February 2012
5 posts
The Apocalypse-the definitive view.
The book of Revelation, quipped Ambrose Bierce, is “a famous book in which St. John the Divine concealed all that he knew. The revealing is done by the commentators, who know nothing.” And G. K. Chesterton wrote, “Though St. John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.”
-Carl E. Olson from...
Being Led or are you just waiting to find out if...
I like to ask God to lead me, too. I’d be happy if his wisdom would get around to recognizing the raise and promotion I could use. But the more serious I get about being led, the seamier the conditions into which he leads me. Unlike Gideon I’ve never thrown out a sheepskin, but an old 40% cashmere sweater did once follow the dewpoint exactly — and besides, the cats got at it. Signs ain’t...
“Forgiveness flounders because I exclude the enemy from the community of humans...”
– ― Miroslav Volf
Race, idols and savings.
Tim Keller quoted in a Christianity Today article, here:
People look at people who are different and see them as inferior and deserving of their problems. It’s a way of feeling better than others, because our hearts don’t want to rest in the gospel of grace. Power is another idol, because justice requires being involved with people of other races and sharing power with...
“Our business is to present the Christian faith clothed in modern terms, not to...”
– -J. I. Packer
January 2012
3 posts
“If you believe you are saved by your works, you will look down on the poor. If...”
– -Tim Keller
Watchtylermiller:
A new song in formation.
honestly been in a blessed but dry season these past months. I have had to keep my head down and keep on trucking ahead. I am learning, I trust, how to swim against the current of emotion when necessary and lean into truth. The Lord has been constant and stable through my journey from atlanta to CA to Chicago, though life has felt anything but stable most...
“Making disciples is trying. It is messy, It is slow, tedious, even painful at...”
– -David Platt
December 2011
5 posts
Meet the Witch of St. Kilda. No, really.
I love Walton Ford’s watercolors. They combine the detail of an Audubon painting with a certain subversive humor that I find compelling. One of my favorites is titled, “The Witch of St. Kilda,” of the recently extinct Giant Auk. The story below, despite sounding rather fantastic and, given the fairly modern date, completely ridiculous, is entirely true.
The tale that comes down...
Gossip or Blood sports at Church.
Gossip, the Christian’s favorite past time. It’s usually couched as sharing vital information for the building up or the protection of others; code word, “sharing in love.” This sharing though, destroys instead of protects and the end result is not a feeling of safety. It also doesn’t sound much like Galations 6 where Paul tells us to, “Bear one another’s ...
How I love Chesterton.
Excerpted from G.K. Chesterton’s book, Heretics:
But they only affect that small minority which will accept any virtue of courage. Most healthy people dismiss these moral dangers as they dismiss the possibility of bombs or microbes. Modern realists are indeed Terrorists, like the dynamiters; and they fail just as much in their effort to create a thrill. Both realists and dynamiters are...
only a beginning: Hope vs. Entitlement: Are you... →
chasingmeaning:
When do we feel disappointment? When do we experience sadness and emptiness? Many times it is when our expectations are misplaced and/or unmet.
This is typical in relationships and in friendships. If we look at each instance of disappointment, we’ll find that we had an expectation that was…
WatchThis does me in. We are being bad stewards and it has a human cost. “A quarter million farmers have committed suicide in India since the seed has been monopolized.”
November 2011
16 posts
“You never have to advertise a fire.”
– -Leonard Ravenhill
The One Where She Writes Her First Post...
chasingmeaning:
(*dedicated to Katie Paulk)
Who am I?
A work in progress, a perpetual student, a flawed and forgiven follower of Jesus Christ, a reader, a writer, a part-time comedian. (In all seriousness, I do crack myself and, occasionally, a few others up. If my humor does not appeal to you, please cue the crickets, exchange an eye roll with Jiminy and continue reading.)
Where do I come...
Puritan Prayer of Thanksgiving.
From the Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions.
O My God,Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee, for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.
When I think upon and converse with thee ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of...
“Christians should be generous, merciful, compassionate. Not as a mission...”
– -Vaughan Roberts
Pothole ministry or Not quite like Gilding the...
In a recent critique of a book on Ed Stetzer’s blog, here, J.D. Greear made a great comment on “adorning the gospel,” a reference to Titus 2:10. His comments were encouraging and timely, Poppets, so I excerpted this portion, hoping it would encourage you, too.
But I would caution us against underestimating the role serving our community adorns the gospel.
A reformed,...
“Symbolism exists precisely for the purpose of conveying to the imagination what...”
– -C.S. Lewis
What My Obedience to God Costs Other People.
As they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon … , and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus —Luke 23:26
By Oswald Chambers
If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything— it is a delight. But to those who do not love...
WatchLost skills and honesty.
“Any man who thinks he deserves heaven is not a Christian. But for any man who...”
– D. Martyn Lloyd Jones (via deathbybillions)
Lovely old Irish Hymn
My favorite portion of an old Irish hymn called, “Saint Patrick’s Breastplate.”
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who...
WatchTim Chester and a Meal with Jesus.
Doing it before there was a definition.
Having spent that last day and a half listening to talks, by men who love the Lord, debating the Gospel in regards to social justice, word and deed ministry, their proper emphasis, and the church’s responsibility, it was refreshing to read what J.I. Packer had to say on the subject:
It is exceedingly strange that any followers of Jesus Christ should ever have needed to ask whether social...
Trophy.
solideogloriaa:
“No one in this room has a choice, of whether or not your life is going to glorify God. You are going to glorify Him by being a trophy of His grace and mercy, or you are going to glorify Him by being an object of His justice.”
—
Matt Chandler (via drquote)
October 2011
21 posts
Death By Billions: What Is God Sovereign Over? →
deathbybillions:
The Bible verses below are far from exhaustive, and each should be interpreted according to its genre and context. But I am convinced that these verses—rightly interpreted—definitively establish God’s absolute sovereignty over all things. And since compatiblism is true, none of this contradicts…
Retire? Where is that, exactly?
I love this excerpt from John Piper’s book, ‘Roots of Endurance.’ In it, he devotes a chapter on Charles Simeon, and in particular, a remarkable incident that should make one reconsider retirement.
In 1807, after twenty-five years of ministry, his health failed suddenly. His voice gave way so that preaching was very difficult and at times he could only speak in a whisper. After...
Are you maintaining a building or focusing on...
Been reading through Steve Timmis’s book, ‘Total Church.’ It’s becoming quickly dogeared, which is a good sign that it has been thought provoking. I just got to chapter 5 and came to a screeching halt. To quote Yogi Berra, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” I’ve had this conversation, several times, with more than one person, over the course of...
Sam Edison: i am consistently impressed and... →
samgyorfi:
i am consistently impressed and encouraged by what God does in spite of me, while at the same time wondering why people are drawn to mega-churches. the two may not seem to relate, but to me, they do.
5 years ago i probably would have admitted to wanting to be a “big deal” type person in the…
Asking Questions or Can You Make Disciples in...
The Great Commission, found in Matthew 28:18-20, has been heavy on my heart lately. Let’s take a look at it, together:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded...
Community or the place where you practice...
I’ve been listening to a series of messages by Jonathan Dodson, available here, on Christ and the Gospel being the reason for our community, our mission and our identity. With Jesus as Savior AND Lord, things will look different, distinct from the world around us.
An example Jonathan used is found in Colossians 3:
12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a ...
“Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and...”
– Brandon Hatmaker
Love Jesus? Are you making disciples?
Great sermon by Sam Gyorfi on the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:16-20.
For the October 9th message, titled, “Why the Great Commission?”-click the “sermon only” link, here.
Did Jesus tell the truth all of the time?
Let me ask a question. Is Luke 12:22-34 true? Jesus said it. It was important enough to be recorded in Scripture. Did He tell the truth only part of the time or always? If, indeed, it is true, shouldn’t our lives, individually, corporately, as His body, reflect it? If it is true, do we need to reexamine how we view our stuff and what we do with it, in light of Luke 12 and elsewhere in...
5 tags
Forgive? Ridiculous! Yes.
Great post by Mark Altrogge, titled, ‘Forgiveness is a Ridiculous Thing, via Trevin Wax.
Forgiveness, reader, is, I think, something very much like hope and love, a powerful, wonderful thing. And a ridiculous thing, too. Isn’t it ridiculous, after all, to think that a son could forgive his father for beating the drum that sent him to his death? Isn’t it ridiculous to think that a mouse...
1 tag
“The very experiences that threaten to drive you the farthest from God are the...”
– Michael R. Emlet (via jspark3000)
Tozer and Martyn Lloyd-Jones, just chillin'.
I love this interchange between A.W. Tozer and Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I love just the idea of these two amazing men of God having a conversation. I also love how Tozer addressed his critics.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones recalled,
‘Dr. Tozer and I shared a conference years ago, and I appreciated his ministry and his fellowship very much. One day he said to me: ‘Lloyd-Jones, you and I hold just...
Sam Edison: today i just dont have much time.
samgyorfi:
today i just dont have much time.
but i wanted to write some things down as they spin around in my head.
i try to be open and honest about my faith with anyone who asks, and for the most part i think i am. im not going to air all my dirty laundry on the street corner, however, i also feel im fairly transparent.
i can totally see why people love the american church, and, why it...
“The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out. Surely I...”
– -Proverbs 30:1-2
Rembrandt van Rijn, ‘Study of an Old Man in Profile,’ c. 1630.
Packer Shrugged or Becoming more like-who?
In an article by J.I. Packer, titled, ‘Crises of Faith are Yardsticks of Growth,’ available, here, he lays out some ways we can observe if we are becoming more Christ-like.
First, growth in grace means increase in humility, and in the passion for so one’s gratitude for God’s love in salvation raises up in greater adoration. Those who are growing spiritually tread in their...
Hi, I'm Ramses: The Prince of Preachers →
3 reasons why Spurgeon is still relevant.
1. Spurgeon was an ‘urban missionary’. As much as I hate that term, if you define it the same way that I do, than yes, Spurgeon was an urban missionary.
2. Spurgeon struggled with depression. A lot. Myself and many of my brothers/sisters…