cool fall evening
life would never be the same
i was unaware
who is ben hoffman
random inane blog poster
angry liberal
Posted in Misc. Rants | Leave a Comment »
Seem to be hearing a lot of people ringing the alarm bells in fear of our new president and I can’t help but wonder why. If we are Christians, don’t we understand that “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD…?” The great, wicked king of Babylon wasn’t out from under the sovereign hand of our King and neither is our current president. After reigning with pride and cruelty and his subsequent humbling in Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar gives this testimony: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” Has the King of Heaven lost His power? Do we need to be afraid of the policies of our president?
But it’s not just enough to not be afraid of our President. We, as Christians, also have a duty submit to our rulers whether we agree with them or not. As I’ve told my kids (and myself) many times, the true test of submission is when we submit to an authority that is unfair or that we “don’t like” and when we cannot submit we have a duty to do so in a manner that honors the King.
So, instead of attacking President Obama let’s pray for Him. Instead of being afraid of what He may or may not be doing, let’s thank God that He is sovereign and ordaining all events for His glory and our good.
Posted in Politics | 5 Comments »
soles covered, toes show
a great relapse in footwear
cover your bare hoofs
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I give this book five Calvins…
Don’t read this book…
…unless you want to first be convicted by how little we suffer for Christ and secondly come to realize how necessary our suffering is for God’s plan to reach people from every tribe, tongue and nation.
In his introduction, Piper shows that God’s sovereign plan for world evangelization includes, integrally, the suffering of those who will go and tell and that “this voluntary suffering and death to save others is not only the content but also the method of our mission.” The body of the book begins with the Scriptural case for suffering as God’s intended means for spreading His Gospel. After laying out the Scriptural case, Piper gives brief but powerful biographical sketches of William Tyndale, John Paton, and Adoniram Judson – all men who suffered (almost unimaginably) for the spread of the Gospel. This is a relatively short book, so these sketches will do little more than tantalize most readers for more. However, the bio’s are not intended to be complete but rather to drive home the point of suffering as it relates to the spread of Jesus’ message to those who have never heard.
In the concluding chapter, Piper says the following about suffering: “None of this is without divine meaning and design. God saved us by the suffering and death of his Son. It is his pattern to send this message of salvation to the world by displaying a realistic picture of those sufferings in the sufferings of his servants. The reason for this pattern is to make clear to us and to the world that the surpassing and successful effect of this mission belongs to God and not to us.
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I give this book four and a half Calvins…
Three out of four ain’t bad…
Kevin DeYoung, in his introduction, states that Why We Love the Church is written to four groups of people: the committed, the disgruntled, the waffling and the disconnected. As one who is committed to the church, I can say with confidence that this book meets its goal of encouraging and equipping those who are in that first group. With regard to the second and third groups (the disgruntled & waffling), I have reason to believe that the tone in which the book is written along with the solid information provided may indeed change hearts and minds. However, it seems unlikely that the last group (the disconnected) – if they even pick up the book – will have their minds changed by this particular book. So, don’t be sad – ‘cause three out of four ain’t bad…
When it comes to the body of the book – it is hard to imagine the combination of Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck being beat. The well-researched and methodical chapters written by DeYoung (along with the approximately gazillion end notes) are nicely paired with the more colloquial chapters penned by Kluck. Don’t get me wrong – they both give excellent information and are easy to read – this is more of a comparison between steak and lobster (surf and turf) than steak v. fast food. The two authors provide a nice change of pace.
As one committed to the church, let me offer the following endorsement for others who are also committed: read this book and you will be stronger in your love for Christ’s church and more prepared to deal with the laundry list of problems that are held against her. At the very least, you will learn (as I did) to stop holding minor issues (see preferences) against the church the Christ loves.
P.S. You probably won’t hear this very often but you should buy this book if only for the two epilogues. Kluck’s letter to his son will, if you have a child or even wish to, make you cry. And pray. DeYoung’s writing on the foundational importance of the doctrine of original sin is lucid and thorough. It may just warrant a book of its own.
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I give this book four Calvins…
After a couple years of slogging through some pretty heavy seminary reading, I was due to read something a little “lighter.” However, while this book is not an exegetical treatment of the topic of friendship it cannot be labeled “light.”
I would quickly weary you if I were to detail all of the times this book punished me with truth. I was convicted of what a bad friend I am, how cheaply I hold friendships, and how unworthy I am of what Hugh Black calls the “higher friendship” with Jesus Christ.
I know nothing about Hugh Black. Not his denomination. Not his stand on the doctrines of grace. And I have been unable to find anything. I know this – he has a solid grasp on friendship, its nature, its fruits, its loss and its restoration. I believe I would have liked to been this man’s friend.
Paperback: 236 pages
Publisher: Kessinger Publishing, LLC (February 16, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1104090082
ISBN-13: 978-1104090081
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I give this book four Calvins…
Don’t judge a book by its cover…
Let’s begin with the one minor criticism I have of this book – and it is definitely a minor criticism. So minor, in fact, that I mention it at the beginning lest you finish reading this review with an even slightly sour note ringing in your ears. The criticism is this – the book cover is (and I want to be charitable here because I know someone worked on this – I do not want to hurt someone’s feelings) ummm… not good. At least five people have looked at this book as it lay on my desk and asked, “which one of your six kids scribbled on the book?” You see, the cover features Wall Street Journalesque pictures of the men who wrote the book with what appears to be a pencil scribble that perhaps represents a “road.” Badly done and could potentially cause some who may be interested to avoid this book – that would be too bad.
Anthony Carter, the editor of Glory Road, states in the introduction that this book will answer how these African-American men came to a Biblical (see Reformed) understanding of doctrine and theology and why they would be willing to part from their “traditions and systems.” Each of the essays/chapters written by these men does exactly that – they lay out in summary form the how (process) of moving towards Reformed beliefs and the why (inevitably fidelity to Scripture). Just as Carter states in his introduction, this book is for more than African-Americans (for the record, I am not African-American) and will be helpful for any believer who sees that “something is drastically missing in American evangelicalism.”
This book is an easy read that just might cause some who have been resistant to honestly look at and fairly evaluate Reformed teachings. It may also do for you what it is doing for me – that is, create a burden in your heart for the church at large and for the African-American church in particular.
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Some recent events have started me thinking – “how do the majority of church-goers view preaching?” In light of this, I’m doing an informal survey… If you could take a few minutes to answer these questions (feel free to add commentary related or unrelated to my questions) I would really appreciate it. I’ve enabled anonymous posting in case you’d rather not be known.
Thanks,
(1)How would you prioritize the list of responsibilities of a pastor (administration, counseling, discipleship, preaching, visiting lost/needy/sick, etc…)?
(2)Do you believe that every text in Scripture has: (a)an original audience, (b)a historical setting, and (c)one literal meaning?
(3)What do you believe are the responsibilities of the man who is preaching (in other words, what is he supposed to do up there anyway)?
(4)What do you believe are the responsibilities of those in the congregation who are listening to the preaching?
(5)Other than your local church pastor, what preachers do you regularly listen to?
Posted in Preaching | 8 Comments »
