Stopping to Think

1 Corinthians 13:12 ESV For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. Paul says here that, in this life, we see dimly. Those of you who spend much time reading Christian books or blogs will doubtless come across an argument something like this: "because we can only see dimly, and as finite creatures could never fully know the infinite God, we shouldn't focus too much on trying to nail down what the Bible says or means; because by its own admission, we never will." What I want to encourage you with is this: if God had given us the tools (eg, the Bible, a rational mind, books and other resources from others who have studied) with which to make the mirror less dim in this life, we have no only the ability but the responsibility to make use of those means and to understand Him as well in this life as we possibly can. Don't be afraid to think really hard about God. He wants to be ...

A brief doctrine of words. Christians worship the Word (John 1:1), whom we know through His word (John 5:39). We are called to be His ambassadors, ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20), a task which demands the use of words (Romans 10:14). Words matter. God has spoken to us in His Son (Hebrews 1:2), who, as we have already said, we come to know through the written pages of Scripture. This Scripture, and the knowledge it brings us of God in Christ, is sufficient to bring salvation, to teach us all we need to know in order to live God honoring lives, and to equip us for all He has called us to do (2 Timothy 3:15-17). We should then study this word. Its message is life giving and life enabling. We ought to endeavor to communicate its life-giving truth to others, verbally and through the written page. Words are foundational to our life as humans, image bearers of the God who spoke all life into existence (Genesis 1). But they bear special importance for those of us who ...

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:13-14 NIV Jesus' words in Matthew 19 are familiar to many of us. You have most likely heard a sermon, read a blog, or been encouraged by someone to be more childlike in your faith. This is, I think, a good thing. Jesus does tell us here that "to such as these" belong the kingdom of heaven. But what does that mean? Again, we are familiar with exhortations to such things as humility and simple faith. I have no desire to contradict those here, both are concepts taught many other places in Scripture. I wonder, however, if we miss something when we equate childlikeness only with humility and trusting faith. I am far from being a child expert, but I have been around a few during the co...

I read an interesting list today from Drew G. I. Hart over at the Christian Century on 10 books that had "stuck" with him (you can read that piece here: http://www.christiancentury.org/blogs/archive/2014-09/10-books). I thought posting a list of my own would be fun. Bear in mind that my reading is fairly narrow and some books have, I'm sure, made impacts on me that I do not consciously notice or remember, making these lists far more fun than useful. But they are fun. In no particular order: 1. The Holiness of God: R.C. Sproul 2. Don't Waste Your Life: John Piper 3. The Great Divorce: C.S. Lewis 4. Bonhoeffer: Eric Metaxas 5. Future Grace: John Piper 6. Lasting Valor: Vernon Baker 7. A Sweet and Bitter Providence: John Piper 8. Surprised by Joy: C.S. Lewis 9. Radical: David Platt 10. Systematic Theology: Wayne Grudem

Just a couple brief thoughts. I was flipping back through Rodney Stark's, "The Triumph of Christianity" yesterday. And one of the themes he explains to be prominent in the early years of the church was the opposition to the (widely embraced) practice of infanticide. The exposing of children to the elements, often on dump heaps, was most often done to little girls because the culture valued men more highly. Christians, following in the footsteps of the Jews, rightly rejected this practice as abominable to God, who created mankind in His own image. And this seeing of humans, women and girls included, as the image bearers of God, is the only sure footing for valuing human life and protecting the dignity of all persons. And furthermore, this valuing of life provides a stark contrast to much of the world around us. It did in ancient Rome, it does in China with one child laws, it does in America with abortion on demand. -------- Most of my conservative Christian readers we...

I have, for a while now, been attempting to communicate to very well-meaning folks that there is not, and has never been a truly Christian nation; and that this statement includes America. I mean to tackle this at length at a later date, but for now here are a couple quotes from Rodney Stark's book, "The Triumph of Christianity" (HarperCollins, 2011). Emphasis is added. "In 1776, on the eve of the Revolutionary War, only about 17 percent of those living in one of the thirteen colonies actually belonged to a religious congregation ; hence more people were probably drinking in the taverns on Saturday night than turned up in church on Sunday morning. As for this being an 'era of Puritanism,' from 1761 through 1800, a third (33.7) of all first births in New England occurred less than nine months after marriage, and therefore single women in Colonial New England were more likely to engage in premarital sex than to attend church." (353) "The very low l...

A brief thought here. God never says "love yourself," "accept yourself," or "I think you're wonderful." He says, "You're made in My image, which makes you valuable beyond belief. You are also desperately wicked and broken and deserve to be under my wrath in hell forever. But I love you. Not because you deserve it. You don't. You don't deserve my love or anyone else's. But I choose to love you. I sent my Son to die for you and reconcile you to myself. I'm better than self-love and self-acceptance, and I'm better than love and acceptance from others. I am the greatest person and reality in the universe, and if you will embrace me as your greatest treasure, you will come to see that your need for approval elsewhere isn't actually a need. It is a desire that will shrink until one day, when I perfect you, it will be gone." Check Romans 3, 5, 8, and 9. This is important. Self-love is one of Satan's biggest ploys ...