be Afraid

2010-05-19T00:43:00.002-05:00

Today I came across a very interesting and quite comforting fact upon which I have been meditating. The most frequent command in Scripture is “Do not be afraid.” What wonderful example of Christ’s deep love for us! Even his commands speak mercy and aide to our souls.

“Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward.” (Gen 15:1)

“What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid, God has heard the boy crying.” (Gen 21:17)

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” (Gen 26:24)

“I am God, the God of your father . . do not be afraid.” (Gen 46:3)

See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deut 1:21)

Do not be afraid of them; the Lordyour God himself will fight for you. (Deut 3:22)

“Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's” (2 Chron 20:15)

Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart (Isaiah 7:4)

Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 41:14)

Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one. (Isaiah 44:8)

Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. (Isaiah 54:4)

Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you (Jer 1:8)

But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid (Matt 14:27)

Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me (Matt 28:10)

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One (Rev 1:17-18)

Friends, observe the wonderful repetition in this chorus. Look to Hagar. Our God hears us. Look to Jeremiah. This God who hears our prayers will protect and rescue us. Isaiah tells us we will not be put to shame. How can God make this claim? Look to Isaiah and 2 Chronicles, God is Mighty and there is no other. Revelation tells us he is the First and the Last. He has compassion on us. Look to Isaiah and Luke. He tenderly calls us his Little One. God is pleased to give us the Kingdom of God, a undeserved wedding feast. Here is the key though. Look to Abraham. He is our Great Reward. The riches of this world, the presence of kind hearted people, the pleasure of sound body and mind are not your source of comfort. Your lover, Christ, is. As Christ says in Matthew, Fear not, it is Him. Hush the unbelief in your soul, beloved. I know doubt storms with mighty gusts. Your Savior wishes you to be quiet. Do not be afraid.

Relevance: Where does it belong?

2010-05-10T12:46:00.011-05:00

Creed Code Culture had an interesting post on the relevance of church in society. I especially liked the final comment.

But as stated above, good ecclesiological practice requires work. Rank individualism has no place in a healthy family, but its existence is even more noxious in a healthy church. That which makes the modern world go ’round has no business characterizing the people of God whose true home is the world to come. The church of Jesus Christ is to be prized, therefore, along with all of her archaic, idiosyncratic, otherworldly, and counter-cultural characteristics. Her demand for our prompt attendance, our hearty service, one-tenth of our income, and one-seventh of our time may be “irrelevant” or “outdated,” but it is only so when the standard of relevance consists of the tastes and trends of this fleeting evil age.

I have attended a wide variety of churches in my life. Starting out a Roman Catholic, I attended a church which did not concede one iota to attempting to make itself relevant. Then, in myand less Reformed days, I attended a seeker-sensitive church which claimed to be non-denominational (but let's just be honest, like all non-denominational churches, it was Baptist). Here everything had a polished and business-like image. The music was intentionally catchy and the sermons contained advice on how to live. We even had a fragarence-free section in the event somebody with perfume allergies visited us. Now, I attend a Confessional Presbyterian church (PCA represent!). The focus is on worshipping God in the depth of His glory and majesty. We follow a simple liturgy to ensure we focus on the Gospel rather than ourselves.

This is not to say we do not welcome visitors or actively reach out to those not similar to ourselves. Nevertheless, our goal is not to grow our numbers or make people comfortable. Our goal is to preach the truth of the Gospel. I am not sure how a church can equally maintain a focus on being seeker-sensitive and be Christocentric in its worship. Sunday is the Lord's Day and is not a day of outreach but a day set apart for Christians to hear God's Word preached and partake of God's sacrament of the Lord's Table. These are, by definition, not relevant to the outside culture (The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him 1 Cor 2:14). They are uniquely relevant and necessary to the life of a believer (but to us who are being saved it is the power of God 1 Cor 1:18).

While the church's call to be salt and light likely demands relevance; this relevance should not be sought after during worship. Worship is not about non-Christians but about Christians confessing their sins and finding comfort in the finished, atoning work of Christ their Savior. Instead, relevance is an element of outreach and individual relationships. Individual needs vary greatly across individuals, time periods, and regions. Relevance in modern America is more likely to revolve around honest friendship. Helping people through drug addiction, loneliness, porn, depression, homosexuality, etc. should involve linking Christ's ultimacy to man's sins and needs. Christians will only desire to be relevant and to care for others if they are properly fed on the Lord's Day during worship, taught how to study Scripture and catechized, and are able to gaze on Christ Himself.

If any of this did not make sense, I will summarize. Relevance is not a bad thing, but it is also not a Church thing.

Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness,

2010-05-06T14:29:00.000-05:00

I came across this beautiful hymn at The Wittenberg Door.

Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness,

Leave the gloomy haunts of sadness,

Come into the daylight's splendor,

There with joy thy praises render

Unto him whose grace unbounded

Hath this wondrous banquet founded;

High o'er all the heavens he reigneth,

Yet to dwell with thee he deigneth.

Jesus, Bread of life, I pray thee,

Let me gladly here obey thee;

Never to my hurt invited,

Be thy love with love requited;

From this banquet let me measure,

Lord, how vast and deep its treasure;

Through the gifts thou here dost give me,

As thy guest in heaven receive me.
Johann Franck (1618 – 1677)

DG Humor

2010-05-01T16:36:00.001-05:00

Obama is going to regulate derivatives! They're an integral part. But where's the limit?
-DG, one of the funniest men alive

Simpsons view of Grad Students

2010-04-28T12:21:00.003-05:00

Thank you to my friend Nate N. from work for sharing this video from the Simpsons.
Yet another show hates Grad students.

Luther on Psalm 130

2010-04-18T09:22:00.002-05:00

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
-Psalm 130:5-6

"There are some who want to set the goal, appoint the hour and the measure, and prescribe to God exactly how they are to be helped and if they do not experience this, they despair; or, if possible, they seek help elsewhere. These do not tarry and wait for the Lord. God is supposed to wait for them, be ready at once and help them exactly as they themselves have designed. But those who wait for the Lord ask for mercy and leave it to God's gracious when, how, where, and by what means He shall help them"
-Luther, Exposition on Psalm 130

Think and Smoke Tobacco

2010-04-17T10:18:00.003-05:00

I recently ran across a poem of the Scottish preacher, Ralph Erskine, that made me smile. It's entitled "Think and Smoke Tobacco" and combines tobacco and Reformed theology. Add beer or whiskey to the poem and I'd say it covers all the joys in which a single male is entitled.

Part I
This Indian weed now wither'd quite,

'Tho' green at noon, cut down at night,

Shows thy decay;

All flesh is hay.