An Encouragement to All Who Struggle

John Newton, writing to his good friend, the Rev. William Bull, gives this description of his struggle with an unwelcome "lodger":

I have many pleasant and kind connections; but I have a troublesome inmate, a lodger, who assumes as if the house were his own, and is a perpetual incumbrance, and spoils all. He has long been noted for his evil ways; but though generally known, is not easily avoided. He lodged with one Saul of Tarsus long before I was born, and made him groan and cry out lustily. Time was when I thought I would shut the door, to keep him out of my house, but my precaution came too late; he was already within ; and to turn him out by head and shoulders is beyond my power; nay, I cannot interdict him from any one single apartment. If I think of retiring into the closest corner, he is there before me. We often meet and jostle and snarl at each other; but sometimes (would you believe it ?) I lose all my suspicion, and am disposed to treat him as an intimate friend. This inconsistency of mine I believe greatly encourages him, for I verily believe he would be ashamed and afraid to be seen by me, if I always kept him at a proper distance. However, we both lay such a strong claim to the same dwelling, that I believe the only way of settling the dispute will be (which the Landlord himself has spoken of) to pull down the house over our heads. There seems something disagreeable in this mode of proceeding ; but from what I have read in an old book, I form a hope that when things come to this crisis, I shall escape, and my enemy will be crushed in the ruins.

June 7, 1783

If the author of "Amazing Grace" experienced the constant struggle against the sin nature (as described in Romans 7), why would we think that we would be exempt? Oh for that day when the building is pulled down and we are lifted up!

Win Books

Good books from Micheal Horton (via Nathan Bingham).

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Happy Birthday Rudyard Kipling!

Rudyard Kipling, December 30, 1865 - 18 January 1936

Born in Bombay (Mumbai), India, he bridged the time between the mid-Victorian era and latter Edwardian times, and served as a chronicler of British Imperialism. Many of his works have fallen out of favor today, due to the fact that they present a very un-PC view of the world.

Here is my favorite of his poems:

Tommy

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o'beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:

O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's ``Thank you, Mister Atkins,'' when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's ``Thank you, Mr. Atkins,'' when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.

Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy how's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints:
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;

While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind,"
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country," when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
But Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!

New Year Prayer

O Lord,

Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in thy presence, in thy service, to thy glory.

Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit,
to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire
to show forth thy praise,
testify thy love,
advance thy kingdom.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbour,
thee, O Son, at my helm,
thee O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.

Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.

Give me grace to sanctify me,
thy comforts to cheer,
thy wisdom to watch,
thy right hand to guide,
thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge,
thy presence to stabilize.

May thy fear be my awe,
thy triumphs my joy.

from: Valley of Vision

This looks like a good book...

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Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas

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Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary

Zondervan has just released the five volume Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary of the Old Testament (ZIBBCOT), and I was able to get my hands on an advance copy of Volume 1, Genesis-Deuteronomy. When I received this book I immediately experienced a case of deja vu, remembering the day in 1991 when I first held a copy of the Holman Bible Dictionary in my hands.

Recognize that I am not equating the Holman Bible Dictionary with the new Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, since the differences are greater than the similarities, but both of these produced in me the same response when I first opened them: Wow! Both of these publications provide a view of the historical background of the Bible that would be helpful for all serious students.

Here is a brief comparison of the Holman Bible Dictionary (HBD) with the ZIBBCOT:

Content - The HBD is a Dictionary of Biblical words, people, events, and places presented alphabetically. The ZIBBCOT follows the biblical text, giving commentary on the people, events, and places along with a presentation of extra-biblical background material.

Format - The HBD is a single volume for the entire Bible, and always felt like it wasn't going to hold up to regular use due to a poor binding and questionable paper. The ZIBBCOT is a multi-volume work (there are also NT volumes, see my comment below), and feels like a quality binding with decent paper. It feels and handles like an expensive college textbook. Additionally, while both publications contain numerous photographs, those in the ZIBBCOT are of better quality, possibly as a result of advances in digital photography since 1991.

Philosophy - The HBD is published by Broadman & Holman, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. It is unapologetically conservative, and takes pains to avoid controversy. Zondervan caters to a "bigger tent" customer base, and is less afraid to present material that might be questionable to some readers, as seen by the first words of the introduction to Genesis:

Inferences drawn from the whole of the biblical text suggest that Moses was considered responsible for the shape and content of Genesis from early times. The Israelites in the wilderness, in roughly the third quarter of the second millennium B.C., are then the initial audience of the book. Many scholars unconvinced of the connection to Moses are more inclined to view the book against a mid-first millennium B.C. backdrop. The discussion is not without significance, but its impact on background issues will not often be felt. (ZIBBCOT, Volume 1, page 3)

Now, on to some of my Conclusionss concerning the ZIBBCOT:

I intend to get the remaining volumes of this set for my library. While it may not serve as a primary textual commentary in my studies it is going to be very useful for providing both background and context. Other background materials in my possession, such as the HBD and Lifeway's Biblical Illustrator, while sometimes useful, are not tied directly to the biblical text, causing one to spend additional time looking for relevant entries, or just choosing to ignore them altogether. I anticipate that the ZIBBCOT is going to provide a wealth of background information to support my preaching and preparation of Bible Studies. After discovering this work I learned that Zondervan also publishes similar volumes on the New Testament. Since I have just begun preaching through Matthew, I obtained the volume for that Gospel, and it has already proved helpful.

Here are two videos produced by Zondervan on the ZIBBCOT;

Comical:



More serious:

Free Books, Lot's of Free Books

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Christian Freedom

"We must now discuss Christian freedom." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1536 edition, pg. 176.

You don't know how happy I was to read those words the other day.

As part of my year long celebration of John Calvin's 500th birthday on July 19th I have been reading from and about John Calvin. I had previously read the 1559 Institutes but wanted to compare Calvin's thought as a young man. What is remarkable is the fact that the Calvin of 1536 is very much the same man in 1559. I know that I have changed greatly, especially in theological matters, in the past 23 years, and especially since I was age 27, the age that Calvin was when the Institutes was first published.

The happiness that I express above was due to the fact that I have come to what I consider to be the most important part of Calvin's work, his treatise on Christian freedom. Truthfully, the past several weeks reading left me cold. Not that Calvin's argument against the errors of Roman Catholic sacramental system wasn't both excellent and important, it just wasn't that important to me. Having never been subject to that system as a Baptist, and possibly because we live in a post-counter-reformation, post-Vatican II world, I haven't lost much sleep worrying about sacramentalism.

Yet, it is because of the above that Calvin's material on Christian freedom is so important. The world he lived in was very much different, both politically and religiously than ours today. Men are still the same now as then, but the majority of Calvin's readers had no experience with the political and religious freedom that we have come to know today. Calvin's writings opened up new possibilities, leading to new ways of thinking and eventually to new forms of government. It is no exaggeration to call Calvin the "spiritual father" of America, so radical was his thought.

Maybe it is time, once again, for us to seriously discuss Christian freedom.

Paul's Prayers

D.A. Carson in A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities From Paul and His Prayers, lists the various prayers of the Apostle Paul as contained in his epistles (pages 67-74), and then challenges his readers to review them daily for 30 days. While Carson uses the NIV, I have given the text of the same passages from the ESV.

(All Scriptures below from the English Standard Version Bible, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.

(Romans 1:8)

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

(Romans 10:1)

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

(Romans 12:12)

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(Romans 15:5-6)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

(Romans 15:13)

I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

(Romans 15:30-33)

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

(1 Corinthians 1:4-9)

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

(1 Corinthians 16:23)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

(2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

(2 Corinthians 2:14-16)

For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

(2 Corinthians 9:12-15)

So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

(2 Corinthians 12:7-9a)

But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.

(2 Corinthians 13:7-9)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

(Galatians 6:18)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight

(Ephesians 1:3-8)

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

(Ephesians 1:15-23)

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

(Ephesians 3:14-21)

(Praying) and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

(Ephesians 6:19-20)

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ

(Philippians 1:3-6)

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

(Philippians 1:9-11)

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.

(Philippians 4:6-7)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

(Philippians 4:23)

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy,giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

(Colossians 1:3-14)

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

(Colossians 4:2-4)

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers,remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

(1 Thessalonians 1:2-3)

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But God's wrath has come upon them at last!

(1 Thessalonians 2:13-16)

For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God,as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you,and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

(1 Thessalonians 3:9-13)

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

(1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

(1 Thessalonians 5:28)

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

(2 Thessalonians 1:3-4)

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

(2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)

and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

(2 Thessalonians 3:2-5)

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.

(2 Thessalonians 3:16)

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,

(1 Timothy 1:12)

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

(1 Timothy 2:1-6)

I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

(2 Timothy 1:3-7)

May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains,but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me—may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

(2 Timothy 1:16-18)

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

(2 Timothy 4:22)

I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers,because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints,and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

(Philemon 4-7)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

(Philemon 25)

Affirmation

D.A. Carson, in A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities From Paul and His Prayers, speaks of the two extremes of offering praise to fellow Christians. There are those who heap accolades and "atta boys" to the extent that they appear phony. There are also those who believe that the only thanks that we should receive is the Lord's "well done" in the judgment.

Carson offers a middle-ground:

Paul's approach in many of his epistles, and not least here (1 Thessalonians 3:9-13) , is radically different from both of these extremes. He encourages Christians by thanking God for his grace in their lives. More precisely, he encourages Christians by telling them that he thanks God for the grace in their lives. Thus he has simultaneously drawn attention to the Thessalonians' spiritual growth, thereby encouraging them, and insisted that God is the one to be thanked for it, thereby humbling them. There is simply no way that these believers can thoughtfully listen to what Paul says and then smugly pat themselves on the back: God, and God alone, is to be praised for the signs of grace in their lives. yet nonetheless they cannot help but feel encouraged to learn that the apostle himself has observed God's work in their lives and rejoices bacause of it. ( pg. 87)

Are we in the habit of looking for signs of God's grace in others, thanking Him for it, and letting them know of our thankfulness?

Prayers for a Nation

From today's reading in A Book of Private Prayer for Morning and Evening by J.R. MacDuff:

Look in kindness on our native land, in all its interests, sacred and civil. As you have blessed her and made her a blessing in the past, may she continue to realize that she is the honored instrument in Your hand for the spread of truth and the triumph of righteousness.

MacDuff, while living in Victorian Britain, could rightly say that his nation was "the honored instrument in Your hand for the spread of truth and the triumph of righteousness".

Can we say this, today, about either Britain or the United States? I think not.

When did Great Britain cease to "realize that she is the honored instrument in (God's) hand", and begin the downward slide that has led to her being a secular state with an increasingly irrelevant state church? Could it be that the beginning of the end was the time when the men and women of the United Kingdom quit praying as MacDuff did? Have we, in America put more reliance in political structures and forgotten to trust in God?

Christians of both nations need to pray, pray, and pray some more. We need to pray:

Look in kindness on our native land, in all its interests, sacred and civil. As you have blessed her and made her a blessing in the past, may she once again be an honored instrument in Your hand for the spread of truth and the triumph of righteousness.

A Belated Post: Personal Responsibility

A couple of weeks ago, during my reading of J. Mark Bertrand's (Re)Thinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World, I marked the following passage for inclusion on this blog, but neglected to post it prior to today. This is a remarkable book, and my "one-sentence review" of this work might need to be stretched once I finish it due to the fact that I am having to read this book slowly and carefully.

As a pastor, this excerpt was especially meaningful:

If the struggle to form right beliefs and express them through right action is the central focus of the Christian life, then it stands to reason that you must assume personal responsibility for your spiritual development and the practice of godliness. Remember the fundamental relation between God and man: an unmediated fellowship. No one stands between you and Christ. Although there are many people who are willing to help -- pastors, teachers, mentors -- ultimately the responsibility for your spiritual growth is your own. (pg. 149)

Perspective

Have you ever noticed that some people are natural optimists? One of these ever-cheery people is my Dad, who always answers the question "How are you?" with a strong "Great! But it is going to get better!" Honestly, there are times when I don't feel great, and also times when I doubt things are going to get better (I take after my Mom who is more of a pragmatist than my Dad).

Yet, as a Christian, I am assured that things are going to get better. This was reaffirmed as I was reading the Pocket Paperback, Anger Management, extracted from the works of Richard Baxter. The book concludes with "A Brief Life of Richard Baxter" by J.C. Ryle in which we see recorded these words from Baxter when close to death and asked as to his state:

"Better than I deserve to be, but not so well as I hope to be." (pg. 55-56)

This sounds similar to my Dad's quip, recognizing that both sentiments are grounded in a firm belief in God's providential care for his children.

"...no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9, ESV)

Great, better than I deserve. It is going to get better, I am not yet as well as I hope to be.

"Arrow" Prayers

Yet as ancient, excellent, and helpful as this prayer pattern* is, it hinders our devotion if it causes us to doubt that we can speak to our heavenly father as readily, spontaneously, and familiarly as does the Son with whose voice we pray.

Often people ask me to pray for specific needs. I always promise to do so despite my faulty memory and the number of requests. I make the promise because I learned from a mature pastor to send an "arrow prayer" to heaven even as I speak to the person making the request. I cannot model these arrow prayers after the A-C-T-S pattern; they are more the reflexes of my spirit affirming the most basic requests: "Yes, Lord, please help Ginny find her way"; "Watch over John during his surgery"; "Give Marge and Steve your wisdom as they speak to Jerry." My prayers in these moments are not very elegant, but I do not believe God minds. He is more concerned to hear my prayers than to grade their form.

Praying Backwards: Transform Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus' Name, by Bryan Chapell, pg. 94-95

I imagine that there were a number of these "arrow prayers" voiced on US Air flight 1549 yesterday.

*Chapell's description of the A-C-T-S (Adoration-Confession-Thanksgiving-Supplication) prayer acrostic and demonstration of its antiquity as shown in a quote from Origen.

Christ is All in All

Our union with Christ influences every dimension of the Christian life. When we worship, Christ is not only the audience of our songs, but through his Spirit he is also the singer (Eph. 5:18-20). When his servants preach, he is not only the witness of the sermon but the proclaimer (2 Cor 4:5-7; 5:20; 2 Tim 4:1-2). When we serve, he is not only the object of our service but the enabler (Phil. 4:13). When we pray, he is not only the Lord whom we seek but the One who speaks.

Praying Backwards: Transform Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus' Name, by Bryan Chapell, pg. 88

Desire

The good the Spirit most desires for us is our transformation into Christ's likeness (Rom. 8:29). He desires for the affections, desires, and ambitions of the Savior to be ours. God knows that when our heart beats in rhythm with his, his greatest joys are ours. We are never richer than when we are emptied of earthly ambitions and fulfilled by Christ's desires. We are never more satisfied than when we are content with his plan for our lives. We know no greater peace than when we are confident his love hedges our lives so that nothing enters except that which makes us more like the Son whom the heavenly Father cherishes. In short, when we have no greater desire than for Jesus to be glorified in us, he grants us the desires of our heart.

Praying Backwards: Transform Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus' Name, by Bryan Chapell, pg. 75

Healing

James exhorts us to pray for sick persons with this promise: "the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up" (James 5:15). How can we offer such a prayer in faith when we know of faithful Christians with seriously ill loved ones? Begin by believing that God always answers this prayer too.

Lest you think that I have put God in a box and am proposing to put all doctors out of business, consider the careful wording of the Bible: "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each others and pray for the other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:15-16). In the original language James says literally that the Lord will "save" (sōzō) the sick person and will "raise him up." The Bible uses these words elsewhere to refer to spiritual salvation and resurrection, not simply to physical healing (see Luke 19:10; 1 Cor. 1:21; 6:14; 2 Cor. 4:14; Heb. 7:25)

James makes the spiritual connection even clearer by including the command to confess sins as part of the process of praying for healing. God's ultimate purpose is to secure the eternal health of the one who is sick. Whether the illness is a consequence of unconfessed sin or unhealed disease, the ultimate aim of the healing prayer is the spiritual security of the sick person whom God will "save" and "raise up." Note that James promises not merely the healing of the disease through faithful prayer but also the healing of sin: "If he has sinned, he will be forgiven." James is preeminently concerned about saving (in the spiritual sense) the sick person.

Of course, the Lord can heal physical illness, and most of the time he does. I have not died of the many infections, genetic weaknesses, and accidents that are as typical of my life as they are yours. I have prayed for God to heal those stricken with desease, damaged in crashes, and endangered in delivery. After these prayers God has healed many times. God commands us to pray for the sick, and most of the time he does heal. Every moment that my white corpuscles fend off disease, that my immune system staves off internal collapse, and that my path providentially takes me away from countless unseen catastrophes, God answers prayer for my well-being. God may use the natural processes of our body, the blessed insights of modern medicine, of the miraculous intervention of his Spirit to heal. Each is a blessing of his hand for those who understand that no medicine or miracle benefits us apart from his power.

Praying Backwards: Transform Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus' Name, by Bryan Chapell, pgs. 58-59

2008 Puritan Reading Challenge - Completed

This evening I completed the 2008 Puritan Reading Challenge made by Timmy Brister. In the process I have enjoyed a wealth of devotional reading, been challenged by a 17th century worldview, and been exposed to a vision of the Holiness of God and His Providence that is sadly lacking in much contemporary writing and preaching.

Thanks Timmy for a great challenge!

Next year I will engage in my personal John Calvin Reading Plan.

Sure Guide to Heaven - Obedience and Inability

Your law will I lay before me; this shall be the copy which I will keep in my eye, and study to write after. According to this rule do I resolve by Your grace to walk: after this law shall my whole man be governed. And though I cannot perfectly keep one of Your commandments—yet I will allow myself in the breach of none. I know my flesh will hang back: but I resolve, in the power of Your grace, to cleave to You and Your holy ways, whatever it cost me. (Joseph Alleine, A Sure Guide to Heaven, pg. 129)

Our inability to perform the Law in no way removes the requirement to obey.

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent - Acts 17:30, ESV

...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. - Romans 5:8-11, ESV

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
(Isaac Watts)

When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died;
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the death of Christ, my God;
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.

Even in my inability, His great love "demands my soul, my life, my all.

Sure Guide to Heaven - Will you have this God?

To be short, He tells you, 'I am the true and faithful God. If you will have Me for your God you must be content to trust Me. Will you venture yourselves upon My Word, and depend on My faithfulness, and take My bond for your security? Will you be content to follow Me in poverty, and reproach, and affliction here; and to tarry until the next world for your preferment? Will you be content to labor and suffer, and to tarry for your returns until the resurrection of the just? My promise will not always be instantly fulfilled; will you have the patience to wait?'

Now, beloved, what do you say to this? Will you have this God for your God? Will you be content to live by faith, and trust Him for an unseen happiness, an unseen heaven, an unseen glory? Do your hearts answer, 'Lord, we will venture ourselves upon You. We commit ourselves to You, we cast ourselves upon You. We know whom we have trusted. We are willing to take Your word; we prefer Your promises before our own possessions, and the hopes of heaven before all the enjoyments of earth. We will do Your pleasure—what You will here, so that we may have but Your faithful promise for heaven hereafter.' If you can in trust, and upon deliberation, thus accept of God, He will be yours. (Joseph Alleine, A Sure Guide to Heaven, pg. 112)