D. Martin Lloyd-Jones says that, "What makes this universe a cosmos, rather than a chaos, is that the Lord Jesus Christ is holding it all together."

Romans: Exposition of Chapter 10 Saving Faith

I guess I can trust Him with my little corner of the world today.

On the Finished Pile:

"Covenant Theology: The Key of Theology in Reformed Thought
and Tradition" by Peter Golding.

Covenant Theology is a combo of a history of the development of
Covenant Theology through the years of church history and a
definition of Covenant Theology itself.

I loved the following quote from Geerhardus Vos that Golding puts
towards the end of the book.

"Only when the believer understands how he has to receive everything
from the Mediator, and how God in no way whatever deals with him
except though Christ, only then does a picture of the glorious
work that God wrought through Christ emerge in his consciousness
and the magnificent idea of grace begin to dominate and form in his
life. For the Reformed, therefore, the entire ordo salutis...is
bound to the mystical union with Christ....Now the basis for this
order lies in none other than in the covenant of salvation with
Christ."

"It is a reasonable affirmation then that the basis of a
true love for God is His intrinsic worth, for He is
worthy to be loved for His own sake. It is this that
makes Him so worthy of love. His divine excellence is
so glorious. This is why God is God: to be loved for
His own sake."

Jonathan Edwards in Faith Beyond Feelings

There are a lot of images of God floating around in the minds
of people.

Some are looking for a lover. Some are looking for a lap
to crawl up in. Some for a Santa Claus figure who will fulfill
their Christmas list of wants. So, as I was driving to Mayberry
to do the weekly errands yesterday, I thought about just exactly
what is my image of God. More specifically I thought about what
I want from God personally.

There really is only one thing I want. I want Him to BE God.
I am looking for the sovereign, the almighty, the omnipotent,
the ruler, the One Who is in control.

As I meander through the days of my life I want to know that
when I see a beautiful sunrise, He is sovereign. When I stub
my toe on a chair leg, He is almighty. When I am eating a
piece of delicious cake, He is omnipotent. When I have a cold,
He is in control.

LIfe can be big and frightening one moment and lovely and filled
with warm fuzzies the next. Through the rain, the sunshine, the
lazy days on the river, the tense days in the hospital, the
playing of cards around the table, the disappointments in
relationships or circumstances, the sweet fellowship of
friends and family, the flat tires, and the sharing of delicious
meals, thank God that He is there and He is not silent.

He has communicated to us, in His Word, a small part of who He
is.

Psalm 103:19
The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all.

And so, today, as I go about the dailyness of life, with all its
ups and down, I will remember that God is in His heaven, and all
is right with the world.

The idea of "contextualization" by adjusting Christianity to existing beliefs, values, and traditions was probably the twentieth century's most significant contribution to ministry strategy—and it is not a good one. It has made the church indistinguishable from the world, indistinct in its message, and (frankly) ineffectual as an evangelistic force in an unbelieving culture.

You can find the whole article at Pyromaniacs.

Likewise Mark Dever in the book A God Entranced Vision of all
Things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards says:

Conformity to the world in our churches makes our evangelistic
task all the more difficult. As Nigel Lee of Inter-Varisty
once said, "We become so like the unbelievers they have no
questions they want to ask us." May we so live that people
are made constructively curious.

"The enjoyment of him is our highest happiness, and is
the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.
To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely
better than the most pleasant accommodations here; better
than fathers or mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or
the company of any or all earthly friends. These are but
shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered
beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God
is the fountain. These are but drops; but God is the ocean."

Jonathan Edwards from his sermon "The Christian Pilgrim"

"...I picture historic Christianity as a broad river whose
main stream flows along a central channel while eddies,
stagnant pools, backwaters, and expanses of mud abound
along its banks. Then I cite the teachings of such men
as Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Owen, and Warfield, and Edwards
with them, as so many buoys marking out the central channel
for all who are concerned to be found in it."

From the essay "The Glory of God and the Reviving of Religion"
by J.I. Packer which is found in A God Entranced Vision of
all Things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards by John Piper and
Justin Taylor.

Students at a major university were asked some 40 or
so years ago whether or not they thought God could really
understand what an atom was.

The general consensus was, "No".

No?

They (the students) could study and comprehend atoms, but
God could not. What a perfect illustration of the utterly
foolish pride of man this is.

The creator could not understand His creation. The sustainer
of all things could not know that which He sustained. How odd.

Psalm 147:4,5
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.

Or, as the Westminster Catechism says in Question 4.

What is God?
God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable, in his
being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.

Early this morning, around 4:30, I crept outside to load
the wood furnace. As I was opening the door to go into
the furnace room, I paused to listen to the wind in the
trees back in the woods behind our house. The almost full
moon was getting low in the sky. It was lovely.

Later, around 6:00, I went back outside to get the fire
going a little stronger and the moon was huge and yellow
and framed in its setting between a pine tree and an oak.

Yet later I was passing by the front door and when I looked
out I saw this...



















I remembered something Kent said a few weeks ago when he sat
down to dinner. He looked at all the abundance of good food
we had and said, "I can't believe we get all this here and
then still have Heaven to look forward to."

Of course, that is a retake of Philip Henry when he sat down
to eat in the 1600's and said, "All this and Heaven too!"

Far longer ago Paul the Apostle had a similar take on things.

Philippians 1:21
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Lately I've been meditating on two truths. These two
things, which are of great importance and comfort to
me are: the sufficiency of Scripture and the justice
of God.

I depend on the sufficiency of Scripture. It teaches
me all I need to know of God and what He desires of me.
I do not need to say, "If only God would speak to me
today." He is speaking to me today. I need only open
my Bible to hear God's voice.

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.

If I depended on the whim of God for forgiveness, I would
be on very shaky ground. Maybe I would hope the person in
the judgment line directly in front of me would be really
a bad guy so that I might look quite good in comparison.
Maybe I would hope God was just in an especially good mood
when he got to me.

Thank God he is a just God. He cannot abide sin. We are
all sinners and we all sin. Sin must be paid for; it must
be dealt with. It has been paid for; it has been dealt with,
through the death of Christ and His taking our sin upon
Himself. Therefore, since God is just, He must accept the
payment made for us.

Certainly this is not a blanket payment for all mankind. But
it is for those who are His, those who have recognized and
admitted their sin and have trusted in the payment made on
their behalf.

God's justice is a bedrock. It is because of His justice that
I can rest in His forgiveness.

Romans 3:26
...to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that
He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in
Jesus.

I turn to Psalm 131 when world and life events
seem terribly big and overwhelming.

Psalm 131
Lord, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord
From his time forth and forever.

I've not written about my mother's cancer because I know
that it will bring pain to some who read here.

Mom has begun chemotherapy again. Her cancer has returned
with a vengeance. When asked how she is doing, I respond,
"Emotionally she is doing very well; physically, only God
knows how she fares." We just haven't much information at
this point.

Her confidence in Christ and her future with Him is very
strong. If He brings healing, she will enjoy it; if He
brings her to Himself, she is ready.

On Wednesday afternoon, several elders from her church along
with her pastor, John Harwell, and Kent and one elder from
our church went to her home. She and Dad had asked them to
come in accordance with what James teaches us to do when we
are sick.

James 5:14
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the
church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in
the name of the Lord.

They had a very precious time together.

This is no magic formula. It is a call to obedience. When we
follow the words of Scripture we are in God's will. When we
are in His will we can rest deeply in Him. It is not hype,
it is not emotionalism, it is a step of faith in the power
of Christ to save and to keep that which is given to Him.
Mom is His; she is in His hands. We will leave her there.

How can you help being ga-ga eyed over a guy who
not only understands the following comment, "Kent,
yesterday I got so hungry for Ephesians,", but
responds in like manner, "Laurie, you would not
believe how lonely I get for the book of John."

HAPPY REFORMATION DAY!

Challies is hosting The 2007 Reformation Day Symposium.
Dig deep and enjoy!

From The Spreading Flame by F.F. Bruce in his discussion
of the early Roman Christians:

The Christians were regarded as incurably perverse
for their insane refusal to conform to Roman
requirements in this simple manner. Outward
conformity was so simple, and (in other people's
eyes) it meant very little. The majority of
pagans who took part in such ceremonies did so
quite unthinkingly. It was the keen religious
awareness of the Christians that made them recognize
the ceremony as essentially idolatrous, and therefore
forbidden to those who worshipped none but God
in Christ.

It gives one pause for question. With what areas of
modern society am I going along unquestioningly that
I should recognize, if I had a keen enough awareness
of Christ, as outside of true Christian behaviour?

"It's the sovereignty of God that brings us peace;
it's the chance of things that would unravel us."

Quote of the day from Kent

Babies are sweet, huggable and cuddly. They are
delightful and lovely. They are fresh and fun.
But babies are also selfish. They are born this
way. It is natural for them. It is a direct result
of Genesis 3.

All that fills the mind of a newborn is his own needs.
He wants his little tummy to be full. He wants to
have a clean, dry bottom. He feels secure when he
is cuddled and carried about.

A huge part of parenting is to slowly train that little
one to consider others. Step by step they must be
taught to give up their own felt needs and rights.

This is hard. It is especially difficult in light of
the society our children are engulfed in. This is not
the first nor the most eloquent article to address
this issue, but I see so much time, energy and money
being poured into the young lives around me that I
worry for them and want to address the issue.

The basic problem is that our children are treated as
though they are royalty for the first 18 or 20 years
of life and then they are expected to step out on their
own and by that time are totally unequipped to do so.

They can't understand why they are not the total focus
of Mom and Dad's attention, finances and energy anymore.
Why should they understand this? They've been told for
all those previous years that they are the very center
of life. All revolves around them. Parent's recreation,
work and even church life revolves around the children
and what they want or are doing.

So what are the answers? I am no expert, but I do have
some meager wisdom to offer here.

1. Expect your children to work from an early age and to
contribute to the comfort and enjoyment of family life.
The family resources are not to be all funneled into them,
but they are instead part of an entire tapestry where all
are needed to make things work.

2. Give them less than they want for their birthdays and
Christmas. Give them less than their friends get.
Definitely give them less than you want to give them. Set a
limit and stick to it. Our basic limit has been $50 for
a birthday and $100 for Christmas for each child. When
they were younger it was less than that. They see what
their friends receive. What child wouldn't want more?
Yet they have come to understand that they don't need
everything they want, or everything others have in order
to live a full life.

Both delayed and denied gratification are some of the
greatest gifts we can give our children.

3. Avoid situations and ceremonies that put full focus on
that child. I am not saying to never focus on them. We
have plenty of natural times for that. When they have a
birthday, they get to chose their meal and get their
gifts. When a special goal has been reached, they should
be honored. We gave trophies to our boys for the first
time they publicly prayed out loud in a church service.
We have little celebrations often. Next week, when Joel
finally gets to move to day shift we are having a little
family party.

But, way too much time, energy and money are spent in
letting our children believe they are the kings and queens
of this life.

I have devoted the past 25 years to my family and their
welfare. During those years the children have been fed,
bathed, played with, read to, taught,...but, they have
also been made to see that they are a part of a whole,
not THE whole.

4. Avoid saying, "We can't afford that." That lets the
child think that they do deserve whatever it is they
want, but that poor Mom and Dad just can't do what is
necessary to get it for them. Instead use phrases such
as this, "We do not think is is wise to get that," or,
"We feel such and such is more important and so we are
not going to try and get this for you."

5. Always be sure your children tithe their meager first
earnings to the Lord. Whether it is 10 cents from the
dollar they earn pulling weeds for Grandpa or $10 from
their first check of $100 flipping hamburgers for Mac D's.
Allow them to develop the joy of realizing that all they
have is from God's hand. This life is but a preparation
for Heaven, and to invest in Heaven now is something we
need to teach them as strongly as we teach them to invest
in an IRA for retirement.

6. Don't always take their side when they are complaining
about unfair coaches, teachers, friends, or others they
come in contact with. They are not always going to get
first billing in their activities. Not everyone is going
to like them. They may be overlooked and under appreciated.
"It's not fair," you'll often hear. Still, they need to
respect authority, and, if they have put themselves in
situation where they are under a coach, boss or another
authority figure, they need to show the respect to that
person that God expects them to. There are always proper
channels for changing their situation. We listen to the
venting and then usually say something like this, "I can
see how you feel, but basically just expect people to
be that way. Your responsibility is to do what is right."

7. Remember to model a life of contentment.

I Timothy 6-8
Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into this world, and it
is certain we can carry nothing out. And having
food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

From Machen.

"Emancipation from the blessed will of God
always involves bondage to some worse taskmaster."

Oops and Aha

That really about sums up my days.

In this journey of life I find myself having to say,
"Oops," way too often. Some may call it a mistake,
others a tendency or some other fancy term. I know it
well and call it by name--sin. That is one reason I
memorized I John 1:9 so many years ago. Now there is a
Scripture that saves one's sanity.

But, leaving the muck behind, in this adventure of
living I get to say, "Aha," a glorious number of times.
That is, "Aha," as in, "Aha phenomenon." Oh, Lord,
the riches and wisdom of Your word, the depth of Your
personality, the intricacies of a relationship with
You that are for the discovering.

Like the green Eve in Perelandra, by C.S. Lewis, I will
dive with abandon into whatever wave God sends my way.
It is from His hand and can be trusted.

From In the Steps of Moses:

"We sat down by the edge of the (Dead) Sea, and wondered
at it a little. The smell of it was rank, there was a
dirty scud over the shallow water close in, and the
driftwood on the dun gravel we sat on was black and
oily. Yet, from far off, no water looks lovelier than
the water of the Dead Sea, kingfisher blue, turquoise
blue, lazuline blue, as the caprice of light is. All
sin is like that, murmured Father Dunn. Very gay
from a distance, but a sad thing close to."

How I long to teach my children to avoid those places
in their lives where sin can easily overtake them. I
know that sin is ever crouching at the door; I realize
it springs up out of the passion of the moment. Those
angry words I rattled off, those unkind bullets I shot
off, that bitterness that will take root and rule my
thoughts and feelings, they all catch me unaware. They
spring from my nature.

But there are places and times that are prime for sin to
occur, places where you know you are too weak to go. That
is what Scripture speaks to when it says to flee temptation.
Those places look inviting from a distance, but they are
pools of deadness close to.