A Dull Jade

So thankful for His righteousness . . .

2011-10-18T21:12:00.001-04:00

"I'm so thankful for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it." --J. Gresham Machen

Ordination at Kenwood

2011-05-23T09:36:00.002-04:00

I had the privilege of being ordained yesterday at Kenwood Baptist Church. Jim Hamilton preached from Acts 20 before the elders and others laid hands and Mike Thompson prayed for Suemi and I.

Jim Hamilton's sermon deserves the ear of every gospel minister and every would-be gospel minster. It was a robust challenge rooted in gospel realities and adorned with rhetorical beauty. As such, it was typical of the sermons by Jim which God has used to establish my marriage and ministry these last few years.

Jim ended by reading this poem which he wrote for the occasion, titled "Commission You Do We This Day."

There is, my friend, no higher call
Than this we send you on with all
Our hearts, our souls, our minds we join
Both to rejoice and also mourn

The moving on of these so dear,
You've loved and served us so well here
That this sweet sadness deepens now
As though the grief is right somehow

We'd love to see your children born
Watch them grow and sing and learn;
And old together we might grow,
But there's a deeper joy we'll know

As you answer the call and go,
Our joy and grief together show
That there's a love worth more than life,
A truth that merits sacrifice,

So join we how the ranks of those
Whose love in leaving deeper grows
Commission you do we this day
Giving God the thanks and praise.

Tone Matters in the Engagement of Beliefs

2011-05-09T22:49:00.005-04:00

When confronted with an alternate position, one's tone in engagement should be less ‘How can they believe this?’ and more ‘How did they come to believe this?’

In The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, I think Noll missteps with his tone a handful of times. Perhaps he is seeking to provoke evangelicals to think even as he tips his hand on issues like creationism and politics.

When an evangelical mind like Noll asks me 'How can you believe this?' about doctrine I hold, I certainly am compelled to ask 'How did I come to believe this?' of myself. And for this I'm grateful.

Jim Elliot in a Letter to His Brother Bob

2011-05-05T18:44:00.000-04:00

"Sometimes one is conscious of spiritual life only because he is still struggling to maintain it, not at all because he is purposefully living it."

--Jim Elliot

Knowing Theism and Knowing God

2011-05-05T11:37:00.001-04:00

"He cannot define theism, but he knows God."

--Jim Elliot of his father

The Value of a Physically Present Community in Learning

2011-05-03T10:31:00.002-04:00

"Despite good intentions, it is almost always easier to misconstrue the arguments of others if they are not present." --Mark Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, p. 20.

Eschatological Reservation and Romans 6

2011-04-30T20:15:00.003-04:00

"By using this imagery of a transfer of realms, or 'dominion,' with its association of power and rulership, Paul makes clear that the new status enjoyed by the believer (justification) brings with it a new influence and power that both has led and must lead to a new way of life (sanctification).

"This 'must' is very important. For, as decisive and final as is this transfer into a new realm, it would be a bad misinterpretation of Paul to think that the believer is thereby removed from all contact or influence with the old realm of sin. While belonging to a new realm, the believer brings with him into it many of the impulses, habits, and tendencies of the old life, a constant threat to putting into actual practice the realities of our new realm status. It is this 'eschatological reservation'--the fact that not until the resurrection and transformation of the body will the believer be severed from all contact with the old Adamic dominion--that explains the 'indicative/imperative' combinations that are so characteristic of these chapters: 'sin will not rule over you'/'do not let sin reign' (6:13-14); 'you are not in the flesh'/'do not live according to the flesh' (8:9, 12)."

--Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996), 352.

Brief Review of Runge's A Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament

2010-12-15T07:47:00.004-05:00

I posted my review on Amazon this morning and thought I'd add it here. It is of Runge's excellent work on Greek discourse. I recommend it to you.

His website is a resource in itself.

_______

TThough the book covers a fair bit of ground, its take-home value for me is two fold.

First, the opening chapter provides a set of controlling principles for discourse study. These are excellent for their simplicity. They include: "choice implies meaning," distinguishing "semantic meaning versus pragmatic effect," understanding "default versus marked framework," and recognizing "prominence and contrast." Chapter one will provide any student of Greek with basic linguistic wisdom. It is unusual for its depth and simplicity--a must read.

Second, Runge organizes the markedness of words used to connect propositions. His grasp of discourse is evident when he comes to presenting the data. These connecting words are assigned characteristics rather than placed in lists (explicitly in contrast to Wallace on this front). Each connecting word (8 total plus asyndeton) is considered in terms of continuity, discontinuity, correlation, forward-pointing, and additional semantic constraints. Runge compiles this in simple chart form as he moves along. This is gold for evaluating discourse and provides insight when tracing the argument of the author.

Both of the above strengths are found in Part 1, which Runge aptly calls 'Foundations.' The more rigorous student will continue to discover an accessible resource as Runge builds from here in the remainder of the book. I highly recommend his work.

The Minister and His GNT

2010-09-17T13:07:00.004-04:00

"The chief reason why preachers do not get and do not keep up a fair and needful knowledge of the Greek New Testament is nothing less than carelessness, and even laziness in many cases. They can get along somehow without it, and so let it pass or let it drop."

-AT Robertson in The Minister and His Greek New Testament, chapter 1.

Coffee and the KJV

2010-08-10T14:18:00.003-04:00

Another story:

A guest comes into Java and asks Suemi if they make smoothies. They explain that they do not like coffee at all . . .

Wanting to put the guest at ease, she replies: "We are not respecters of persons." Suemi did not even try to explain herself.

I love my wife.

Inadequate Conceptions of the Treasure

2010-07-21T07:56:00.004-04:00

Calvin's commentaries are richly devotional each time I turn to them for aid. This time was no exception. Here is part of his comments on Ephesians 1:19. I love the first line:

We never form adequate conceptions of the treasure revealed to us in the gospel; or, if we do, we cannot persuade ourselves that it is possible for us to do so, because we perceive nothing in us that corresponds to it, but everything the reverse. Paul's object, therefore, was not only to impress the Ephesians with a deep sense of the value of Divine grace, but also to give them exalted views of the glory of Christ's kingdom. That they might not be cast down by a view of their own unworthiness, he exhorts them to consider the power of God; as if he had said, that their regeneration was no ordinary work of God, but was an astonishing exhibition.

Bible Knowledge

2010-05-21T14:53:00.004-04:00

I am reading through Isaiah and am struck with how many passages I'm familiar with from my NT Bible knowledge. That is, I am reading the OT and being reminded of the NT passage which quotes it. This is not a problem per se. However, the author(s) seem to understand it working the other way around primarily--the NT evoking the OT in the minds of its readers, not the OT evoking the NT's use of the OT in the mind of its readers. We Christians who do not know our OT well are an odd bunch.

John of Damascus: "there is no question of choice in the matter"

2010-04-12T09:48:00.002-04:00

This morning I was reading John of Damascus for a class. In An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, he write words which reminded me of Mark 9. Jesus said it is better to enter life crippled, lame, or with one eye than with two hands, two feet, or two eyes to be thrown into hell.

"Notice that there are certain things that occupy a place intermediate between what is voluntary and what is involuntary. Although they are unpleasant and painful we welcome them as the escape from a still greater trouble; for instance, to escape shipwreck we cast the cargo overboard."

And the next paragraph by John of Damascus reminded me of the kingdom parables (and an emphasis of John Piper's teaching) . . .

"Notice also that children and irrational creatures perform voluntary actions, but these do not involve the exercise of choice: further, all our actions that are done in anger and without previous deliberation are voluntary actions, but do not in the least involve free choice. Also, if a friend suddenly appears on the scene, or if one unexpectedly lights on a treasure, so far as we are concerned it is quite voluntary, but there is no question of choice in the matter. For all these things are voluntary, because we desire pleasure from them, but they do not by any means imply choice, because they are not the result of deliberation. And deliberation must assuredly precede choice, as we have said above."

A Number

2010-03-31T20:41:00.002-04:00

Here is a quick true story.

Man at Java: Can I have an application?
Suemi: Sure. Here you go!
(Man at Java fills out application and returns it to Suemi)
Man at Java: Do you have a number?
Suemi: I don't give it out. I'm married.
Man at Java: Oh, I mean for the store.
Suemi: Oh, yeah. Here you go . . .

I love my wife.

Asian SBTS Students

2009-09-05T18:53:00.004-04:00

Studying theology in your second language is difficult. Very difficult. I know this because I am studying it in my first language. Unlike myself, a group of my fellow students at SBTS labor over reading--not because they are slow readers or the text is particularly challenging. Rather because they have crossed an ocean into another culture and another tongue for theological education.

Recently I walked by an Asian student looking up a word in his pocket electronic dictionary as he read Kate Turabian's 7th edition. He read this volume for about two hours without any apparent break (unless he took on during one of my breaks). Another Asian friend reads with a pencil so he can bracket prepositional phrases, mark verbs, etc. as he reads.

What a testimony these brothers are to the worth of knowing God in Christ!

Clarity on Church Planting

2009-08-02T10:18:00.002-04:00

PJ Tibayan posted this excellent quote:

Jeff Vanderstelt has taught me a crucial truth about church planting:

Planting (and planning) services is easy, making disciples (who can make more disciples who can make more disciples) is hard. But planting a church is the latter and not the former.

He talked about this truth in a message called, “Being a Leader who Grow Leaders” and wrote about it in a blog post entitled, “Observations about Church Planting.”

See PJ's blog for more on info on all things church planting. PJ and his family are church planting in LA currently.

Christian Music

2009-07-18T11:44:00.000-04:00

Though not all the music labeled Christian coming out these days to bad, much (far too much) is. The twitching and shaking which follow more than a few minutes on most any Christian radio station affirm this. And I'm only referring to the music. The lyrics struggle equally so. For the visual learners among us, note this graph which speaks to the state of lyrics:

(HT: Dan Phillips)

Kevin Bauder

2009-07-17T16:23:00.003-04:00

Kevin Bauder is worth reading. And he writes something everyweek. For those who don't know, Kevin Bauder is the President of Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Plymouth, MN. He is a careful Christian thinker on all subjects. Really. I have benefited most from his writings on the liberal arts and culture. But he is a theologian with a clear mind--as his pen atests. If you don't understand fundamentalism or why you should consider the biblical doctine of separation, read Kevin Bauder.** You will benefit from reading a contemporary thelogian who loves what you love and believes what you believe . . . yet who serves in the little known but very real adjacent universe called evangelical fundamentalism.

Kevin Bauder sends out a weekly email called "In the Nick of Time." You can sign up to receive this or view the archives here. I would encourage you to stop reading my blog and read his latest - "Give Attendance to Reading" -- right now. It is excellent.

**For an excellent presentation to his church on fundamentalism and his visit to Beeson, listen to this audio--entitled "Biblical Separation: A Summary and Report."

Book Recommendation: Water of the Word

2009-07-17T11:11:00.005-04:00

A week before the wedding I bought Andrew Case's Water of the Word: Intercession for Her.

I would recommend this book to any married guys who desire to pray Scriptural prayers for their wives. It has been a joy to remember my wife in intercession in this way. Case provides just over 225 scripted prayers for one's wife, all rooted in the language of Scripture (the Scripture Index in Appendix B affirms this well). And praying them aloud with Suemi present has been affirming to her of my desire to care for her spiritually.

Just as Mueller noted that Scripture prompted him to pray, Andrew Case uses Scripture to prompt me to pray and to direct these prayers. I have found the early prayers in this volume to reflex the diverse emotions of the Psalms. And I anticipate Case will spend some time in the New Testament as well (the Scripture index confirms this suspicion).

What an accessible tool to encourage the regular practice of exactly what Carson lays out in A Call to Spiritual Reformation and what Paul models to the churches in Asia Minor--all tailored to our wives!

Though I have just begun using this resource, I highly recommend it. Why not avail yourself to this husbands? Let's be men who pray for and with our wives.

Suemi and I's Vows

2009-07-17T11:02:00.002-04:00

I had the joy of writing Suemi and I's vows for our wedding ceremony. They are rooted, first, in Piper's marriage sermons (and now books) which I have listened to repeatedly with great benefit. Second, the vows are rooted in thewording of the Book of Common Prayer (aka traditional vows). I have included them below.

I take you Suemi as my wife,
accepting the divine call
to lead you by protecting you and providing for you,
both physically and spiritually, and
by laying down my life for you
even as Christ did for His bride, the church.
I will love you and cherish you in sickness and in health,
in poverty or in wealth, in every season,
until death separates us.
Suemi, to this covenant, I pledge you my faithfulness.

I take you Ross as my husband,
accepting the divine call
to honor and affirm your leadership
by helping you carry it through according to my gifts and
by submitting to you as I submit to God, hoping and trusting in Him,
even as the church does its Bridegroom, Christ.
I will love you and respect you in sickness and in health,
in poverty or in wealth, in every season,
until death separates us.
Ross, to this covenant, I pledge you my faithfulness.

Suemi, I give you this ring as a sign of the marriage vow I am making with you before God and these witnesses.

Ross, I give you this ring as a sign of the marriage vow I am making with you before God and these witnesses.

Finished a busy semester, moved, and married . . .

2009-07-17T10:51:00.002-04:00

Since my last post I have finished my second semester at Southern, moved out of the dorms and into Village Manor Apartments, and married Suemi. It has been a busy summer of travel too, having visited my parents in Boston, traveled to Greenville, SC a couple times, and then a 10 days honeymoon to US Virgin Islands.

One result of the above changes is I now live away from internet access (the half dozen wireless signals floating through our apartment are all locked). This has created some challenges and some blessings . . . one challenge being this blog. I trust I will continue to be able to post thoughts from time to time--but we will see.

You or Jesus Christ

2009-04-27T20:40:00.003-04:00

"When you stand in the pulpit tonight, you can do one of two things. Either you can show those in the congregation that Jesus Christ is wonderful, or you can try to convince them that [you are] a reasonably intelligent young man. You can’t do both."

--an adapted quote from A Hill on Which to Die by Paul Pressler, p. 152.

Evangelism

2009-04-12T15:06:00.004-04:00

As a Christian, the biggest challenge to evangelism can be efficiency. Befriending a non-Christian takes more time.

It is our Story . . . but, praise God, not the end of the story.

2009-04-03T16:15:00.003-04:00

I'm still working on a biblical theology of leadership paper. It has been both frustrating and fruitful. Here is an example of the latter. As I am seeking to summarize the verdict which the LORD speaks in 3:14-20, it's implications have struck me again and again--for they could not be any larger. Here is a quote which I couldn't put in my paper, but which I found powerful.

"The snake, the woman, and the man are not depicted as individuals involved in a personal crisis; rather they are representatives. We are left with the impression that this is not their story so much as it is our story, the story of mankind. With great skill the author presents these three participants as the 'heads' of their race. The snake, on the one hand, and the man and the woman, on the other, are as two great nations embarking on a great struggle, a struggle that will find its conclusion only by an act of some distant 'seed' or 'offspring.'"

--Sailhammer on "Genesis", The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, 54-55.

Creation, Election, and Worship

2009-03-30T21:26:00.003-04:00

Working on a paper on a biblical theology of worship, I was struct by the link between Genesis 1:26-27, the analogy of the potter and clay in the prophets and Romans 9, and the praise of the elders in Revelation 4:11.

"In creation, God is seen to be a God of action and initiative. Passivity is not found in the opening account. He acts. He takes initiative. God leads in the creation of the world—and of man. Revelation 4:11, at the end of the story, provides explicit teaching regarding an implicit consequence of God as creator—namely God is to be praise. “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Note the reason God is to be praised. God created all things. The Creator-God thus owns and rules over all things. Isaiah and Jeremiah and then Paul in Romans 9 each build on this reality, using the examples of the potter and clay to teach on the electing rule of God. The clay is rightly shown to be dependent, given purpose and design by the potter. The potter has free will to do with the clay as he chooses—like Rev. 4:11 which ends “by your will they exist and were created. Genesis 1:26-27 is the initial establishment of this reality of ownership and rule on the part of God (the potter) over man (the clay)."

The Confused Rollings of Second Causes

2009-03-30T21:25:00.000-04:00

"It is impossible to be submissive and religiously patient if ye stay your thoughts down among the confused rollings and wheels of second causes, as O the place! O the time! O if this had been, this had not followed! O the linking of this accident with this time and place! Look up to the master motion and the first wheel."

--Samuel Rutherford in The Loveliness of Christ

Creed and Conduct

2009-03-18T23:19:00.003-04:00

"Mere orthodoxy is not enough; Christians must live out their creed. The gospel of the crucified Messiah must transform not only our beliefs but our behavior."

"Faithful Christian leaders must make the connections between creed and conduct, between the cross and how to live. And they must exemplify this union in their own lives."

--D.A. Carson, Chapter 4 of The Cross and Christian Ministry

Balance

2009-03-18T23:17:00.002-04:00

"Paul tells us that if Christ is not the whole of our message, then we are not balanced at all."

--Fred G. Zaspel in 'An Analysis of 1 Corinthians 2:1-5'

Missions in Tanzania: Learning from Dan Eads

2009-03-15T13:58:00.003-04:00

The advent of the internet and now blogs in rural 3rd world countries has mixed affects. Some are harmful (the spread of easy access to pornography). Many are helpful (communication, etc.).

One helpful result of this new access in the 3rd world is the ease with which missionaries on the front lines can share what they are learning. One excellent young missionary who is doing just that is Dan Eads in Tanzania. Here is an excellent post to introduce you to the man. He is exciting to follow as he learns the language and passes milestones--and encouraging to me as a young seminarian following after him a few years. Enjoy!

Forget About Wallets: 'What's in your ship?'

2009-03-11T15:38:00.000-04:00

I find myself returning to this quote more than my life of ease might suggest is necessary. May we be diligently doing the hard work of filling our ships with weighty ballast while the seas of life are calm!

"Pain and loss are bitter providences. Who has lived long in this world of woe without weeping, sometimes until the head throbs and there are no more tears to lubricate the convulsing of our amputated love? But O, the folly of trying to lighten the ship of suffering by throwing God's governance overboard. The very thing the tilting ship needs in the storm is the ballast of God's good sovereignty, not the unburdening of deep and precious truth. What makes the crush of calamity sufferable is not that God shares our shock, but that his bitter providences are laden with the bounty of love."

--John Piper

Evangelism--A Convicting Thought

2009-03-10T20:04:00.000-04:00

"There shouldn't be people you know who don't know the gospel."

I am challenged in my verbal witness every time I think of this.

Seeing Christ As Compensation For All These Days of Suspense

2009-03-09T19:06:00.000-04:00

"Only pray for strength to be given to me from within and from without, that I may not only speak, but also may be willing, and that I may not merely be called a Christian, but also may be found to be one." --IGNATIUS.

"Eighty-and-six years have I served Him and He never did me any wrong ; how then can I blaspheme my King, my Saviour." --POLYCARP.

"My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a harder chain than this for my sake ; why then should I be ashamed of this rusty one ? --JOHN HUSS.

"Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out." --LATIMER.

"The pain will soon be over, and oh the sweetness of the welcome above! I cannot imagine the Saviour's welcome. Oh, that will compensate for all these days of suspense!" --LIZZIE ATAVATER.

"We rejoice that we are made partakers of the sufferings of Christ, that when His glory shall be revealed, we may rejoice also with exceeding joy." --W. G. PEAT.

"Many will say, Why did she go ? wasted life. Darling, No.
Trust God does His very best and never makes mistakes." --MAY NATHAN.

--from the opening page of the first chapter in Lost Letters and Further Records of Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission, 26.

Universalism, Inclusivism, and Exclusivism

2009-03-09T15:21:00.001-04:00

Universalism -- all saved

Inclusivism -- all who will be saved will be saved through Christ--whether they know Christ or not

Exclusivism -- all who will be saved will be saved by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Christ alone

As an aside, am I right to say C.S. Lewis held the middle position? Michael Ward, a Lewis expert, explained him this way--if I understood him correctly.

II Corinthians 1:1-7

2009-03-08T11:37:00.000-04:00

Here is the conclusion of a paper I wrote for Dr. Pennington on II Cor. 1:1-7 . . . an encouraging passage.

The theological significance of this passage is that Christians should praise God for the comfort they have experienced through Christ in the midst of affliction, particularly affliction for the sake of Christ. They should then also recognize that their role as a loving neighbor may encompass their being used as a means for God’s comfort of others—for God’s extending of comfort which they themselves have received from God outward towards others. This can only be done by Christians as this is only done through Christ. Therefore, the church of Christ should be uniquely marked by loving relationships of comfort in the midst of affliction—which is the result of boldly associating with Christ. Truly, God is to be praised for the comfort he supplies through Christ--by means of those who have been afflicted (and comforted!)--to any saint who is afflicted.

The Regulative Principle

2009-03-07T17:08:00.000-05:00

A helpful reminder:

In the history of the church, the regulative principle was viewed as freeing.

Do you view it as such? Is it even within your view?

God Says It

2009-03-06T11:17:00.000-05:00

"God says it; that settles it." Not "God says it; I believe it; that settles it."

--Brian Vickers

The Music Guy

2009-03-05T19:12:00.000-05:00

The music minister should be an elder. That is, an elder should also serve in part as the music minister (in oversight more than action). The key is 'in part.' He should be doing other things.

When you have a 'music guy' whose sole role is such, there are likely consequences, namely,

(1) he has a sense of entitlement,

(2) he has to do more and more to feel he is doing something,

(3) because this is how he demonstrates his own faithfulness

(4) which can cause a skewed view of duty and service, and

(5) his role creates a place for complaints.

Learning About Early English Baptists

2009-03-04T22:30:00.002-05:00

"It is noteworthy that the first half of the eighteenth century had been devoted more to consolidation and organization than to evangelism. This was typical of English dissenters generally. Their preoccupation with theological problems, chiefly Christological and ethical, together with the development of a censorious spirit, did not produce a warm evangelistic ministry. The spiritual awakening so desperately needed by the country came, not from dissenters, but from Anglicans like Whitefield and the Wesleys, beginning about 1738."

This summarizes well both the General and Particular Baptists in England in the 18th century.

--Torbet, A History of the Baptists, p. 71.

Ministry and Politics

2009-03-04T16:51:00.000-05:00

It has been observed that . . .

politics -- less of a draw close up, but attractive from afar

ministry -- more of a draw close up, but unattractive from afar

. . . and I've found this so true (particularly concerning ministry).

Darwin and Rome

2009-03-03T07:54:00.002-05:00

The Vatican is hosting a conference on Darwin--a man whose works they never condemned. BBC News has a short article on this. It ends with the following quote.

"The design of organisms is not what would be expected from an intelligent engineer, but imperfect and worse," [Prof Francisco Ayala] said. "Defects, dysfunctions, oddities, waste and cruelty pervade the living world".

Prof Francisco Ayala, what about a worldview with creation and sin?

Preaching and the Invitation

2009-03-02T10:07:00.002-05:00

The invitation was originally just a call to response, often at the end of sermons. It has become associated with walking the isle, etc.--a tradition many have grown to dislike for its regular abuse. However, even if I don’t like ‘the invitation,’ I must invite sinners to Christ. A call to response is a must and it should be passionate and powerful. We lie about the gospel when we don't.

Unexplainable . . . apart from God?

2009-03-01T17:35:00.003-05:00

Is Gamaliel's logic solid in Acts 5? Is a Christianity that does not fail in the face of persecution unexplainable apart from God? I think he is right that if it is from God, none can overthrow it. But is it clearly from God for this reason? Can the Roman Catholic Church (admittedly within Christianity) or Islam or Hinduism or any other ancient religion also claim being 'of God' by reason of its survival through hard times?

What makes true Christianity's survival in the face of persecution unique among religions? How does it magnify God in this?

Just some questions that arose in my mind after reading in Acts this afternoon. I will continue reading for answers.

I find within me a legalist.

2009-02-25T20:13:00.003-05:00

C.J. Mahaney has been used by God to point me back to the cross again and again over the last few years. I stumbled across a chapter by him entitled "How to Encourage Husbands to Lead and Wives to Follow" in Pastoral Leadership for Manhood and Womanhood, ed. by Grudem and Rainey. The chapter was excellent. Like most things I have read by those laboring within Sovereign Grace circles, the chapter is a well-worded meditation on the gospel with a consistent application to X . . . and here X is marriage. Thus it is not surprising this chapter on marriage deals with legalism. C.J. writes: "Legalism involves seeking forgiveness from God, justification before God, and acceptance by God through obedience to God."

Here are questions (from C.J.) to ask a husband who you are counseling as indicators of legalism in his life--their application is easily much broader.
1. Is he more aware of his past sin than of the finished work of the cross?
2. Does he think, believe, or feel that God is disappointed with him rather than delighting over him?
3. Does he assume his acceptance before God is dependent upon his obedience?
4. Does he consistently experience condemnation?
5. Does he lack joy?

The first question nails me (as then do the rest). By God's grace, I desire to fight sin. With the help of brothers in Christ, I am fighting sin more and more. I strive to confess my sin to God and where appropriate to others. But these can and often are a recipe for an increased awareness of my sin which I fail to place in the context of a greater awareness of the finished work of the cross. Oh, how I need to start and end with the cross as I seek to uproot sin by God's grace. In short, I find within me a legalist.

Approval - Should it always be sought?

2009-02-17T04:49:00.000-05:00

Simply put by Mark: When going to a church, one must understand and accept that "all the people in the church don't need to be in the church in a year."

Intimate Allies

2009-02-16T22:20:00.001-05:00

“Marriage is lifelong companionship, a school of sanctification, a man and woman who are intimate allies in helping one another along to the kingdom.” –Dr. Michael Haykin

Caring Is Sharing . . . Time.

2009-02-10T14:36:00.000-05:00

We are structured by who we care for.

--Dr. Brian Brock, Lecture at Southern Seminary on Ethics

Asking Questions

2009-02-09T13:23:00.000-05:00

If you want to be an expert, you must always play the learner.

--Greg Wills

The Gospel and Missions

2009-02-06T17:01:00.000-05:00

Andy (an elder at Capitol Hill), in his missions reading group, leads the group to read books on the gospel, not missions, because . . . understanding the gospel well makes crossing a culture with that gospel less jarring.

Words vs. Propositions: A Search for Meaning

2009-02-05T10:15:00.004-05:00

This simple truth must be remembered when preaching, teaching, studying, and perhaps especially when reading devotional Christian books (ie., Love Life for Every Married Couple by Ed Wheat).

"It must be emphasized, therefore, that the most important parts of a text are not the individual words considered in isolation! Words transmit a concrete meaning to us only when they stand within a concrete statement and are considered as an integral part of that proposition. The smallest meaningful building blocks of a text are the individual propositions within it, not the isolated words."

--Scott Hafemann, in the introduction of a handout on diagramming entitled "Translating and Understanding: The Sentence Diagram"

Authority and Marriage

2009-02-04T17:45:00.000-05:00

Trusting authorities on all levels is a reflection of trust in God. The trust of imperfect authorities is a constant this side of the fall. The church's authority (through its structure) displays this well. Members are called upon to trust God by trusting their elders.

By implication, I must not assume my future wife should be willing to trust me if I am not willing to trust authorities in my life. A man who is submitting to others (in the church, in seeking wise counsel, etc) will be a husband who is more easily submitted to.

Neighbor

2009-02-02T14:28:00.002-05:00

If I am to love my neighbor, I must hate the ease with which I disregard others.

--Dr. Brian Brock, Lecture at Southern Seminary on Ethics

Unworthiness

2009-01-23T15:36:00.000-05:00

"When the sinner is held back from the gospel by a sense of unworthiness, his worthiness is the implied ground of his coming to the gospel–his work–not Christ’s. When the Christian longs for a deeper view of sin, and love to Christ, and forgets, that, when attained, he will have the same need as before of the blood and righteousness of Christ–this is again to put spiritual self in the place of Christ" (Charles Bridges The Christian Ministry 366).

I find my self feeling unworthy. This, however, makes my worthiness the grounds for my coming to Christ. I begin to focus on my insufficiencies and beg for mercy. But God resists the proud–and what could be more arrogant than to think I will ever discipline myself into a worthy state. With a fresh view of my sin and with a disciplined life, my need remains the same as before–the blood and righteousness of Christ. I cannot take the place of the one who took my place. In him alone can I stand before a righteous judge and live. May God continue to teach me about the sufficiencies of Christ.

Legalism

2009-01-19T15:27:00.000-05:00

Legalism seems inevitable when preaching regularly calls believers to change or obedience without reference to the enabling and motivating power of the gospel.

To strive for the elimination of sin without grace and the gospel is to play the fool and confirm yourself in sin. Legalism flourishes where the outward sins are dealt with apart from inward matters of the heart and the gospel that alone can change it.

Converse Towards Consistency

2009-01-17T19:36:00.000-05:00

A faithful church will need to change the way it does things (the things will likely change little) in order to remain consistent and constant in the midst of an ever changing culture. Be constantly having conversations about worship, etc. because of ever changing culture, etc.

Worldviews - Seven Basic Questions

2009-01-08T21:01:00.003-05:00

I am taking an Intro to Philosophy class later this month and have found this book by Sire excellently written and a useful introduction to worldviews. I hope to summarize the chapters/worldviews, following largely his points, for easier access in the future. I also plan to post these summaries as I go. Here is 'where he is going' in the book as he asks these seven 'basic' questions of the major worldviews considered. The worldviews are considered in historical/logical/progressive order by Sire.

Seven Basic Questions:

(1) What is prime reality--the really real?

(2) What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us?

(3) What is a human being?

(4) What happens to a person at death?

(5) Why is it possible to know anything at all?

(6) How do we know what is right and wrong?

(7) What is the meaning of human reality?

--James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog (Fourth Ed.), 20.

The Value of Mankind

2009-01-08T19:40:00.000-05:00

"God does not love us because we are so valuable; we are valuable because God loves us."

--Helmut Thielicke, Nihilism, 110.

Knowing and Arrogance

2009-01-07T15:08:00.001-05:00

Two solid reminders:

Just because I don't know everything,

doesn't mean I don't know anything

and

arrogance is to be uncertain about that which God has spoken.

a little principle

2009-01-06T15:57:00.001-05:00

Simple hermeneutical principle: Assume everything is prescriptive unless it is descriptive.

[Frankly not sure of the utility of it, but it seemed profound at the time I noted it.]

Christian Theism in History . . . Clearly Dominent

2009-01-05T19:34:00.003-05:00

"In the Western world up to the end of the seventeenth century, . . . [i]f battles were fought, the lines were drawn within the circle of theism."

--James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door, 23.

Evangelicalism (and the Ecumenical Involvement)

2009-01-05T15:13:00.000-05:00

While discussing Evangelicalism Divided, I noted from an intern discussion that what Evangelicalism (and the Ecumenical Involvement) is about for (a) Packer is a question of ecclesiology and (b) Murray is the definition of a Christian; thus these men differ concerning their interaction with it.

The Gospel, Its Fruit, and Christian Cultural No-No's

2009-01-04T17:19:00.000-05:00

Why do churches allow into their rolls those whom the Bible would not consider Christians? Maybe churches aren’t keeping rolls today. Why then are they allowing those whom the Bible would not consider Christians to attend and consider themselves part of the church? An evangelical church must agree on the gospel. But agreement is not enough.

Christ warns that false prophets are like ferocious wolves in sheep’s clothing. How is the church to discern sheep from wolves who look and even sound like sheep? “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matt. 7:16). Those who only profess Christ must not be considered Christians. The Bible doesn’t ask us to assume. We don’t need to assume. Rather we need to wait and watch their actions. With numbers being the criteria for success, waiting makes no sense. One who acts like a sheep and cries ‘Lord, Lord’ like a sheep is welcomed into the fold. Patience and wisdom are needed. They are what the Bible expects.

But if wolves act like sheep and the church is to judge sheep by their actions, how are the two to be kept separate? In between his teaching on sheep and wolves and his comment about those who cry ‘Lord, Lord,’ Christ answers this. “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matt. 7:17-18). Wolves bear bad fruit. Wolves cannot bear good fruit. It seems so clear, yet I look at churches I’ve been in and people would say, ‘we have no wolves here.’ The church has mistaken ‘Lord, Lord’ with doing the will of the Father.

Even more of a problem, the church has mis-defined fruit. Not watching movies in the theater, attending concerts, listening to ‘bad music,’ smoking, drinking, and a hundred other understood no-no’s has been mis-taken with actually bearing fruit–that is acting like a Christian. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are understood to be needed, but not essential. Faithfulness to Christian cultural norms–the no-no’s–has replaced faithfulness to Christ. Not doing (in the name of Jesus) has replaced bearing.

So one who cries ‘Lord, Lord’ and doesn’t do these understood no-no’s is believed to have found the small gate and the narrow road. I fear the gate they have walked threw and the road they are on feel small and narrow due to exclusive legalism–yet they are wider than they know. Their road will lead to Christ as judge and–at the end–he will say ‘I never knew you.’

The Weight of My Sins

2009-01-03T17:31:00.000-05:00

“It is not that you become spiritually paranoid and begin to imagine that you have committed more sins than you had previously realized (though in a sense you do begin to do this). What really happens, as God’s Spirit begins to convict you in this way, is that, as He brings a particular sin to your attention, that particular sin seems more serious than it did before”(9 Marks of a Healthy Church, 100).

I think the first sentence describes life for me–worried over my sin, thinking in terms of the number of my sins. The second sentence describes what I need (and what God works)–a sense of the seriousness of each sin, thinking in terms of the weight of my sins. May God be gracious to me–allowing real conviction towards true repentance.

How do I hear the Word of God? Preparation for Sunday

2009-01-03T09:03:00.000-05:00

Here are notes from a favorite sermon by Daniel Davey, who draws heavily from Piper. I try to review these, at least mentally, each Sunday night.

How do I hear the Word of God? Preparation for Sunday
1.Pray for a good and honest heart -Luke 8:15
2.Meditate on portions to cultivate an appitite for God
3.Purify your mind by turning away from worldy entertainment -James 1:21, Phil 4:8
4.Trust in the truth you already have -Luke 8:28
5.Get a good night's rest on Saturday night. It takes more discipline to go to bed on time than to get up on time. 'Take head how you hear.'
6.Forbear one another without grumbling and criticism. 'Humble me and cleanse me.' Ps 106:25
7.Come in a spirit of teachability.
8.Be still as you enter the room and focus your mind's attentinon and heart's affection on the Word of God. 'We come to look out for God and leave to look out for people.'
9.Think earnestly about what is sung, prayed, and preached. Worship engages the mind and then the emotions.
10.Desire the truth of God's Word more than I desire riches and food. Ps 19:10-11 Lk 8:19-21
-Take head how you hear.
-Attentdance doesn't count.
-Ability to hear doesn't count.
-You hear with your heart and you grasp it.

Elders and Statements of Faith

2009-01-02T17:41:00.000-05:00

If elders need to hold something not in the statement of faith, then the problem may be with your statement of faith. You may need to change or add to your statement of faith over time.

Making Visible the Spiritual - Thoughts from a Talk by tml

2009-01-01T19:25:00.000-05:00

Baptism - incorporation into body union with Christ

getting into

Lord's Supper - ongoing incorporation into body union with Christ

borders/how you remain in

Membership - the thing itself because it is the visible display of the body union with Christ

Dealing with a visible spiritual reality--that is, the body of Christ/union with Christ/the church. Illustrated with a circle (the visible manifestation of spiritual reality) made up of members, inclosed by the Lord's Supper, and entered into by baptism.

Trees

2009-01-01T17:26:00.001-05:00

Welch writes on the knowledge of God: If you walk "among giant redwoods, you will never be overwhelmed by the size of a dogwood tree" (119, When People Are Big and God Is Small).

May 2009 be a year in which we find ourselves lost amid redwoods often!

Give Me The Wings of Faith

2008-12-31T19:51:00.000-05:00

Give me the wings of faith to rise

Within the veil, and see

The saints above, how great their joys,

How bright their glories be.

Once they were mourning here below,

And wet their couch with tears:

They wrestled hard, as we do now,

With sins, and doubts, and fears.

I ask them whence their victory came:

They, with united breath,

Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb,

Their triumph to His death.

--Isaac Watts

What is Sustaining Grace?

2008-12-28T21:01:00.000-05:00

What is Sustaining Grace?

Not grace to bar what is not bliss
Nor flight from all distress, but this,
The grace that orders our trouble and pain
And then in the darkness is there to sustain.

--Piper

Expectations, Marriage, and Sanctification

2008-12-27T20:13:00.001-05:00

I have spent a little time thinking through expectations in marriage over the last few months and have been served by a conversation with a wiser friend. The thought that initially challenged me was that biblical expectations are the only ones which will serve the other in marriage. For one to expect something other than what the Bible describes is to be unloving. So to study passages on marriage and husbands and wives is to serve one's husband or wife. Below I seek to build on this simple idea.

Armed with biblical expectations, a spouse is prepared, not to bash the other with them, but to encourage, point, and lead the other toward them. A husband should want to be like Christ, the perfect man. For a wife to expect something which is inconsistent with the ideal (Christ) is to be unloving and unserving of him. What husband wouldn't want to be like Christ, to love his wife like Christ loves the church?

Generally, Christians understand that sanctification (here the husband becoming like Christ) is a process for which "God's method . . . is neither activism (self-reliant activity) nor apathy (God-reliant passivity), but God-dependent effort (2 Cor. 7:1; Phil. 3:10-14; Heb. 12:14)" (Packer, Concise Theology, 170). A loving wife aligns herself under the biblical expectations by understanding the gospel, sanctification, the role of her husband, and then pointing him patiently toward the ideal man--Christ.

[It is worth meditating on the fact that Christ was not a husband, yet his relationship to the church is the reality which the husband is to picture. For husbands are, after all, to love their wives as Christ loved the church.]

Likewise, for a husband to serve his wife by having the most loving expectations possible, he must know the biblical ideal (thinking of Proverbs 31, etc.). For him to expect something which is inconsistent with the ideal is to be unloving and unserving of her. Some might think to expect this ideal of a wife is not helpful and likely only overwhelming for her. To expect this is not unhelpful, but it can be (and sometimes is) done in an unhelpful way, just as expecting one's husband to be like Christ is not unhelpful--but expecting him to be like Christ right now, right away can be unhelpful. Here is my point: No wife would expect her husband to be like Christ immediately after marriage, yet some husbands expect their wives to be like the Proverbs 31 woman immediately after marriage. These clearly sinful (and all too common) expectations flow from a failure to understand sanctification and then apply it in both instances.

Progressive sanctification, the work of God's free but costly grace, requires time. Scripture itself understands this. Note the woman in Proverbs 31 had raised kids. Put simply, she was not a young wife. She was certainly not 24. The grace of God had been at work in her through the experience of mothering for years. In the context of the unique roles of wife and mother and through years of exerting herself in sustained obedience and God-dependent effort within that context, the young, godly wife has become the ideal wife of Proverbs 31. No short cuts on the road of sanctification are allowed.

Christians must understand sanctification is a process and time is required. For it is over time alone that sustained obedience and God-dependent effort can happen. May this understanding of sanctification be lovingly applied to both the husband as he seeks to be like Christ and the wife as she seeks to be like the woman described in Proverbs 31 and elsewhere. More to my point, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way and, if Christ has begun a good work in her, expect great things from Him (I Peter 3:7; Phil. 1:6).

A Better Word

2008-12-27T17:43:00.000-05:00

Do this and live, the law demands,

But gives us neither feet nor hands,

A better word God's grace does bring,

It bids me fly and gives me wings.

--John Bunyan--

First Hire

2008-12-27T13:24:00.000-05:00

Your first hire in a church (after a pastor/paid elder) should be a church administrator, not a _______. Hire an administrator first!

Sing Spiritually

2008-12-27T00:11:00.003-05:00

While reading Bible Baptist Church's statement on music philosophy, I came across this excellent reminder.

Above all, sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve of here, and reward you when He cometh in the clouds of heaven.

--John Wesley, Select Hymns (1791), taken from the Introduction

Thought on Preparation and Preaching from Dever

2008-12-26T16:12:00.000-05:00

Definition: a sermon on a portion of Scripture in which the point(s) of the passage is the point(s) of the message.

Goal: the Word of God in the context of the people of God.

Read the text and not questions I have--what people will be asking of the text--then address those questions.

Say what you think the text says--then have a conversation with some commentaries.

Mark always asks the preacher (where he will be that Sunday) what the text will be. That passage becomes the source of his Bible reading--which is thus more corporate than individual. This also serves to prepare his heart for the preaching of God's Word.

Always include the gospel (contra Keller).

Mark noted that Mark Twain said, "The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between the lightning and the lightning-bug."

A sermon should not be able to be preached anywhere at anytime.

Conclusion is a wedge. The weight is all on a point--to be driven into their soul.

In regards to illustrations, two thoughts: (1) work hard to say something worth while and (2) they can communicate a lightness not becoming of the message.

How Sweet And Aweful Is The Place

2008-12-23T11:12:00.000-05:00

How sweet and aweful is the place
With Christ within the doors,
While everlasting love displays
The choicest of her stores!

Here every bowel of our God
With soft compassion rolls;
Here peace and pardon bought with blood
Is food for dying souls.

While all our hearts and all our songs
Join to admire the feast,
Each of us cry, with thankful tongues,
“Lord, why was I a guest?

“Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
And enter while there’s room,
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?”

’Twas the same love that spread the feast
That sweetly drew us in;
Else we had still refused to taste,
And perished in our sin.

Pity the nations, O our God!
Constrain the earth to come;
Send Thy victorious Word abroad,
And bring the strangers home.

We long to see Thy churches full,
That all the chosen race
May with one voice, and heart and soul,
Sing Thy redeeming grace.

--Isaac Watts

"Lord, why was I a guest?"

The Whole Effulgence

2008-12-22T13:04:00.000-05:00

I could write Charles Bridges quotes all day. If you haven't read The Christian Ministry, please do. It is a joy. He has the flavor of the Puritans, but like Ryle is readable and markedly devotional. And to help you down this trail, here is his opening sentence:

"The Church is the mirror, that reflects the whole effulgence of the Divine character."

From Dr. Lovitt's Last Letter

2008-12-21T13:15:00.000-05:00

T'AI-YUAN-FU, June 28, 1900.

DEAR FRIEND--We do not know whom you may be, but we thought it well to leave this letter in the hands of a trusty native to give to the first foreigner who might come along . . . .
We would like our dear home ones to know we are being marvellously sustained by the Lord. He is precious to each of us. The children seem to have no fear. We cannot but hope for deliverance (hope dies hard), and our God is well able to do all things--even to save us from the most impossible surroundings when hope is gone. Our trust is in Him entirely and alone. We at the same time are seeking to do all that is in our power, and asking guidance at every step. . . .
There is not much time. We are ready.

ARNOLD E. LOVITT, M.R.C.S

--from Last Letters and Further Records of Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission, p48.

The Cross and Christian Preaching

2008-12-20T12:08:00.000-05:00

"If you get into a valley (say in Leviticus) and can't see the cross, keep working because the cross is always in view."

--Dever

Who should a church support?

2008-12-19T19:32:00.000-05:00

"A church should support workers who are strategic, excellent, and known."

--Andy Johnson

Whitsitt 1205 -- 50 Years Later

2008-12-19T17:45:00.006-05:00

I just had a most amazing meeting. Sitting at my desk reading some Last Letters from martyred missionaries of the China Inland Mission, I heard a knock on the door and a elderly man opened the door and entered. John Griggs, who trained as Southern 50 years ago and who was returning for the first time, used to live in my room. Mr. Griggs is now the Director of Prayer and Missions at First Baptist Church in Morristown, TN. But 50 years ago he lived in my room--watching the library being built out the window (which was completed in 1959). He had served for decades as a missionary in Zambia (not sure if I remember that right). He challenged me with the importance of repentance in salvation, indigenous missisonary work, and seeking the will of God by (1) dying to self, (2) enthroning Jesus as Lord, (3) putting my hand in the hand of my heavenly father as a little child, (4) reading my Bible, and (5) listening to God and obeying Him. These were all on a yellow magnet he gave me before gently and kindly talking through them in an extended challenge to me as a young man. Mr. Griggs then began praying for me without introduction. We took a few pictures--he of me and I of him--then he left to continue revisiting Southern.

Thoughts on this special meeting:
(1) He knew the Bible and was bold to challenge me to know the Bible. He challenged me to rise early and seek God through his Word. His prayer for me was about 75% words of Christ.
(2) God has been faithful to use means like a little room on a quiet campus to raise up countless men [one must wonder about the men who have lived here between Mr. Griggs and I] to preach the gospel. May I be among the faithful to have been blessed with time in Whitsitt 1205.
(3) Mr. Griggs seemed very much like me--though he is an older man now. He met his wife here and talked about the 'Valley of Decision'. As I told him of my engagement, he was quite pleased.
(4) Praise God Southern still holds to the doctrine Mr. Griggs was clearly taught here. Praise God Mr. Griggs still holds and shares that same message.
(5) 'Father, please help Mr. Griggs to finish well. Thank you for his life and its example to me. Father, help me to be faithful to you. Don't let me go astray from you. Use me as you see fit. Thank you for the means of biography in my perseverance in the faith. Bless Mr. Griggs as he continues to remember your kindness to him through Southern. Amen.'

Sing (and when you do, sing about heaven a lot)

2008-12-19T17:39:00.000-05:00

A unique way in which confidence in the Christian life can come is through congregations singing many hymns about heaven. To sing with others about our glorious future with God has three immediate affects on me: (1) God seems really big and lovely, (2) death seems really small, and thus (3) laying my life down for others through missionary labor seems reasonable.

Church 'Growth': Stepping Over Graves

2008-12-19T17:10:00.002-05:00

"The victories of the Church are won by stepping over the graves of her members."

--Krapf in Last Letters and Further Records of Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission, p94

Tracts Worth Reading (esp. for Christians)

2008-12-19T11:25:00.000-05:00

Discouraged with hard situations right now? with how things appear to be unfolding in your life? Perhaps a journey into the world of apocalyptic literature might be the means God has for you to be encouraged in the present--looking to the future.

Consider these often controversial and rarely read portions of your Bible as tracts for hard times.

Press on.

The Means of Revelation

2008-12-19T11:22:00.000-05:00

The Book of Revelation is a means to keep God's people persevering. It is a gigantic means.

--Brian Vickers

"The Greatest Love Is Rarely Merely Spontaneous"

2008-12-17T16:38:00.000-05:00

I must be purposeful in my loving of others. This looks like church membership. This looks like covenanting to love and serve. Commitment and planning are needed. As I've pursued Suemi, I've learned this. I have to purpose to show love to her. I may want to, but little just happens when one is as passive as me. And the covenant of marriage brings clarity to my thinking as I consider the church covenant. Covenantal relationships are the context for deep, meaningful love of others. Spontaneity is over valued. Faithful resolve is under valued. May I be a young man like Jonathon Edwards who saw resolve and commitment as the context for love.

Principles on Worship

2008-12-17T05:42:00.000-05:00

I would echo again and again the principles of mere and enhancing in relation to form. Mere and enhancing.

Worship: A Simple Definition

2008-12-17T05:40:00.000-05:00

Peterson provides a simple and useful definition of worship.

Worship "is essentially an engagement with [God] on the terms that he proposes and in the way that he alone makes possible."

--Peterson, Engaging with God, 20

Christ's Training School

2008-12-16T20:00:00.003-05:00

"The sphere of every day experience is Christ's training school for bringing forth the highest aspects of Christian character."

--said to be evident from the suffer of missionary to China and martyr William Cooper (martyred probably July 1, 1900) by Walter B. Sloan, Martyred Missionaries, 156. Mr. Cooper was called after reading a copy of a Spurgeon sermon entitled "The Divine Call for Missionaries."

Busyness

2008-12-16T16:52:00.003-05:00

If you know me well, you know I am passive. This is a characteristic which looks like the sin of procrastination often. C.J. Mahaney is writing a series on just that--procrastination. This is a sin with which I have often fallen into and desire to more faithfully fight.

C.J. soberingly reminds me:

Busyness does not mean I am diligent
Busyness does not mean I am faithful
Busyness does not mean I am fruitful

Quoting a helpful article in the Journal of Biblical Counseling, he describes me too well:

If my task is not due anytime soon, put it off.
If the task is due tomorrow, cast aside all other responsibilities and focus on this one task.
And after accomplishing a large task, take a break and reward yourself.

May God give grace as I seek to trust Him and work hard. And press on to know Him.

Mere Watering

2008-12-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

Much of pastoral labor is water into the ground--no clue if 'working' or 'helping.'

From Fundamentalism to the CHBC Internship

2008-12-15T17:32:00.002-05:00

In my closing paper on the internship, I described the experience like this:

"I've stepped into a larger pack running the same race and have been very heartened by their presence."

Demerited Favor

2008-12-15T00:32:00.000-05:00

Grace is demerited favor. It is more than unmerited favor. Grace reaches beyond neutral, into the debt side, and then bestows the gift.

So is there only grace in the redemptive context? Is Genesis 3:15 the first display of grace?

--thoughts from Hermeneutics class with Brian Vickers

Illustrative Preaching

2008-12-14T20:02:00.002-05:00

The preacher is to reflect the doctrine of revelation. He is to illustrate how God communicates to his people. So preaching as conversation would seem to fall short of this understanding.

Bridges Is Golden Again and Again

2008-12-14T19:10:00.002-05:00

Another amazing quote by Bridges:

"Difficulties heaped upon difficulties can never rise to the level of the promise of God."

--The Christian Ministry, 175

Means and the Spirit's Glory

2008-12-14T19:07:00.001-05:00

"The use of means honours the work of the Spirit. But dependence upon means obscures his glory, and therefore issues in unprofitableness."

--Bridges, The Christian Ministry, 177

Definitions Are Vital

2008-12-14T18:58:00.001-05:00

Defining a church is crucial in defining the role of the leader of that church.

Regeneration and Membership

2008-12-14T16:33:00.002-05:00

With church membership, you are looking for a wise and balanced way to determine regenerate church membership. A church is striving to find a wise medium. A church is not to do everything to make sure a member is regenerate.

Lessons Learned at CHBC

2008-12-13T15:11:00.002-05:00

This break I plan on reviewing my papers from the internship at CHBC and journaling things that stike me--particularly things I noted during discussions with Mark. Also, I am posting thoughts from class lectures this past fall here at SBTS.

I know the reminders will serve me well. I need to be reminded constantly.

The Fear of Man

2008-12-13T15:01:00.003-05:00

Don't buy the lie that your fear of man is circumstancial

and

remember the fear of man can't be fought alone.

Not Like A Mushroom—But Like An Oak.

2008-12-11T10:59:00.003-05:00

"Remember, the growth of a believer is not like a mushroom—but like an oak, which increases slowly indeed—but surely.

Many suns, showers, and frosts, pass upon it before it comes to perfection. And in winter, when it seems to be dead—it is gathering strength at the root.

Be humble, watchful, and diligent in the means, and endeavor to look through all, and fix your eye upon Jesus—and all shall be well."

—John Newton, Letters of John Newton (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth: 2007)

If you don't receive a daily e-mail from First Importance, I would recommend you consider it. This blog will e-mail you a short gospel quote daily--though I don't read them everyday, I always benefit from them when I do.

English - The Mother Tongue

2008-11-21T16:29:00.004-05:00

"Snowfall in Germany forces a lorry driver to attach snow chains to his tyres..."

Today I read this caption on BBC's website . . . . 'Lorry' and 'tyres' . . . language is interesting indeed.