Remember/Forget

Here I am, living in the DFW area and just surviving my 5th snow day from work, and 3rd from school in the matter of a week and a half (We didn't do this good as children growing up in NYC), dealing with temperatures in the teens, thinking about warmer weather (like the 60's to 70's we are supposed to have in a couple of days).

Thinking about how quickly we will forget the ice and the cold when we are in the throes of some 100+ degree summer days. Makes me think of how long God remembers in comparison to how long we do not. Of what He chooses to forget as opposed to what we cannot seem to remember:

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

Hebrews 6:10 (NIV)

 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.

Hosea 13:6 (NIV)

 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.

Hebrews 8:12 (NIV)

 and did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.

Judges 8:34 (NIV)

 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Revelation 21:4 (NIV)

This is just a small sampling of what you can find between the covers of your Bible. 

He chooses to remember His promises, we choose to forget what He has done for us. And in order for us to live in eternal harmony with Him, we are not going to remember all the junk of our earthly past.

We remember to forget; He chooses to forget to remember.

The Never Ending Post - Part IV

So, what is next? I am running out of steam on my social media activity, limping along on blogging. Not sure what to do next.

Maybe I should take up reading, again. I did a lot more of it before I started seminary, which I find ironic. School is making me cut back on my reading.

I need a big fat book to read. Feeling the heft of a massive tome (like Shelby Foote's tripartite on the Civil War). Something I can get into, grind through. Maybe try to wade through Charnock's The Existence and Attributes of God again, a little more intently this time. Or the seven Jules Verne novels in one edition I picked up a couple of years ago.

Maybe not. It may not be the time to run over covered, or semi-covered ground right now. I have a pretty big stack of unread books, and I got through a couple pieces of the Verne collection, and I do not need to take on a reread at this point. It would need to be something I have not cracked open yet (and that would leave out the Foote trilogy as well). Although the one book I will always read, no matter how many times I go over the same part, is the Bible. To me, there is no better indication of the divine inspiration of the Bible, that it is the word of God written into our hearts, than the fact that I never tire of reading it. Never tire of seeking Jesus in it.

I need a sense of accomplishment I cannot get from reading off a screen. I have to admit, there is something satisfying in finishing a big book that you do not get at reading a long blog post.

So I will cut this one off.

Now.

Stay Out of His Way

"For it is not true that some Christians believe in divine sovereignty while others hold an opposite view. What is true is that all Christians believe in divine sovereignty, but some are not aware they do, and mistakenly imagine and insist that they reject it. What causes this odd state of affairs? The root cause is the same a sin most cases of error in the Church - the intruding of rationalistic speculations, the passion for systematic consistency, a reluctance to recognize the existence of mystery and to let God be wiser than men, and a consequent subjecting of Scripture to the supposed demands of human logic."
J I Packer - Evangelism & The Sovereignty Of God

Finished Pascal and started reading Packer. I find this much easier to wrap my mind around; I am almost relieved to be moving on. Need to finish this book before I start reading for the next seminary class. This quote struck me in that I have always been suspicious (since I became a Christian that is) of man's attempts to put God in a box instead of leaving Him in the book He wrote for us. I struggle in class at times with those theories and systems that seem all too man-made and not enough God honoring.

I worry about attempts to explain God too fully, which in my mind goes beyond our natural inquisitiveness and winds smack dab in the middle of a heart of pride. He is divine and incomprehensible to the finite mind; He is depths no one can fathom or plumb to their full extent. We try too hard to accomplish what we can never achieve - a full understanding of God. Fortunately, He has a full understanding of us and permits these feeble attempts without letting them diminish His love for us.

So I try to focus on Him rather than trying to master Him, I try to stay out of His way. I need to understand a good deal about God so as to understand how to live my life faithfully to His will, but I do not need to fully comprehend Him to do so. To try is the height of pride and foolishness.

As a result, it would be better to first approach a brother and sister in Christ looking for that common element of faith in Him; salvation through Him alone, trust in Him not self; than to try to haggle over those man-made systems and differences we throw out to defend our own prideful positions.

Get on The Narrow Road and stay out of His way.

Technorati Tags: J I Packer, God, Jesus, sovereignty, bible

The Anvil In Our Lives

Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith’s door,
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
The, looking in, I saw upon the floor
Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.

“How many anvils have you had,” said I,
“To wear and batter all these hammers so?”
“Just one,” said he, and then with twinkling eye,
“The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.”

And so, thought I, the anvil of God’s Word,
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed – the hammers gone.

Author Unknown

A good friend of mine read this poem in a sermon he preached a few months ago. I listened to it recently and loved the imagery of the poem, as he spoke of the Word of God, the Bible. People have been hammering out the Bible for years and years, going way, way back in time. How many have worn themselves out. It is true, it has held up, it is the Word of God. Would you expect anything else?

Technorati Tags: Bible, Word of God, God, Telos Bible Chirch, hammer, anvil

The Calling In

Here is a passage from Calvin I find myself disagreeing with as I work through " The Institutes of the Christian Religion this year:

"The calling of the Gentiles, therefore, is a notable mark of the excellence of the New Testament over the Old. Indeed, this had been attested before by many very clear utterances of the prophets, but in such a way that its fulfillment was postponed until the Kingdom of the
Messiah. Even Christ at the beginning of his preaching made no immediate progress toward it...For it seemed completely unreasonable that the Lord, who for so many ages had singled out Israel from all other nations, should suddenly change his plan and abandon that choice. Prophecies had indeed foretold this. But men could not heed these prophecies without being startled by the newness of the thing that met their eyes...
John Calvin - The Institutes of the Christian Religion: 2.11.12

If I were to find the NT superior to the OT, it would be because Jesus is clearly talked about here: His life, His ministry, His teachings. But the Bible is the Bible and it is all superior to any other book, because it is inspired, written by God through the agency of His personally selected human authors.

God's plan is fulfilled perfectly through Jesus. The nation of Israel was not the light to the world, the nation of priests that God called them to be. They fell short because we are human. The Gentiles, called in by the ministry of Christ, fall short because we are human. Jesus succeeded because He is God, who came to earth as God incarnate. The agency of people will always be inadequate to fulfill the agency of the divine unless the divine steps in and brings it there. God designed it the way he did because it was the way to get us where we are.

To me, there is no superiority of one part of the Bible over another, just as there is no superiority of one type of people over another. The Bible is superior because it is the Word of God.

Any superiority I have is in Christ, for He has lifted me up where I could not go to on my own.

The Bible Comes Alive

The Bible is the written Word of God, and because it is written it is confined and limited by the necessities of ink and paper and leather. The voice of God, however, is alive and free as the sovereign God is free...It is the present Voice which makes the written Word all-powerful.
A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God

I have had the chance to spend some time in Tozer recently preparing for a small group meeting. It makes me sorry that I do not spend more time when I read something like this. As a friend said, there is no fluff in Tozer.

I am always in awe of how the words of the Bible can leap of the page and into your heart. It is for me the living proof of the inspiration of God, the words spoken into the minds of men from the hand of God.

When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.
Exodus 30:18 (NASB)

This is the vivid picture that this passage and Tozer's words create for me. The Bible lives because it is the speaking voice of God written down, the very words etched in our hearts by the finger of God.

If you ever read the Bible, studied the Bible with an open heart, you have felt this. You may fight it, but you have felt it. If you have read the Bible, you have been privileged to read read the very words spoken by God, written by His command.

Let them live in you as if placed there by the very finger of God.

Bible Versions

I got a very clear lesson the other day in why it is important in studying the Bible to consider reference to more than the one version you normally read or study from (and those may be two different versions as reading and studying the Bible are two different things in my mind. But that is another story for another day). The lesson came not from studying the Bibke but from reading through John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion. It was a sentence the the second book, second chapter, first section. One sentence struck me as I read:

"Also, it is no less to our advantage than pertinent to God's glory that we be deprived of all credit for our wisdom and virtue."

You are probably saying, huh? I have a confession, the above snippet comes from the website above. I have actually been reading along in a copy of the Institutes that I have had on my shelf for a copy of years but never got around to study. (My friend David at A Boomer in the Pew turned me on to working through the Institutes in a one year reading plan. He is doing a much better job of working through it and mining out meaning and application. Follow him to keep up on the book, not me). I seem to do much better reading from an actual book than on the computer screen, retaining and comprehending better. Does not bode well for me in the future on the on line world, but there it is. I have to have a book in my hand and not on my screen.

So what did I read? The following:

"Not having glorified him by the acknowledgment of his blessings, now, at least, he ought to glorify him by the confession of his poverty. In truth, it is no less useful for us to renounce all the praise of wisdom and virtue, than to aim at the glory of God."

Maybe it is just me, but that hits me completely differently. And I checked the location in the two texts. It is the same thought even if not the same sentence.

My point is that in studying something as deep as Calvin, the interpretation used can impact your understanding. In studying the Bible, which is so deep as to make Calvin seem the shallow end of the pool compared to the vastness of the ocean, how an interpretation translates even as much as just a word can vastly alter your comprehension and understanding.

"Dig in to the Word, but you may need to keep several shovels close at hand."

That isn't from Calvin. That's from me.

Search and Read

Here are some great thoughts from The Daily Spurgeon today:

Search the Scriptures. Do not merely read them — search them; look out the parallel passages; collate them; try to get the meaning of the Spirit upon any one truth by looking to all the texts which refer to it.

That is probably my problem, I just read the Bible most of the time, I am not searching it. Searching sound so incredibly active compared to the somewhat passive sounding reading. Searching, seeking God out, mining the nuggets. Searching, I like that.

Read the Bible in a commonsense way. Do not read it on your knees, as I have known some people do, it is an awkward posture: get into an easy chair: read it comfortably. Pray after you have read it as much as you like, but do not make a penance of what ought to be a pleasure.

But before you turn into Bible CSI, make sure you read it as well. Comfortably, leisurely, with joy as well as prayer. I like that too.

What this says to me is that the Bible is there for all aspects of our life: work and study, leisure and play, rest an d prayer. What this says to me is that this book is to be my one constant companion. The one book you would want to be able to have with you on a desert island. The one you would never grow tired of.

Search, read, study enjoy. Grow in the Lord.

A Year With The Institutes - 1.8.1-4

Continuing with my reading of the Institutes, this section from today's reading focused for me the beauty of the Bible:

Now this power which is peculiar to Scripture is clear from the fact that of human writings, however artfully polished, there is none capable of affecting us at all comparably. Read Demosthenes or Cicero; read Plato, Aristotle, and others of that tribe. They will, I admit, allure you, delight you, move you, enrapture you in wonderful measure. But betake yourself from them to this sacred reading. Then, in spite of yourself, so deeply will it affect you, so penetrate your heart, so fix itself in your very marrow, that, compared with its deep impression, such vigor as the orators and philosophers have will nearly vanish. Consequently, it is easy to see that the Sacred Scriptures, which so far surpass all gifts and graces of human endeavor, breathe something divine.

The Institutes of The Christian Religion Book One, Chapter 8.1

I have read through the Bible several times, and I never tire of it. Never will. I cannot say that for any other book I have read, no matter how much I enjoy them. Take The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. I have read it, since college, maybe 5 or 6 times, usually with a several year period between readings. I could not finish it, then start it all over reading it again right away. And I love LOTR.

Put the Bible away for several years and not read it? Are you kidding? As soon as I finish it, I am looking at how I want to read through it again. Only the divine word of God could move me so. No other book could make me eager to come to school, attend a lecture, waiting to mine the next nugget out of an infinite store of wisdom.

If you are not reading the Bible everyday, start. If you have not read entirely through it, either cover to cover or with a plan that hops around but schedules out the entire book, do it. Just Google "Bible reading plans" and see what you get to work from.

You may not agree with Calvin on everything, you may not agree with him on anything. But at the very least, you will have to admit that he got this one right.

It's A Bible Filled Life

I was just looking around my office this morning a realized I have quite a few Bibles, but somehow I never seem to have enough as I always manage to see the need to pick up another. So what do I have? Here are the versions I have, either as standalone or in some form of compendium:

• NASB
• NET
• NIV
• ESV
• KJV
• NKJV
  
• Amplified
• NCV
• NWT

I have Study Bibles, Life Application Bibles, Comparative Bibles, travel size Bibles, Bibles that are just Scripture and no notes, Bibles that have more notes than Scriptures, an old family Catholic Bible. I have them on-line (here and here), in print and on DVD.

All in all I have about 20 volumes of Bibles. I have to scratch my head to remember where I got all of them from. Which do I use? At seminary I use the NASB for class, the NET for chapel. Not sure why the dichotomy. At home the NET for morning reading, although I am going to work through my new ESV Study Bible in 2009 as part of one of my small group reading plans. My wife has been using the same Bible for years, same version, same volume, NASB. I admire her consistency, but I cannot do it myself. Not sure what it says about me.

Given my 2009 reading plans, it means I am probably in the market for a travel sized ESV. (Have you seen the size of the ESV Study Bible? They do have size restrictions on carry on luggage for air travel you know)

And I might likely need more shelf space soon.

Do you have a favorite version? Do you hop around like me? If not, how long have you been faithful to the version you are reading?

Bible in 50 Words

clipped from www.joyfulministry.com God made Adam bit Noah arked Abraham split Joseph ruled Jacob fooled Bush talked Moses balked Pharaoh plagued People walked Sea divided Tablets guided Promise landed Saul freaked David peeked Prophets warned Jesus born God walked Love talked Anger crucified Hope died Love rose Spirit flamed Word spread God remained.

Sums it all up, doesn't it?.

Basic Training For the Biblical Man

The attached audio presentation from Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church is about an hour long, so you need some time to go through it. But it is worth listening to. Mark does a nice job laying out how we should approach being a biblical man in today's world. It is from 2007 but a friend sent it to me to screen before we send to another friend. It is worth listening to when you have some time, maybe in smaller snippets.

This isn't really religion, this is about living your life based on the principles in the bible. A Christ centered man living a biblical life. And to me that is way more important than talking and living religion. Because religion was designed by man, but the bible was written by God. The bible talks about the only man who really knows how to design a worldview, Jesus Christ.

Being that kind of stand up guy, that is what it is all about. To me that is a real man. I do not want to be a religious man, I want to be a bible guy.

Call on the Bible

I apologize that this is a little hard to read, but I think you get the point of the picture.

I thought this was a pretty creative way to lay out some Bible passages.

All calls are local, even though the distance can long, depending on where your heart is when you make the call. But the Operator is standing by, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Here I Stand

Things I am trying not to spend much time on:

• Watching the debates
• Watching the stock market
• Watching TV
• Staring at my laptop coming up with blog topics
  
• Facebook
• Twitter

Things I am trying to spend more time with:

• The Bible
• My wife
  
• Prayer
• Schoolwork
• Reading

Things I am not thinking about:

• If there was anything on this list, then I would be thinking about it, wouldn't I?
  

“Oh, Look at the Shiny New Book!

For the past several years I have been building my library collection. (You see some of it here, at least how it looks in mind). As a seminary student I expect to spend a good deal of time reading over the next few years. I do not mind, I enjoy reading. Actually, I think I do mind, I like reading what and when I, and not someone else, wants. (I did a post on things not actually being about me recently. I guess I should go read it). Here are some books that I have added to a growing list of what I "need" to read.

Must Reads: Books I want to constantly and consistently read:

• The Bible – NET translation
  


• The Bible – NASB translation
  

I like working with two versions of the bible, as I study passages I find it enhances and deepens the study. These are my two favorite. I truly believe you need to be in the Word everyday and I try to do that.

First Reads: Books I want to read in no apparent order if I can find the time (Have you ever seen the class reading lists from a seminary course?):

• Who Moved the Stone? – Frank Morison
  


• Systematic Theology - Lewis Sperry Chafer (yes, all 8 volumes)
  


• Spurgeon's Sermons –Spurgeon (yes, all 10 volumes)
  


• Calvin's Commentaries – Calvin (yes, all 22 volumes)
  


• The Way of the Heart - Henri Nouwen
  


• Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God – J I Packer
  


• They Like Jesus But Not The Church: Insights from Emerging Generations - Dan Kimball
  


• Halftime Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance – Bob Buford
  


• The Sky Is Falling: Leaders Lost in Transition - Alan J. Roxburgh
  


• Every Monday Matters: 52 Ways to Make a Difference - Matthew Emerzian
  



• Five Views on Sanctification - Hoekema/McQuilkin/ Walvoord
  


• The Canon of Scripture – Bruce (This one is recommended, not required reading in one of my upcoming courses, so I will probably read it, one way or another)
  

These are books that have been recommended either by someone I know or someone I read. I want to get to these when the seminary reading load is at a lull, if and when that occurs.

Should Reads: Books I have bought in the past and haven't had a chance to read but know I should:

• This is an embarrassing list.
  
• I have a shelf of books, probably two dozen or so, that I bought with every intention of reading but then another book came along that I got interested in first. (Oh, look at the shiny new book; I think I need to read it). Sometimes I bought them in a small cluster, like they were grapes instead of books. I cannot begin to tell you the perils of a Barnes & Noble gift card in the hands of a budding bibliophile. (Oh, look. A store full of shiny books!)
  


• There are too many books to list out. It includes people like Packer, Sproul, Walvoord, Begg, Van Til, Bruce, Lutzer, MacArthur to name a few. And that does not include the Spurgeon, Calvin and Chafer volumes I mentioned above.
  


• I am a mess, literary (or is it literally?) speaking.
  
  

Need Reads: Books I want to reread if I can find the time (After I get through seminary reads, "First Reads" and "Should Reads" above):

• The Way of the Shepherd – Leman/Pentak
  


• Life Together – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  


• The Cost of Discipleship – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  


• The Imitation of Christ- Thomas a Kempis
  


• The Confessions – St. Augustine ( I have this in a free audio book, thanks to a great blog; Boomer in the Pew.)
  


• The Pursuit of God – A W Tozer
  


• Romans – Martin Luther
  

These are books I read that I really enjoyed, or think I did but didn't understand them well enough to be sure. On second thought, I might have to look at this category along with the Must Read. (After all, I did name it Need Read).

As you can see, I am going to be busy for a while. This list is not all inclusive or all encompassing, it will probably grow daily. My life in general is not chaotic; it is actually quite calm most of the time. It is just that I cannot seem to keep up with my reading. It says something about me, but I have too much reading to do to research on what that is. I just think I should spend some time praying over need; what I need, how I define need, what are really the necessities of life. Every book I have picked up along the way and have not read I have felt the need to read. Need is not a good word to use in this context. I have work to do.

I am sure you could all recommend truly interesting, informative and entertaining books. I do not think I want you too, because the list has already taken on hydra-like qualities. (Oh, look at the shiny new book).