Patricia Sprinkle: Hold Up the Sky: Book Review

Hold up the Sky

Patricia Sprinkle came to speak at our Christian Authors Guild spring conference a few weeks ago, and I went with my husband, who is the prez this year. Hearing Patricia speak and seeing what a good storyteller and communicator she is, I knew I wanted to read one of her many books. I picked Hold up the Sky, being more in the mood for a novel than a mystery, after Patricia described the plot to me. It is about 4 women who, through circumstances beyond their control, come together on a farm during a drought and end up canning vegetables in a hot kitchen, and also sharing memories and troubles as they preserve more than just food. It was right in line with my life right now, since I'm learning in our ladies' prayer group how good and necessary it is for women to share together and help each other in our struggles.
The book has so many good insights, many of which come directly from the mouths of the women characters as they share with each other. I loved Mamie's description of the love of God, and the emphasis on the sacrament of shared memories.

One aspect of the book that made me want to share it here is the interaction between Mamie, an elderly Baptist African American, and Emerita, a Roman Catholic Mexican immigrant who comes to town with her husband in need of a place to stay. The other two women are sisters who have run into trouble in their marriages. They all end up on a drought-ridden farm for the summer, and spend time together canning vegetables, trying to save and preserve the garden food. As I said, they end up preserving more than just food in the jars. Every jar represents a shared memory of intimate friendship.
I read the book entirely while on a 4 day cruise with my husband. The story was a page-turner; the characters became like close friends. I had a hard time putting it down, and I was sad when it ended. I hope to read more about the characters in the future. I highly recommend 'Hold Up the Sky'.

NOTE: Right now the paperback is on sale for $6.00 and the book is also available for Kindle.

Jennie, get a life

I'm sure ya'll have noticed I haven't been posting much lately. Here I explain one little part of why I've been absent. Don't know if I want to share this; it makes me feel vulnerable and ridiculous. I haven't shared it yet with the ladies' prayer group. Maybe I should, but I would feel like I needed a bag over my head; well, here goes. The Lord has been gently leading me, the timid and self-conscious one, toward being able to sing in our church services. He's been giving me the desire to show love to the body of Christ by singing. Singing brings healing, and praise brings the presence of God. I've always loved to sing, and I sang in youth chorus and in church choir when I was younger. I've always loved to listen to beautiful voices. When I was a child, I listened to Julie Andrews on my Mom's 'Sound of Music' soundtrack record, and as a young teen I listened to Luciano Pavaratti and Placido Domingo records. I love to listen to Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, Celine Dion, and others, from time to time.

I don't have a voice like that, but I have a nice voice, and the Lord has been showing me that it is to be used for Him. Two things have kept me from it. One is fear, but love for Him and for his people was casting that out. The second thing is a danger for all artistic people. Sensuality. King David was an artist, who loved beauty and was sensitive to the beauty of God. He also got distracted by the beauty of a woman because he was not where he should have been.

Since I've gotten interested in music again after being busy with other things for a long time, I have been listening to music on youtube alot: Contemporary Christian, and some classical singing, and celtic singing, etc.. I can't remember how I started listening to (and watching, since youtube is visual) some of the music I used to like in my college days. The difference is, in college I didn't watch the music, I just listened. I never watched MTV or music videos when I was young. I have always liked a few of Journey's love songs, but never knew much about the group and never saw photos or videos of them.

Here's where the big distraction came in. Not sensing the danger at first, I kept watching Steve Perry sing on youtube. He has an absolutely beautiful voice, which snagged me from the first. So I listened to the big voice instead of the still, small one. Not good. The problem was that the man looks as good as he sounds, and being human, and loving beauty, I pretty much got bowled over (Take my word for it, and DON'T go check it out). Didn't think it was possible; and didn't listen to the Lord; and here I was, almost not caring about what is really important any more.

Spring fever plays a part in my mood. Every year when spring comes there's a few days where I feel like I'm going to fly in pieces; took me this long to realize it's hormones. It must have been spring when King David was walking on that roof when he should have been at war. I obviously forgot to 'put on the armor of God', and that Christ said to 'Abide in Me'. I said before that I almost didn't care what is really important, but I do care, by the Lord's grace and mercy, so these passages are my prayer, especially this: Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.

1 John 1:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.

18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

Lord, please lead me back in the way You want me to go, and help me to always care about what You care about (And You already know, I've deleted the Steve Perry videos from my favorites on youtube). BY THE TIME ANYONE READS THIS, I WILL HAVE SHARED THIS WITH MY HUSBAND, WHO, SINCE I WAS SITTING ON THE COUCH NEXT TO HIM MANY TIMES WHILE WATCHING YOUTUBE, PROBABLY WAS NOT UNSUSPECTING. (Yes, I am an idiot sometimes. Ya'll pray for me.) Also, Lord, please help me to be obedient by Your grace and do the things You have called me to do rather than shrinking back in fear or getting distracted by the idols of this world. Amen.
NOTE: You're probably thinking "Jennie, get a life!" Admit it, you are. Well, my husband took me on a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas last week, so I'm feeling a whole lot better now. :)
UPDATE: I received the courage to tell our worship leader that I've been praying about joining the worship team and/or singing solos, and he said I could join them for practice and that they'd be glad to have another female voice. I'm rather scared, but I feel better to have done what the Lord is directing. Maybe it will help keep me off of youtube ;)

Bob Burridge: Loved By the Triune God

John Cullimore had a post about our love for God, and here Bob Burridge has a post about God's love for us.

John Cullimore: Married for the money--something worth reading

John Cullimore of "And now...it is your block of wood" has a great post to help Christians think about our love for God. Ow. Remember the greatest commandment?

Eddie's new book launches on April 12th!

My husband Eddie has written and published a novel titled 'I Called Him Dancer'. The novel was inspired by a song about the title character, written by Tom Webster and Tralena Walker. We heard them speak at a writer's guild meeting, where Tralena also sang the song 'Dancer'. We are having the official launch for the novel on April 12th to encourage as many people as possible to buy the book on Amazon.com that day, which will help the book move up in the ranks that day and get it noticed by more people.
'I Called Him Dancer' is a moving and exciting story about a homeless dancer who is changed by the God's love and the love of his high school sweetheart. All the reviews so far agree that the book is a page turner, and I think so too! Keep an eye out on April 12th for my announcement of the launch!

O THE DEEP, DEEP LOVE OF JESUS - Selah

Thank You Lord, for Your great love, that doesn't let go of me even when I go astray. Thank you for your gentle voice and hand that leads me back to your side. I love You.

Ash Wednesday: begins a time of repentance, fasting, and prayer

This is a little late, since Ash Wednesday is almost over, but I think it's a good time to remember that when we are tempted to sin, our response should be to look to our God in submission, and to repent of our sins, and to spend time contemplating our dependence upon Him as our Provider, Helper, and Savior. I've been struggling a bit this last few days, and I don't think it is a coincidence that I was reminded of my need for repentance and dependence upon God by being reminded several times of the coming of Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Following are some passages relating to fasting and repentance.

Matthew 4

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:


‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,’

and,


‘ In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Job 42

1 Then Job answered the LORD and said:

2 “I know that You can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.

3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

4 Listen, please, and let me speak;
You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’

5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.

6 Therefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.”

James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:


“ God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Daniel 9:3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. 6 Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.

Psalm 139: 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 51: 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.

Living Lovingly: Bob Burridge

Pastor Burridge has a really good post on 'Living Lovingly', which as I said a few days ago, is one of the most important things to learn in the Christian life.

Thoughts of Francis Turretin: Challenging Your Rome-Colored Glasses - Set Aside Your Anachronism

Here's an interesting post by Turretinfan. Basically, I think, helping to show that the Fathers were not Roman Catholics. Neither were they 'protestants' or 'evangelicals'. They were just themselves, and they, like us, were not perfect or infallible. I've only skimmed the comments there, but looks like there was a little spat going on based on a response by Scott to 'Natamallc'. I really like 'Nat' and he isn't easily annoyed, so hopefully it will be peacefully resolved.

Thoughts of Francis Turretin: Challenging Your Rome-Colored Glasses - Set Aside Your Anachronism

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Dutch Church History: Why Start a New Church?

Good post by James Swan:

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Dutch Church History: Why Start a New Church?

Lots of 'little' things going on

I haven't shared alot on the blog the last few weeks. For one thing I've been busy with life and had lots of little things going on that I didn't take time to share; mainly because I didn't know where to start. I should have been sharing as I went along, but hopefully I can get it all down here going forward. I say 'little things' but they may not be so little; maybe little steps leading to bigger things anyway. Even though I am often unfaithful and forgetful, God isn't. He has been leading me each step of the way.
One of the not-so-little things is that the Lord led me to start a ladies' prayer group at our small church. As I shared months ago, I was feeling kind of left out of things, and being shy, had a hard time connecting. The Lord called me, the most fearful one, to step out and lead in an area that was very much needed. I had been seeing the need of more intimate connection between the members of the body so that we could help each other and lift each other up in prayer and encouragement. That has been happening as we meet monthly to pray and also have an online prayer site to share daily needs. Our church is becoming a safe place for us to share our faults and problems and needs, and God is uniting us and helping us to love one another more deeply. This is a big answer to prayer for me. Thank you Lord!

If I have not love, I am nothing

1 Corinthians 13

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

God gives His people wonderful gifts. He first gives us salvation, the Holy Spirit, and the fellowship of the body of Christ (the church) to help us in this life. He gives us the gifts of the Holy Spirit to help us to fulfill the commands He has given us to make disciples and to love, encourage and uplift the body of Christ. The gifts of knowledge, prophecy (speaking God's word), and understanding, and many others, are great gifts and very necessary. However the greatest gift is also the one that Jesus taught as the greatest commandment, which He gave us here in Mark 12:29-31: “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” God's plan from before the beginnning of creation was to create a people who would have this law of love in their hearts and so live to glorify Him and love Him and one another. There is nothing more important than this.
God has been gradually teaching me this lesson over the last year or so, and probably longer. I've gotten side-tracked sometimes by the cares and distractions of this life, but He keeps bringing me back to it. For me, it takes the form of learning that any knowledge and understanding I may have (or think I have) is nothing compared to the love that He showed me and that He commands me to show to others. He also, by grace through the Holy Spirit, gives me the ability to love others, and I need to keep walking in that love in my daily life as I interact with my family, other believers, and all that I meet.
The second form it takes is a continuation of the first, that I must give of the gifts and talents He has given me to uplift the Body of Christ, not giving in to fear and timidity. One of my precious friends once said to someone "Don't be a blessing stealer!' She meant 'you need to share what God has given so we all can be blessed.' That stuck with me. So ya'll pray for me as I try to walk in love. And forgive me for when I haven't but instead have used knowledge as a way to puff myself up. God bless all who come here!

Colossians 2:4-15 As you have received Christ, so walk in Him

4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. 5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Three Exercises for the Soul: Bob Burridge

Bob Burridge of the Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies has a new blog post up about three spiritual exercises that believers should remember to practice daily. They are taken from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 which says: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I for one really needed that reminder.

You're Beautiful by Phil Wickham

Beautiful song about our beautiful Lord.

Sen. Rand Paul Opposes PATRIOT Act Renewal

Please contact your Senators to urge them to vote against the PATRIOT Act extensions. The House rammed through the extensions two days after an earlier vote had defeated them.

You can find your Senators here.

New Covenant Living: Americn Evangelicals Ignoring the Bible, Flocking To Dictatorial Pastors

New Covenant Living: Americn Evangelicals Ignoring the Bible, Flocking To Dictatorial Pastors

Here's a commentary by D.A. Carson posted by Jack at New Covenant Living. I'm going to have to read this one several times to take it all in, but on a first reading it seems right on target.

Shane & Shane - When I Think About The Lord

Love in the Bible: Bob Burridge

Bob Burridge of Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies has a new blog post up called 'Love in the Bible' that is very helpful. I've been learning about love and God's grace lately and have been praying for God to help me to show love to others, and to love Him more and show this in an obedient life. Jesus said that all the commandments of God are summed up in two commands: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. The Christian, as Pastor Burridge brings out, is equipped to obey these commands by God, but must learn to obey by God's grace in every area of our lives. As 1 Corinthians 13 teaches, love must pervade all our interactions, or all we do is worthless. God's plan from before the beginning of time, as revealed in Scripture, is for His people to be a people of love and glorify Him.

Evangeliku: Do We Need More?

Dr. Joseph Mizzi of Evangeliku has a new post up called 'Do We Need More?'

Sanctus Real - Forgiven

Here's a good song for when you're feeling like a mess. Here's my status from facebook this evening: "My Christmas tree is still up, I have hairballs on my carpet, and I'm grumpy; but my two youngest girls are going to bed happy, Natalie gave me a big smile, and Sophia said 'I love you Mama!' and gave me a hug." I could add alot more to that, and maybe I will later on, but for now I hope the song is uplifting.

Exchangedlife.com is moving

I have various posts that link to my husband's website, exchangedlife.com. Eddie is moving his studies from the old site to a new one, which is also called exchangedlife.com. While the transition is going on, the Bible studies can be found by going here and clicking on the link provided to the old site. Then click on 'Bible Studies' and scroll down to find the one desired.

Reading 'Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy' by Eric Metaxas

Last week I started reading 'Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy' by Eric Metaxas, while still also trying to finish up Thomas Merton's 'Seven Storey Mountain'. I hope to say more about both books. It's interesting to read them both close together and compare and contrast them. For instance, both men visited Harlem in the 30's (Bonhoeffer in 1930 and Merton later in 1939) and were very impacted by the conditions there, as well as by the presence of the church there. More later....

What is Reformed Theology? Bob Burridge

Here's another good post by Bob Burridge of the Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies. Following is a quote from the post:

The result of re-forming what was believe about God came to be called “Reformed Theology.” What had been accepted as fact was being poured back into the mold of Scripture to restore the original shape God had revealed in his written word....We have enough to deal with in working to understand what God tells us in his written word. We dare not presume upon those things which remain unrevealed. When human inventions distort what God has said we need to be reformers for our present age. All that we believe must be poured back into the mold God has given so that a purified theology comes out, a set of beliefs that are formed by nothing less than, nothing more than, what God has revealed to us in his word. That is what we mean by “Reformed Theology.”

Scripture was and is the mold that reforms our beliefs, after the fire of the Holy Spirit burns in our hearts and minds to melt down our hardened doctrines, and get rid of the dross of accumulated traditions.

A Lesson in Humility from 1 Peter 5:6 by Bob Burridge

I'm so glad I found Bob Burridge's blog and website. He has so much good to share from scripture. Today's blog post goes right along with yesterdays: We submit to God in order to resist temptation, and we humble ourselves and submit to God because of what He has done for us as He gives us grace to live as He commands.

How to Escape Temptation: Bob Burridge of the Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies

Pastor Burridge has posted a very helpful exhortation today about how to escape temptation.

Another good passage on escaping temptation and conquering sin:

James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:


“ God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

A Meaningful Life: Dr. Joe Mizzi of Evangeliku

Here's an encouraging reminder from Dr. Mizzi.

When It's Hard to Agree With God: Bob Burridge

Bob Burridge of Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies has a helpful new post up today about the confession of sin.

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Merry Christmas! Celebrate the Incarnation! Matthew 2:1-12

Here's a really good post by Ken at Beggars All:

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Merry Christmas! Celebrate the Incarnation! Matthew 2:1-12

'The Hope of the Whole World': John Cullimore

John Cullimore has a really good post up (he's had alot of good ones recently) called 'The Hope of the Whole World'. What John said about the treatment of an autistic boy, Neal, compared with how God entered our world, really struck me.

The Name of Jesus: Bob Burridge of Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies

Merry Christmas!!! Here's the latest post in 'The Truth About Christmas Series' called 'The Name of Jesus'.

Great God Of Wonders: Samuel Davies (1723-1761)

My old teacher Bob Burridge recommended this hymn by Samuel Davies, a preacher of the 18th century who was also a President of Princeton University. Pastor Burridge writes about Davies in this blog post.

Here are the lyrics for the entire hymn, which gives praise to God alone.

The Birth of Our Savior: Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies: Bob Burridge

My favorite 7th grade science/Bible/homeroom teacher, Mr. Burridge, has recently started a new website and foundation, the 'Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies'. On the Institute's blog, he has a series of articles about Christmas. Here is Part 8: The Birth of Our Savior, which again mentions 'upper room' (Greek 'kataluma') as the true translation of the place in which there was no room for Christ, rather than the traditional 'inn'. The article, and the others in the series, look at the Christmas story from the perspective of Scripture, removing the false impressions that have been added by years of tradition. I hope you will read this article and then take the time to read the others in the series, as I plan to.

Mr. Burridge is no longer a science teacher. After teaching for many years, he became pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church, Pinellas Park, Florida. Here is a page about the Institute and its founder.

Bigger and Better than Mary: Drunken Mystic blog

Here's a new post by Britt Mooney about the way God works, beginning with the physical and ending with the spiritual, saving the best for last, as He did when He turned the water into wine in John chapter 2.

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: An Evangelical Introduction to Church History (Part 2)

Here's a great post by Ken over at Beggars All:

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: An Evangelical Introduction to Church History (Part 2)

'The Seven Storey Mountain' by Thomas Merton: Divisions

Starting here in Thomas Merton's book 'The Seven Storey Mountain' Merton writes about part of the process of his conversion to Catholicism. He speaks about taking a class at Columbia from a professor named Dan Walsh, who was a visiting professor from Sacred heart College at Manhattanville. The class was on St. Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus. If you read at the link and go a few pages you'll get to the place where Merton admires Walsh for having

"the most rare and admirable virtue of being able to rise above the petty differences of schools and systems, and seeing Catholic philosophy in its wholeness, in its variegated unity, and it its true Catholicity. In other words, he was able to study St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure and Duns Scotus side by side, and to see them as complementing and reinforcing one another, as throwing diverse and individual light on the same truths from different points of view, and thus he avoided the evil of narrowing and restricting Catholic philosophy and theology to a single school, to a single attitude, a single system.
I pray to God that there may be raised up more like him in the Church and in our universities, because there is something stifling and intellectually deadening about textbooks that confine themselves to giving a superficial survey of the field of philosophy according to Thomist principles and then discard all the rest in a few controversial objections. Indeed, I think it a great shame and a danger of no small proportions, that Catholic philosophers should be trained in division against one another, and brought up to the bitterness and smallness of controversy: because this is bound to narrow their views and dry up the unction that should vivify all philosophy in their souls."

This is a very striking statement of Merton's, first of all because as a protestant it speaks to me of the stifling effect of sectarianism among protestants, who are subject to separation because of issues of philosophy, doctrine, and also of ecclesiastical structure, etc. There are valid reasons for separation, but in many cases I believe Christians allow differences and conflicts to come between when they should be learning from each other with forbearance and love. There are some differences that do not affect salvation and should not come between fellowship in the body of Christ, but these differences are often allowed to cause bitterness, pride, and broken fellowship in the body that should be united with Christ as our Head. Paul said in Ephesians 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Jesus said in John 15:16-17 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.
So, as Merton said about Catholicism, I believe many of protestantism's differing views could be seen as perspectives that can complement one another and lead us all into greater understanding and unity, rather than division, such as the sometimes rancorous division between Calvinists and Arminians, whose respective advocates have been known to regard one another as even being heretical.

Merton's words are striking, secondly, because of the admittance that there is sectarianism within Catholicism, between different philosophies, followings, and orders, which causes division and bitterness between them; as well as the idea that this adherence to one philosophy brings "the evil of narrowing and restricting Catholic philosophy and theology to a single school, to a single attitude, a single system." The latter criticism could be applied to the whole of Roman Catholicism itself, because the dogmatism of Rome has restricted 'Christian' doctrine and philosophy to its own tradition and made these traditions the only ones that can be accepted and believed in order for its members to be saved; for example, Catholics must accept the dogmas of transubstantiation, Papal infallibility, and the Marian doctrines in order to be considered in fellowship with the Church. This narrowing by Rome has caused division after division over the centuries by those believers who could not in conscience accept these dogmas. Yet these dogmas and others were not accepted or even thought of by the early church, which was taught to 'preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace' and knew how to do it in humility and love. Jesus taught in Matthew 18 that "offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes." In other words it could also say: sins that cause division must come, but woe to him by whom those sins come. Here's the whole passage, which then goes on to say that we must separate ourselves from what causes sin:

6 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
8 “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

The whole passage of Matthew 18 is talking about the body of Christ, and the 'little ones' Christ speaks of are not children, but those who have 'become as little children' by faith. If someone causes the little ones of God to stumble into sin, then woe to that person. The Reformers believed vehemently that the church of Rome was causing many little ones to stumble into idolatry, as well as preventing many from entering into the Kingdom of God by teaching a false gospel of works. The Reformers hoped to reform the church from within, but eventually were forced out by the Church itself and by their own consciences. The offenses of Rome caused a 'cutting off' in the body of Christ because one part of the body caused the other parts to sin.

Paul also taught in 1 Corinthians 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?....18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; 20 and again, “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. 23 And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
We Christians are too quick to puff ourselves up in our own supposed wisdom and look down upon others with differing perspectives as if they had nothing from God to give. We forget that all we have and all we know comes from God, and we have nothing that comes from ourselves. We were commanded to love one another in humility and patience, and we totally disregard that command given by the Apostle and by Christ our Lord Himself.
As a final note, I believe we can pursue unity with individual Catholics when we see the bond of common faith in the Spirit, though I can't see that unity with the Roman Church will ever be possible. An obstacle I encounter in fellowship with individual Catholics is that they have so completely accepted the idea that the RCC is the one true infallible church that they can't go very far in a reciprocal relationship where we can learn from each other, because they don't believe the Spirit and the Word speak directly to believers outside the magisterium, so that believers can exhort one another; nor can they believe that the true church is not the RCC, but consists of a remnant all over the world inside and outside of the many church organizations.

"What must I do to be saved?"

Dr. Joe Mizzi on 'What must I do to be saved?' (Come to Jesus!)

Charles Spurgeon's testimony: "Look, look, look! You have nothing to do but look and live!"

Jesus on salvation: John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

Sophia's Nativity Picture

My 6 year old daughter came to me last night and showed me this picture she had drawn: so adorable, beautiful, and sweet.

Psalm 147: "He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes"

Praise the Lord!

For it is good to sing praises to our God;

For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.

2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted

And binds up their wounds.

4 He counts the number of the stars;

He calls them all by name.

5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;

His understanding is infinite.

6 The Lord lifts up the humble;

He casts the wicked down to the ground.

7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

Sing praises on the harp to our God,

8 Who covers the heavens with clouds,

Who prepares rain for the earth,

Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

9 He gives to the beast its food,

And to the young ravens that cry.

10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse;

He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.

11 The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,

In those who hope in His mercy.

12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

13 For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;

He has blessed your children within you.

14 He makes peace in your borders,

And fills you with the finest wheat.

15 He sends out His command to the earth;

His word runs very swiftly.

16 He gives snow like wool;

He scatters the frost like ashes;

17 He casts out His hail like morsels;

Who can stand before His cold?

18 He sends out His word and melts them;

He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.

19 He declares His word to Jacob,

His statutes and His judgments to Israel.

20 He has not dealt thus with any nation;

And as for His judgments, they have not known them.

Praise the Lord!

It’s a Secret: Eddie Snipes

It’s a Secret

Here's a Christmas commentary on my husband's blog.

Thoughts of Francis Turretin: Puritan Gem of the Day

Thoughts of Francis Turretin: Puritan Gem of the Day

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: “No coincidence that the first works of papal history are fictitious accounts written by the popes”

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: “No coincidence that the first works of papal history are fictitious accounts written by the popes”

Casting Crowns God is With Us

Here's another great song by Casting Crowns. They have a great gift of sharing the old, old story in a way that makes it newly meaningful.

Casting Crowns - I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day Live

I love this version of 'I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day' by Casting Crowns!

Celtic Woman - Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring (live)

Here is some more lovely Christmas music to enjoy!

Amazing Grace - Mark O'Connor

I'm on a music spree, so here's another beautiful song for you to enjoy!

Hebrew for Christians website: Really neat!

Here is a neat website called Hebrew for Christians, which I have linked to once before when I accidentally came upon it in an online search about Joshua the son of Nun. 'Nun' is one of the Hebrew letters, so it came up in my search, and I posted the page for it here. The author has done amazing work to share with us the richness of the Hebrew language. Even each letter is rich with meaning. I encourage you to read through some of the pages on each letter of the 'aleph-bet'. The author, John Parsons, also has much free downloadable teaching material for homeschool or for adult students, as well as some materials for purchase.

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

Several people have shared this video in the last few days, so I thought I would post it for you to enjoy. I hope everyone is having a blessed Christmas season!

The Light Came to the World: Dr. Joe Mizzi

Dr. Joe Mizzi has a good post up called 'The Light Came to the World'.

Lord, I Am Your Child: Sharon Lee Beavers

Here's a beautiful song written and performed by Sharon Lee Beavers(Gianuzzi), our Koinonia home school co-op music teacher:

"He waters the hills from His upper rooms"

I posted a few days ago on an Answers in Genesis article called "Born in a Barn?, which states that the word translated as 'inn' in Luke 2:7 is actually the Greek word for 'upper room'; the same word that is used in referring to the room where Jesus met with His disciples. It is a guest room, considered the best room in the house. It stated also that Mary and Joseph may have been planning to stay at a relative's home, but that since there were so many people coming to Bethlehem for the census, that the guest room was full, and Mary and Joseph were staying in the lower room where the animals were sometimes brought if it was very cold outside. The other day, while I was continuing to read Thomas Merton's 'Seven Storey Mountain', Merton quoted from Psalm 104, which in the Douay-Rheims version says "Thou waterest the hills from thy upper rooms: the earth shall be filled with the fruit of thy works." This of course brought to mind the 'upper room' in the gospels and in the article. What an amazing parallel, that God waters the lower rooms, the earth, sending His goodness down from the highest place to the lowest place. As was brought out in an earlier thread, water always flows downward to the lowest place it can reach, and seeps down into the ground to refresh it. This is what God did when He sent His Son to earth. There was no room for Him in the upper room, but He came to the lower room to bring us life, and He said "In My Father’s house are many mansions [rooms]; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." "Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation!" Psalm 68:19

Psalm 133

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore.

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: An Evangelical Introduction to Church History

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: An Evangelical Introduction to Church History

Unity and the Roman Catholic Church

Here's an interesting post on unity from Paul Pavao, basically saying unity comes from believers enacting love within the local church.


Unity and the Roman Catholic Church

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: A word about "intellectual converts"

Interesting post; both the post and the comments mention things that coincide with impressions I've gotten about the RCC and 'converts vs. cradle Catholics'.

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: A word about "intellectual converts"

Answers in Genesis: Born in a Barn?

Here's an interesting article on the Answers in Genesis website about whether or not scripture says Jesus was born in a stable.

Evangeliku: Dr. Joe Mizzi: Who do you say that I am?

Here is a recent post by Dr. Joe Mizzi on his blog, Evangeliku.

Eddie's Word Turnings: Death of a Christmas Tradition

Here is a link to a short story written by my husband Eddie. It has nothing to do with the normal subject of this blog, but it made me laugh alot, so I thought I'd share it for you to enjoy.

Eddie's Word Turnings: Death of a Christmas Tradition

Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton: Still Reading!

I've finished part two of 'Seven Storey Mountain' and have gotten into part three. It's going to be a difficult task to give a review of this book, since there is so much in it that I could comment on. I'm going to try to just give excerpts and comment on them from time to time as I read. There are things I can relate to and agree with in Merton's story of conversion, and then there are things I definitely disagree with, so reading this book has been a very odd experience, since to me it feels like Merton is being influenced by two separate parties which sometimes coincide with one another and sometimes oppose one another: God and Catholicism; specifically, on one side I see God and Scripture and on the other side I see Catholic philosophy, history, and devotion to 'the Mother of God'. Catholics will see no contradiction between these influences, but going with Merton's own description of entering into the 'wilderness' like the Israelites following Moses, I believe he, like all Christians, encountered the same trials and temptations that the Israelites did and, again like all Christians, succombed to some of them. I would count Merton's devotion to Mary as one of those temptations. Merton is very critical of protestantism in this book and probably considered that protestants have fallen into certain of these temptations too. We are so able to see others' failings, but not our own so easily. If only we could listen to one another humbly, and give exhortation in love, we could learn so much. I wonder what he would say about me, for instance. My book is at home and I'm not, so I'll have to post some excerpts later on and comment on them.

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Scott Windsor (3): Defense of the Papacy from the Early Church

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Scott Windsor (3): Defense of the Papacy from the Early Church

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Built on Sinking Sand: The “Scriptural” Foundation for the Papacy (2)

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Built on Sinking Sand: The “Scriptural” Foundation for the Papacy (2)

Here is Part One.

Home Living Blog: Thanksgiving

Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving, by Jennie Brownscomb


Here's an interesting post on Lady Lydia's 'Home Living' Blog about the Mayflower Pilgrims. Lady Lydia posted an article written by Richard J. Maybury called "Why the Pilgrims Starved and Then Prospered".

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving with help from some Catholic Pilgrims from Roman, Inc.. I've been trying to find a pretty set of Pilgrims for years. Why is it that the best ones are made by a Catholic company? It's kind of ironic to have Mayflower Pilgrims, who were Calvinist protestants, made by a Roman Catholic company, but then, maybe they can represent both sides of my heritage. My Italian-American Catholic family always loved thanksgiving, and they would serve lazagna first, and then bring out the turkey and dressing! Have a great day!

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

My youngest daughter Abigail, who is three, was dancing and singing along to the Koinonia High School advanced class dance "You are Worthy" and she started singing enthusiastically "You are Woody, you are Woody, you are Woody!!!" After I stopped laughing and wiped my eyes, I explained to her that the word was 'worthy' and what it meant. I'm not sure she understood or even listened, since she and her sisters were all excited about practicing their dances for a program tomorrow night. I may have to do some more explaining on that one. Kind of goes along with the kid who thought a certain hymn title was "Gladly the Cross-eyed Bear".

The Resurrection of the Body: Visits to Candyland

Here is an interesting subject posted by Kelly at Visits to Candyland blog.

"Yea, doh I walk fru da vawey of dah sadow of deaf, I wiw feew no ebooh."

Here's a video someone posted on facebook of a little girl reciting the 23rd Psalm. Her way of speaking makes it so memorable that I think we should all remember it this way when we need it some day, as if we are a little child speaking to our Father and Shepherd.

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: “We are the Church” according to Calvin, and it is Rome that needs to repent and return to the truth

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: “We are the Church” according to Calvin, and it is Rome that needs to repent and return to the truth

The Pilgrim Church: The Conversion of Augustine

Here's another excerpt from 'The Pilgrim Church' by E.H. Broadbent, about the conversion of Augustine, which sounds similar to the conversion stories of St. Patrick (who was not Roman Catholic, but came from the Celtic line which descended from very early evangelism in the British Isles) and of Charles Spurgeon.

One of the great figures of history meets us at this period, Augustine (354-430),[17] whose teachings have left an indelible mark on all succeeding ages. In his voluminous writings and especially in his "Confessions", Augustine reveals himself in so intimate a way as to give the impression of being an acquaintance and a friend. A native of Numidia, he describes his early surroundings, thoughts, and impressions. His saintly mother, Monica, lives again in his pages as we read of her
prayers for him, of her early hopes, and of her later sorrow as he grew up in a sinful manner of life, of her faith in his eventual salvation, strengthened by a vision and by the wise counsel of Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. His father was more concerned for his material, worldly advancement.

Though seeking light he found himself hopelessly bound by a sinful, self-indulgent life. For a time he thought he had found deliverance in Manichaeism, but soon perceived its inconsistency and weakness. He was affected by the preaching of Ambrose, but yet found no peace. When he was 32 years of age and was employed as a teacher of rhetoric in Milan, he had reached a desperate state of distress, and
then, to use his own words: "I flung myself down, how I know not, under a certain fig-tree, giving free course to my tears.... I sent up these sorrowful cries, 'How long, how long? To-morrow and to-morrow? Why not now? Why is there not this hour an end to my uncleanness?' I was saying these things and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when lo, I heard the voice as of a boy or girl, I know not which, coming from a neighbouring house and oft repeating, 'Take up and read, take up and read.' Immediately my countenance was changed, and I began most earnestly to consider whether it was usual for children in any kind of game to sing such words, nor could I remember ever to have heard the like. So, restraining the torrent of my tears, I rose up, interpreting it no other way than as a command to me from Heaven to open the book, and to read the first chapter I should light upon.... I grasped,
opened, and in silence read that paragraph on which my eyes first fell--'Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.' No further would I read, nor did I need, for instantly, as the sentence ended--by a light, as it were, of security infused into my heart--all gloom of doubt vanished away."

This, his conversion, caused the greatest joy, but no surprise, to his praying mother Monica, who, as they were returning to Africa a year later, died in peace. Augustine was baptised by Ambrose in Milan (387) and became later Bishop of Hippo (now Bona) in North Africa (395).

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Tying up some loose ends from yesterday: "The one true church"

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Tying up some loose ends from yesterday: "The one true church"

Finished part one of 'Seven Storey Mountain'

I finally have got through part one of Merton's 'Seven Storey Mountain'. So far it has been a long and depressing story because of the aimless selfishness of his early years. I know that his conversion to Catholicism is coming soon, but I don't know what else to expect. In part one, Merton did bring out some insights that were interesting and helpful from a human standpoint. Here's one quote from fairly early in the book:

Indeed, the truth that many people never understand until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you, in proportion to your fear of being hurt. The one who does most to avoid suffering is, in the end, the one who suffers most: and his suffering comes to him from things so little and so trivial that one can say that it is no longer objective at all. It is his own existence, his own being, that is at once the subject and the source of his pain, and his very existence and consciousness is his greatest torture. This is another of the great perversions by which the devil uses our philosophies to turn our whole nature inside out, and eviscerate all our capacities for good, turning them against ourselves.

That isn't necessarily a spiritual insight, but it is an observation that I can relate to. As someone that has suffered from depression since I was small, and used to suffer acute anxiety as well; and as someone who is often way over-sensitive and has tried for most of my life to escape from and avoid pain and discomfort, I can see the truth of Merton' statement. Maybe he learned this truth from personal experience as well. This attitude of escaping from pain comes from selfishness and unbelief; from a lack of faith or trust in God's goodness, and that He works for the good of those who put their trust in Him. This is something that God has been showing me for a long time, little by little, to help me trust in Him more and more. I'm learning to 'trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.'

More to come....

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: The Reformation was not a "day", but an increase in understanding, caused by the opening of the Scriptures.

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: The Reformation was not a "day", but an increase in understanding, caused by the opening of the Scriptures.

Finished 'Choosing to SEE' by Mary Beth Chapman

Last week I finished reading 'Choosing to SEE' by Mary Beth Chapman, who, as many know, is the wife of Christian recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman. It is an amazing story, very uplifting, though as one might imagine, very difficult to read when Mary Beth relates the story of their child's death and the aftermath. The story has many funny moments as well.
The main themes of the story are the goodness and faithfulness of God; God's grace in our weakness and trouble; God's plans are usually not the same as ours, so we may find ourselves doing the things we said we'd never do; and God brings good out of what the enemy means for evil.
Mary Beth writes very candidly about her feelings, faults, weakness, and troubles, as well as the triumphs that come when she and her family look to God and trust in Him for their help and strength. She also writes about the strength and help that come from the body of Christ when others pray and help and weep with those who weep. Another theme is revealed towards the very end of the book and I won't say what it is, but God truly brings beauty from ashes in this family's story, which is the theme of one of Steven Curtis's songs that came out of Maria's death.
Mary Beth also writes quite a bit about the adoptions of her three daughters from China, and about the way that God changed her during the process; also about the new children's home, Maria's Big House of Hope, that was built and dedicated recently in China, as one of the ministries of Show Hope, the adoption grant organization founded by the Chapmans.

Pray for Haiti: Cholera Outbreak!

Haiti is having a cholera outbreak which began abut 2 days ago and has already claimed over 150 lives.

Pray for the people, the government, the missionaries, the aid workers, and the medical workers in Haiti. Pray for the body of Christ there; pray that God will bring spiritual and physical healing as people cry out to Him, that God will be glorified, and the gospel will go out clearly. Pray that God will call, equip, and send laborers into the fields.

Here's a link to the 'Bakers in Haiti' blog with a little more info: http://ourlifeinhaiti.blogspot.com/2010/10/cholera-outbreak.html

The Invocation of Saints: Dr. Joseph Mizzi

Here's a new post by Dr. Joseph Mizzi of 'Evangeliku' blog, comparing the way Catholics may pray to Mary and the saints to how one might ask a fellow Christian to pray or intercede.

Quote and passage from 'Choosing to SEE' by Mary Beth Chapman

Quoted in Mary Beth Chapman's book 'Choosing to SEE': May this be your experience: may you feel that the Hand which inflicts the wound supplies the balm, and that He who has emptied your heart has filled the void with Himself. James Hudson Taylor


Psalm 40:
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.

Hurray! I got a Kindle for my birthday!

My husband gave me a Kindle for my birthday yesterday, and put 'Choosing to SEE' by Mary Beth Chapman on it for me, so I'll be starting to read it today. I'm still working on 'Seven Storey Mountain' by Thomas Merton. It's very long and I haven't gotten to his conversion yet. The early part of his life is pretty depressing, since he lived such an aimless and selfish life, and was moved around so much by his family; then he traveled around alot by himself in his later teens and early twenties without any direction. I'll try to comment soon about some of the things I've seen so far that are interesting or helpful.

Matt Redman - You Alone Can Rescue

'The Torch of the Testimony': 'Crystalized tradition' vs. the life of the Spirit

'The Torch of the Testimony' by John W. Kennedy is similar in message to 'The Pilgrim Church' and lists 'The Pilgrim Church' in its bibliography. Kennedy also begins his book with a description of the synagogue system as it relates to the early church. In the first chapter after discussing the synagogues, he relates the story of Stephen as an example of how 'crystalized tradition' such as that of the Jews is a barrier to the life of the Spirit. I believe this was what Jesus was speaking of in Matthew 9 when He said: "Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." The Jews had the word of God, but they had taken it and 'crystalized' it into a tradition that actually hampered the work of the Holy Spirit and 'made the word of God of no effect' in their hearts. Their own ideas about the word were outside of the true Spirit of the word. Here is an excerpt from chapter one of 'The Torch of the Testimony':

One of the believers in Jerusalem was a Greek speaking Jew named Stephen. We first meet Stephen as one of the seven deacons appointed to look after the needs of a section of the church which, it was alleged, was being unfairly neglected. It is soon a parent, however, that Stephen was also a gifted teacher and preacher with a particularly sharp, God-given insight into some of the implications of the Gospel as touching Jewish tradition (Acts 6 : 10). In one of the Jewish synagogues he preached a sermon which so stirred up the hot-head champions of Jewish orthodoxy, that he was seized and arraigned before the Sanhedrin on a charge of blasphemy.

The outline of Stephen's sermon is preserved for us in Acts 7. What was the main burden of his message? It was simply this, that the old, Jewish sacrificial order was destined from the beginning to pass away, and the time had now come for itsdeparture. With the revelation of Christ, all the traditional trappings of the Temple had become obsolete, and there could be no reconciliation of the two orders. Life and tradition could not carry on side by side. Judaism as it was could not contain Christ; it would have to give way to Christ or die a spiritual death in isolation. Stephen points out that the transitory nature of the traditional, sacrificial system was symbolized in the impermanence of the tabernacle, and that the building of a permanent structure in the Temple was out of accord with God's ideal (Acts 7 : 44-50). It is true that God honoured the devotion with which the Temple was built, but it was, nevertheless, man's idea (I Chron. 17 : 1), while the tabernacle was erected on the specific command of God Himself (Ex. 25: 8).

It is noteworthy that there was one eminent disciple of Gamaliel whose devotion to his master did not extend to accepting his master's advice of moderation in dealing with the followers of Christ. That disciple's name was Saul. The sentence passed upon Stephen met with his full approval. "And Saul was consenting unto his death " (Acts 8: 1). Saul, or Paul, as he was afterwards to be called, totally rejected Stephen's claim that Jesus was the Christ in whom all the law and the offerings were fulfilled, but he plainly recognized that, if Stephen's claim were fact, it would mean an end to all the tradition in which he had been nurtured, and for which he was so zealous. In the light of Saul of Tarsus' future ministry, it is of interest to see how, in his tacit compliance with the condemnation of Stephen, there was an awareness, probably shared at that time by few if any of the disciples themselves, that this new movement, the church, could not be confined within the limits of Judaism. Separation was inevitable.

Theoretically, it might be maintained that the synagogue could have become the church, but practically this was never the case. No doubt, as has already been shown, the synagogue, being free from the sacrificial ritual of the Temple and with the Scriptures as central to its life, was in a position to accept Christ as the fulfillment of the Word of God without having to undergo quite such a radical upheaval as such an acceptance would have occasioned in the life of the Temple, but it was never likely that a ruling majority of the synagogue adherents would accept this. Loyalty to the orthodox, Jewish tradition was too strong and too deep-seated to be thus rooted out. The Spirit of God had to' move elsewhere to start on fresh and more free ground. We see here but the beginning of a pattern of events which is repeated over and over again through the history of the church. When that which is revealed of God is crystallized into a tradition, rigidly held and propagated with purely human energy, it becomes an impenetrable barrier to the truth. The life of the Spirit can never be confined within the framework of religious tradition. God is much greater than man's thoughts concerning Him, and the plant of the church grows best in a soil uncluttered by the pretty hedgerows of man's limited understanding.

When that which is revealed of God is crystallized into a tradition, rigidly held and propagated with purely human energy, it becomes an impenetrable barrier to the truth. I've used the phrase 'crystalized tradition' myself when talking about traditions that I've seen in protestant and Catholic teachings. The main doctrine that showed me this principle and made me think of the phrase 'crystalized tradition (or doctrine)' is that of Calvinism, though there are many more examples that could be used. The principles of Calvinism come from the seeds of truth in scripture, but the doctrines that we call Calvinism are an extrapolation from these scriptural truths that are then hardened or crystalized into a doctrine that ignores some other parts of scripture and so becomes a barrier to truth and to unity in the body of Christ. We need to be forbearing with each other's differences that come from incomplete understanding of scripture, because we all have an incomplete understanding and can learn from each other if we exercise patience and love. It's one thing if the differences come from faith with an incomplete understanding, and another thing if the differences come from error and unbelief. I think, for example, that both Calvinists and Arminians are coming from love of God and His word, and from faith, so we should all exercise forbearance and love toward those in the body of Christ, as God commands us.

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Oscar Cullmann on the relationship between oral tradition and the canon of the New Testament, part 2

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Oscar Cullmann on the relationship between oral tradition and the canon of the New Testament, part 2

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Oscar Cullmann on the relationship between oral tradition and the canon of the New Testament, part 1

Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Oscar Cullmann on the relationship between oral tradition and the canon of the New Testament, part 1

'The Pilgrim Church': The Union of Church and State

Here's an excerpt from 'The Pilgrim Church' by E.H. Broadbent in which we see the church uniting with the Roman State and then the fall of Rome:

This second period of the history of some of the churches, beginning with Constantine's edict of toleration in 313, is of lasting importance because it exhibits the experiment on a large scale, of the union of Church and State. Could the Church, by union with the world, save it?

The Roman world[16] had reached its greatest power and glory. Civilization had attained to the utmost of which it was capable apart from the knowledge of God. Yet the misery of the world was extreme. The luxury and vice of the rich were boundless; a vast proportion of the people were slaves. The public exhibitions, where the sight of every kind of wickedness and cruelty amused the populace, deepened the degradation. There was still vigour at the extremities of the Empire, in conflict with surrounding enemies, but disease at the heart threatened the life of the whole body, and Rome was helplessly corrupt and vicious.

As long as the Church had remained separate it had been a powerful witness for Christ in the world, and was constantly drawing converts into its holy fellowship. When, however, already weakened by the adoption of human rule in place of the guidance of the Spirit, it was suddenly brought into partnership with the State, it became itself defiled and debased. Very soon the clergy were competing for lucrative
positions and for power as shamelessly as the court officials, while, in congregations where a godless element predominated, the material advantages of a profession of Christianity changed the purity of the persecuted churches into worldliness. The Church was thus powerless to stem the downward course of the civilised world into corruption.

Ominous clouds, threatening judgment, were gathering. In distant China movements of the population, setting westward, led to a great migration of the Huns, who crossed the Volga, and, pressing upon the Goths in what is now Russia, forced them on to the frontiers of the Empire, which was by this time divided; the Eastern part, or Byzantine Empire, having Constantinople as its capital, and the Western, Rome. The Germanic or Teutonic nations came out of their forests. Pressed by the Mongol hordes
from the East, and attracted by the wealth and weakness of the Empire, Goths (divided into Eastern and Western under the names of Ostrogoths and Visigoths) and Germanic peoples such as the Franks, Vandals, Burgundians, Suevi, Heruli, and others, broke like the waves of some resistless flood over the doomed civilization of Rome. In one year great provinces such as Spain and Gaul were destroyed. The inhabitants, long accustomed to peace, congregated mostly in the cities for the sake of the ease and pleasure afforded there, saw the armies which had so long guarded their frontiers disappear; the cities were wiped out, and a cultivated and luxurious population, which had avoided the discipline of military training, was massacred or enslaved by Pagan barbarians. Rome itself was captured by the Goths under Alaric (410), and that great city was plundered and desolated by barbarian hosts. In 476 the Western Roman Empire came to an end, and in the vast regions where it had so long reigned, new kingdoms began to grow up. The Eastern part of the Empire continued, until, in 1453, nearly a thousand years later, Constantinople was captured by the Mohammedan.

"The Pilgrim Church": The Council of Nicea, The Canon of Scripture

Here's another excerpt from "The Pilgrim Church" by E.H. Broadbent, from page 20-22 in the online book:
The prominence of the Bishops and especially of the Metropolitans in the Catholic churches made for ease in communication between the Church and the civil authorities. Constantine himself, while retaining the old imperial dignity of chief priest of Pagan religion, assumed that of arbitrator of the Christian churches. The Church and the State quickly became closely associated, and it was not long before the power of the State was at the disposal of those who had the lead in the Church, to enforce their decisions. Thus the persecuted soon became persecutors.

In later times those churches which, faithful to the Word of God, were persecuted by the dominant Church as heretics and sects, frequently refer in their writings to their entire dissent from the union of Church and State in the time of Constantine and of Sylvester, then bishop in Rome. They trace their continuance from primitive Scriptural churches in unbroken succession from Apostolic times, passing unscathed through the period when so many churches associated themselves with the worldly
power, right down to their own day. For all such, persecution was soon renewed, but instead of coming from the Pagan Roman Empire it came from what claimed to be the Church wielding the power of the Christianised State.

The Donatists being very numerous in North Africa and having retained, or restored, much of the Catholic type of organisation among themselves, were in a position to appeal to the Emperor in their strife with the Catholic party, and this they soon did. Constantine called together many bishops of both parties and gave his decision
against the Donatists, who were then persecuted and punished; but this did not allay the strife, which continued until all together were blotted out by the Mohammedan invasion in the seventh century.

The first general council of the Catholic churches was summoned by Constantine and met at Nicaea in Bithynia (325). The principal question before it was that of the doctrine taught by Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria, who maintained that the Son of God was a created Being, the first and greatest, but yet, consequently, not on an equality with the Father. Over 300 bishops were present, with their numerous attendants, from all parts of the Empire, to examine this matter, and the Council was opened in great state by Constantine. A number of the bishops present bore in their bodies marks of the tortures which they had endured in the time of persecution. With two dissentients, the Council decided that the teaching of Arius was false, that it had not been the teaching of the Church from the beginning, and the Nicene Creed was framed to express the truth of the real Divine Nature of the Son and His equality with the Father.

Although the decision reached was right, the way of reaching it, by the combined efforts of the Emperor and the bishops, and of enforcing it, by the power of the State, manifested the departure of the Catholic church from the Scripture. Two years after the Council of Nicaea Constantine, altering his view, received Arius back from exile, and in the reign of his son Constantius all the bishoprics were filled by Arian bishops; the Government, now become Arian, persecuted the Catholics as formerly it had done the Arians.

One of those in high places, moved neither by popular clamour nor by the threats or flatteries of the authorities was Athanasius. As a young man he had taken part in the Council of Nicaea and afterwards became Bishop of Alexandria. For nearly fifty years, though repeatedly exiled, he maintained a valiant witness to the true divinity of the Saviour. Slandered, brought up before tribunals, taking refuge in the desert, returning to the city, nothing shook his advocacy of the truth he believed. Arianism lasted nearly three centuries as the state religion in a number of countries, especially in the later established Northern kingdoms. The Lombards in Italy were the last to abandon it as the national religion.

Not only the first, but the first six General Councils, of which the last was held in 680, were occupied to a large extent with questions as to the Divine Nature, the relations of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the course of endless discussions, creeds were hammered out and dogmas enunciated in the hope that the truth would by them be fixed and could then be handed down to succeeding generations. It is noticeable that in the Scriptures this method is not used. From them we see that the mere letter cannot convey the truth, which is spiritually
apprehended, neither can it be handed from one to another, but each one must receive and appropriate it for himself in his inward dealings with God, and be established in it by confessing and maintaining it in the conflict of daily life.

It is sometimes supposed that Scripture is not sufficient for the guidance of the churches without the addition of, at least, early tradition, on the ground that it was by the early Church councils that the canon of Scripture was fixed. This of course could only refer to the New Testament. The peculiar characteristics and unique history of the people of Israel fitted them to receive the Divine revelation, to recognise the inspired writings, and to preserve them with an invincible pertinacity and accuracy. And with regard to the New Testament, the canon of inspired books was not fixed by the Church councils, it was acknowledged by the councils because it had already been clearly indicated by the Holy Spirit, and accepted by the churches generally, and this indication and acceptance has ever since been confirmed by every comparison of the canonical with the apocryphal and non-canonical books, the difference in value and power being evident.

Grace and gifts come through Christ, our Intercessor, who will come again for us

Romans 8:31-34 If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

1 Corinthians 1:3-7 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

'The Pilgrim Church': The Epistle to Diognetus

Here's another excerpt from 'The Pilgrim Church' by E.H. Broadbent, from chapter one, starting on page 16 of the online book:
Amidst the confusion of conflicting parties there were true teachers, able and eloquent in directing souls in the way of salvation. One, whose name is unknown, writing in the second century to an inquirer named Diognetus,[14] sets himself to answer the questions asked as to the mode of worshipping God among the Christians, the reason of their faith and devotion towards God and love to one another, why they neither worshipped the gods of the Greeks nor followed the Jewish religion, and
why this new practice of piety had only so late entered into the world.

He writes "Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language", living in such places "as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if
foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers.... They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives ... they are reviled and bless".
Then, speaking of God, he says, He, "who is almighty, the Creator of all things, ... has sent from heaven, and placed among men, Him who is the truth, and the holy and
incomprehensible Word, and has firmly established Him in their hearts. He did not, as one might have imagined, send to men any ... angel, or ruler, ... but the very Creator and Fashioner of all things--by whom He made the heavens--by whom He enclosed the sea within its proper bounds"--whom the stars obey. "This messenger He sent to them.... As a king sends his son, who is also a king, so sent He Him; as God He sent Him; as to men He sent Him; as a Saviour He sent Him." Not as judging us
He sent Him, though "He will yet send Him to judge us, and who shall endure His appearing?" As to the delay in sending the Saviour, God has always been the same, but waited in His long-suffering. He had "formed in His mind a great and unspeakable conception, which He communicated to His Son alone." As long as He concealed His own wise counsel He appeared to neglect us, but this was to make it manifest that of ourselves we cannot enter into the kingdom of God. But when the appointed time had
come, "He Himself took on Him the burden of our iniquities, He gave His own Son as a ransom for us, the Holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the corruptible, the immortal One for them that are mortal. For what other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? By what other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only Son of God? O sweet
exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation! that the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors!"

Finally getting somewhere in reading 'The Pilgrim Church'

I've had a copy of 'The Pilgrim Church' (by E.H. Broadbent) since last Christmas, but until this week I only got a few chapters into it, even though the subject is very interesting to me. I am now about 2 thirds through it and I think it's an amazing perspective on church history which everyone interested in the subject should read, even if they don't agree with the doctrinal and theological perspective of the author. The book is very well documented, and gives many quotes and stories of men, and some women, who were great influences in the churches throughout the centuries in different regions, mainly Europe.
In reading the different thoughts of the men described and quoted, I see that I am most in agreement with the oldest forms of Baptists and those the author refers to as 'the Brethren', as opposed to the mainline protestant denominations. Also, the modern Baptists have only surface resemblance to those earlier believers and congregations. That is why when I first started blogging I hesitated to call myself 'protestant' because technically the Baptist beliefs and denominations did not come out from Roman Catholicism, though some of the people who became Baptists came out of it; the Baptist beliefs came from groups that existed at different times parallel to Roman Catholicism, and also the beliefs come straight from Scripture and not as remnants of Roman Catholic practices, as some protestant practices are. I use the term 'protestant' out of convenience only.
It's very interesting to see how similar the perspective of the author is to mine, in that he recognizes believers in all denominations, also seeing their strengths and weaknesses as groups. Also in that churches should not be united with the state and have temporal power; and should allow freedom of conscience for all believers, and encourage forebearance among believers toward each other's differences in doctrine if the doctrines are not against the truth of scripture.
More to come....

Isaiah 55

1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The sure mercies of David.
4 Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,
A leader and commander for the people.
5 Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the LORD your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.”
6 Seek the LORD while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the LORD,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “ For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the LORD for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”