Lying Down in Sorrow

“That Christian who has free grace, who has free justification, who has the mediatorial righteousness of Christ, who has the satisfaction of Christ, who has the covenant of grace most constantly in his sight, and most frequently warm upon his heart—that Christian, of all Christians in the world, is most free from a world of fears, and doubts, and scruples which do sadden, sink, perplex, and press down a world of other Christians, who daily eye more what Christ is a-doing in them, and what they are a-doing for Christ, than they do eye either his active or passive obedience.

Christ has done great things for his people, and he has suffered great things for his people, and he has purchased great things for his people, and he has prepared great things for his people; yet many of his own dear people are so taken up with their own hearts, and with their own duties and graces, that Christ is little eyed by them or minded by them!

This is the great reason why so many Christians, who will certainly go to heaven—do walk in darkness, and lie down in sorrow.”

- Thomas Brooks, A Cabinet of Choice Jewels

Suffering as an Offering

Dr. John Currid has a great blog, bookmark it and check it out! In the meantime, here's some highlights from his post today that really made me think:

...since loneliness/hardship comes from the hand of God, it is a gift. And so, am I going to accept the gift? That is, will I accept these circumstances as the will of God for now and thank Him for it? Am I, by God’s grace, willing to die to self and walk the way of the cross like our Savior?

Perhaps one of the most intriguing ideas is that we offer our suffering back to God. What does this mean? Well, when Paul says in Romans 12:1 that we are to present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice, he means everything we have is to be offered to God. We may be walking through the valley of the shadow of death and presently have little else to offer but our loneliness and pain. So be it. “What I lay on the altar of consecration is nothing more and nothing less than what I have at this moment, whatever I find in my life now of work and prayer, joys and sufferings…To make that gift an offering may be the most costly thing one can do, for it means the laying down of a cherished dream of what one wanted to be, and the acceptance of what one did not want to be.” Let us offer it up nonetheless. “Let our offering be free, humble, unconditional, given in the full confidence that His transforming energy can fit it into the working of His purposes.”

His posts will certainly bless you--everyday, he reminds the reader of the power of the Gospel and the grace of God--something we constantly need to be reminding ourselves of daily.

Dining Noise & Hospitality

I don't know if you've noticed lately, but whenever you go somewhere for a nice meal out with a friend or two, the noise level has been rising considerably! People can't hear each other and the strain of conducting a conversation takes all the pleasure out of eating out. There was a story in the Washington Post on Sunday about this: "No Appetite for Noise," and it describes why the noise levels in restaurants have been rising. Here's an excerpt:

"A certain level of noise people consider to be exciting or good energy," says Tim Zagat, the guide's founder. "Once it gets so loud you can't hear yourself chew, it's over the top."

The cause of the clatter is just about everywhere a diner glances these days. In a restaurant's hard floors. On its naked tables. At the high ceilings. In other words, the blame for all the noise comes from the clean, slick and modern look favored by so many restaurant operators and their customers . . .

I think this raises an important point and shows a reason why hospitality is so important. Shouting at each other in groups is OK every now and then, but when you want to have a good, serious conversation, sometimes you just can't do that at a restaurant. There are definitely times when you go somewhere for great food and and deep conversation might not necessarily be a priority, but most of us go out because we want to be spending quality time with someone over food, investing in them and in the relationship. I think it's just something to think about, and to ask ourselves if what we are expecting is really going to occur at certain restaurants. My hope is that I can be more open in my own life to have others over, share a meal, and engage in deep truth conversation that arises because we are honoring Scripture and giving our hearts a rest in a noisy world.

the college hook-up culture.

there's an interesting article in the wall street journal about sex education and what college students really see as the "wonderful fantasy land." here's a quick excerpt:

When last semester I taught Wendy Shalit's "A Return to Modesty," in a class at Boston University called "Spirituality & Sexuality in American Youth Culture," I assumed that my mostly left-leaning students would reject her arguments about the terrible effects that the hook-up culture has on young women and the positive effects of traditional religion and morality on young women's well-being. Instead, my students ate up her critique and were fascinated by her descriptions of modesty as a virtue, especially within the context of faith. One student said that she felt empowered to stop tolerating vulgar remarks about sex made by peers in her presence.

The class was equally attracted to some evangelical dating manuals, like "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris and "Real Sex" by Lauren Winner, that I asked them to read. They seemed shocked that somewhere in America there are entire communities of people their age who really do "save themselves" until marriage, who engage in old-fashioned dating with flowers and dinner and maybe a kiss goodnight. They reacted as if these authors describe a wonderful fantasy land. "It would be easier just to have sex with someone than ask them out on a real date," one student said, half-seriously.

the relevancy of francis schaeffer

check out this blog for reasons that francis schaeffer, who lived from 1912-1984, can still teach us much today.

"Schaeffer was a pastor, prolific writer, prophetic generalist, apologist, and primarily an evangelist. That latter is how he typically described himself. Schaeffer inspired a generation of evangelicals--including me—to honor the Lordship of Christ over all of life and to reclaim the mind and culture for Kingdom causes."


here's the main points the author makes and expounds on:

1. Schaeffer had a deep passion for God and for truth.
2. Schaeffer cared deeply about the lostness of modern people.
3. Schaeffer was an unapologetic generalist for the cause of Christ.
4. Schaeffer was not a self-promoter, but sought God for life and ministry.
5. Schaeffer loved the arts, could recognize aesthetic goodness even in nonChristian (or anti-Christian) art, and gave Christian artists permission and vision for artistic endeavor.
6. Schaeffer had a deep knowledge of and love for Scripture.
7. Schaeffer was "a man of the Reformation," who, nevertheless, was not doctrinaire or haughty about his Calvinism.

community & "brotherly affection"

Romans 12:9-21 is all about marks of the true christian, and one of my favorite parts of this is what this means for our community. verse 10 says to "love one another with brotherly affection." other translations say to "be devoted to one another in brotherly affection." this is huge. think about your relationships with your blood-related family members. even if our parents or siblings have radically different values and lifestyles from us, there is still a tie that stays, that is permanent. we say "well, they are still my dad," or "still my sister," because they will always be connected to us. we are supposed to love one another in this way. especially for Christians who share common values with us, we are to be as patient and doggedly devoted to one another as family members.

what else does this mean? verses 11 and 12 go on to say: "do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." while it is easy to say that this seems to only be about our relationship with God, i think the reason they stand in the very middle of numerous directions about Christian relationships is important. we can't give up on our brothers and sisters around us, we must keep our hope and be patient in all the troubles that we meet. and be constantly praying for each other with a fervor that stems from love. this is how we meet the troubles and tribulations of those relationships around us--with patience and prayer. i think it is hard work to be deeply involved in peoples' lives, and it is a scary, scary thing. C.S. Lewis said that they only way to be sure not to have your heart broken is never to give it to anyone. we must give our hearts away though because this is where hope lies. the triumph of Christ becomes our hope, giving us a structure in which to share ourselves with each other--and a reason to do so.

war of words

a couple quotes from chapter 6 of war of words:

"to the degree that you have based your life on something other than the Lord, to that degree God's love and the hope of the gospel will not comfort you," (98).

"God is willing to compromise physical things--a satisfying job, encouraging friendships, a pastor who really seems to care about you, or a budget that seems to be working--to produce something greater, fuller, and deeper in us: genuine faith. this is what God is after in the experiences that make us wonder if he really loves us, if he hears our prayers, experiences that cause us to envy other believers, or maybe even people who don't know him... the struggles are not a mistake. they are tokens of redemptive love. trials should not lead us to doubt the love of the King; they should convince us of it," (94).