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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.