Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Persis:

As human beings, we are body and soul, and our souls include thinking and emotion. However, it is easy to pit one against the other, and we become imbalanced. That's why I appreciated this article by Brian Borgman - "God Cares About How You Feel". Rather than elevating vs. suppressing our emotions, God is restoring them. 

Our emotions received the fatal infection of original sin and a fallen human nature. Like a few drops of dye into a pitcher of water, every molecule of our nature has been colored by the toxic dye of sin. Emotions, which were designed to be good and work in tandem with the mind and will, now either dominate or become dormant. On the one hand, they can dominate our thinking so that what controls us is how we feel, how we determine what is true is based on how we feel, and how we relate to others is based on how we feel about them. The chaos of such life can be painful. On the other hand, trying to ignore or repress our emotions (and be like a Star Trek Vulcan rather than a human) is also a recipe for disaster. Truth and beauty in God and in life become black and white, and we fail to be whole people. What we need in our mangled humanity is full restoration.

Rebecca:

Lamentations is one book of the Bible that I haven't spent a lot of time in. But this piece made me want to change that: How to Read Lamentations Theologically. Or, to put it another way: What does Lamentations teach us about God?

As I was searching for this link, I found a similar piece from a few years ago: Can Your Theology Handle the Book of Lamentations?

If you can’t handle the themes and trajectories of Lamentations then you can’t handle the gospel. Every thread in this book is divinely stitched to Calvary. 

Therefore, take up and read Lamentations!

Now I really want to!

Review: Not Forsaken

Not Forsaken: A Story of Life After Abuse, Jennifer Michelle Greenberg, The Good Book Company, 2019, 232 pages.

Not Forsaken by Jennifer Michelle Greenberg began as series of letters to her husband to try to explain the trauma and emotional, mental, and physical aftermath of her child abuse. She also wrote for her own understanding of herself and to try to make sense of what she endured. Those letters became this book, and I am so glad she wrote it for the rest of us.

The book begins with memories from Jenn's childhood. Painful memories of fear and betrayal. But also memories of crying out to God to be the father she did not really have. These recollections, while written with discretion, are raw and a window into the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father who was a professing Christian.

The subsequent chapters work through the questions that she had to come to terms with. Was she really abused? Does Jesus understand? Jenn also deals with the issues of trauma, which she describes as a "concussion of the heart," self harm, guilt, and more. The misunderstanding that victims endure regarding reporting, the fear of not being believed, and pain of being doubted are eye-opening especially for readers who haven't suffered abuse. Also basic concepts like being made in God's image, the fatherhood of God, and love itself have been so distorted that they needed to be learned perhaps for the first time. Jenn's chapter on forgiveness is one of the best that I have ever read. She upholds the grace of God for sinners in balance with the need for repentance, God's justice, and care for the victims.

I had a hard time putting the book down once I started reading it, although there were times I had to pause and cry. Jenn's writing is candid, powerful, and full of hope in the God who did not forsake her. In her reflections, she sometimes incorporates the stories of other survivors but always draws her conclusions from the Word of God. While Not Forsaken isn't meant to be prescriptive or a clinical manual, it provides spiritual and practical insight on how to support and not add to the hurt through ignorance or misunderstanding.

I strongly recommend Not Forsaken. If you are a victim/survivor, you will find a compassionate friend who has walked a similar path. If you are a church leader or anyone who cares about the suffering of others, this book is for you, too. It will help you to better love and support the child abuse victim/survivor who may be in your family, next door, or in the next pew.

I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Persis:

Can We Identify Our Lack? by Joshua Torrey

How am I participating in the fellowship of the body by letting people serve me? Not just in a superficial way (beer and mangos are delicious and good for my soul) but in a deeply dependent way. For that is precisely what it means to reject a theology of perfectionism—announcing a lack that can only, for now, be fulfilled by the church community. We can hear the echoing warning from Paul, “If anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

Kim:

Yes, another good video from Bill Mounce! In all honesty, in the past couple of weeks, I have read almost no blogs. I've started working on my research project for one of my classes, and I just haven't been online a lot.

I have listened to this video, and I think Mounce is absolutely right: our bodies were made to move. Because we live in a very technological world, our bodies have no need to do what our ancestors before us had to do. That means our bodies are not being used as they could be. In the past four months, I have exercised more than I have since I was 15 years old. It has made a huge difference to my energy level, my attitude and my concentration.

What I've Learned About Publishing: Exercise. 

Rebecca:

When Jesus was facing his death, in his farewell discourse to his disciples, he began to reveal "the inner nature of God to them. " He began to show them that God is Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Many Christians tend to think of the Trinity as an impractical, speculative doctrine. But not so the Lord Jesus. For Him, it is neither speculative nor impractical—but the very reverse. It is the foundation of the gospel. Without the love of the Father, the coming of the Son, and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, there simply could be no salvation.

Read the rest of Deep Theology by Sinclair Ferguson.

Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Rebecca:

Do you imagine God looking into the future to discover what will be? Is this how he knows what will happen? 


Persis:

A very helpful podcast about a difficult topic. Ecclesiastical Dogmatism: Abuse in the Church.

Quotes of Note

Each Monday, we share quotes we found encouraging, convicting, thought-provoking, or all of the above.

Persis:

This is a quote from Forbearance: A Theological Ethic for a Disagreeable Church by James Calvin Davis. I wanted to read this book because of the question that opens the preface:

What happens when we approach theological disagreement not as a problem to solve or a crisis to endure, but as an opportunity to practice Christian virtue? ... Of course, some Christians may be concerned that a call for forbearance sounds like I am asking us to soften or abandon our commitment to what we think is right and true... To the contrary, forbearance invites us to believe, to defend our convictions, and to pursue what we think is right and true in God's eyes. But it invites us to do all of that good work with a certain character and attitude, so that our pursuit of justice and truth itself is reshaped by the practice of forbearance.

This practice of forbearance intrigues me because disagreement between Christians has become more divisive of late. Thus I am curious about what the author has to say.


Rebecca:

God's omnipotence and his care for us go together, writes Matthew Barrett in None Greater. The lives of Sarah and Hannah are examples of this:

Though women like Sarah and Hannah were embarrassing to society—barren and cursed—they were God's instruments of salvation, through which the seed of Genesis 3:15 would come to crush the serpent's head. The point is, the wisdom of God's power is displayed in our weakness. His wise omnipotence shines bright in our darkest hour.

One of my favorite truths is that God is accomplishing his wise purposes in our suffering. But I don't think I'd put it together quite like this before: As God works his plan through our weakness, his wisdom and power are revealed. His glory shines bright in a way it would not otherwise.

This is one universal good purpose for every bit of suffering we endure.

Quotes of Note

Each Monday, we share quotes we found encouraging, convicting, thought-provoking, or all of the above.

Rebecca:

On the relationship between the kingdom of God and the cross from The Kingdom of God and the Glory of the Cross by Patrick Schreiner:

At times an emphasis on the kingdom [of God] displaces or at least shifts attention away from a theology of the cross. It seems that we are prone to speak either of the kingdom or of the cross, unintentionally driving a wedge between the two. However, it is precisely in Jesus’s announcement, “The kingdom of God is at hand,” that he presupposes the kingdom will be accomplished by his death. The kingdom is not a higher or more important theme than the cross. These two realities are forever joined; separating them is an act of violence.

If the kingdom is the goal, then the cross is the means. But this does not mean that the cross simply falls between the ages. Rather, it is the wheel that shifts one age into another; it is the great transition piece, the turn of the ages for the people of God seeking their place. Martin Luther said that the cross must be the test of everything, and that includes a biblical theology of the kingdom. Jesus becomes King through the cross.

Persis:

Here's another quote from None Greater by Matthew Barrett which is fitting since my pastor preached yesterday from Romans 3.

[T]he just God has not compromised his holy character by passing over sins but has put forward his own Son as a propitiation. He has not given grace at the expense of his righteousness, but his righteousness itself has produced grace. Christ is the perfect sacrifice, the holy substitute, whose spilled blood satisfies divine justice itself. The cross is the way - the only way - God can remain righteous and just yet legitimately justify guilty sinners, like you and me. At the cross, justice and mercy kiss. For God is both “just and the justified of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Kim:

Grant Osborne, in his commentary on Matthew, talks about chapter 5 verse 20:

The problem is inherent in all legalistic movements: certain patterns are identified with holiness, but they are too easily external (acted out) rather than internal (truly believed and lived). The result is hypocrisy (see Matt 23). Therefore, a mere righteousness by fiat is insufficient. The lifestyle God demands of the heart, lived out in daily actions.

Quotes of Note

Each Monday, we share quotes we found encouraging, convicting, thought-provoking, or all of the above.

Persis:

From None Greater by Matthew Barrett:

Sin against an infinite God cannot be atoned for by a Savior who has emptied himself of his divine attributes. No, it is his divine attributes that qualify him to make atonement in the first place. Sin against an infinite God can be met only by a Savior who is himself deity - and all the perfections identical with that deity - in infinite measure.

Rebecca:

Well! My chosen quote is from None Greater by Matthew Barrett, too. This not surprising, really, because this book is full of quotable bits.

While we may long for that day [the day we see our Savior face-to-face] with great expectation, we do not look for it as those who have not tasted of it here and now. While the banquet may be yet to come, already we have tasted its firstfuits. We may await the new heavens and earth, but on this earth, this side of glory, the Spirit is with us and within us. Every guarantee of that future day is assured in the ongoing, persistent, and unrelenting presence of the Spirit in our daily Christian lives. Every little victory over indwelling sin and every little desire to love others as Christ has loved us is a sign that the Spirit is at work in us, preparing us for that final day. The Spirit truly is a gift through whom we, as his little temples, enjoy fellowship with our Triune God . . . .

Kim:

And while I've purchased None Greater, my quotation is not from that book :)

From Paul Tripp's Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands:

If we want to know what people really want, we have to learn about their emotional life. Happiness is the result of getting what my heart craves. Discouragement is the emotional response of my heart when a thing I live for moves farther away from me. My heart is filled with fear when I suddenly lose what I am convinced I need. In short, our emotions reflect what we worship.

Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Persis:

"As a people, we must strive to return to what’s true: That life is precious. Each life is unique. Each one irreplaceable. Each one unrepeatable." On Suicide: We Are Our Brothers' Keepers

Rebecca

Why Should I Read Deuteronomy? Not only will this piece make you want to read Deuteronomy, but it can also guide as you make your way through the book.

Five-Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Persis:

God Does Not Need You... And That's Good News! by Matthew Barrett

If God were a needy God, he would need our help just as much as we need his. What good news it is, then, that the gospel depends on a God who does not depend on us.

Rebecca:

I married young, and if I had it to do over again, I'd do exactly the same thing. So I heartily endorse this message: The Case For Getting Married Young. [Update: Someone pointed out that the Atlantic chose a photo of two male hands to accompany this article. I hadn't noticed this when I shared the link. It is a very unfortunate choice, because Karen Swallow Prior definitely has marriage between a man and a woman—her own marriage in particular—in mind in this piece. I am going to leave the link up, because I hate it when people just delete things and act as if they never happened in the first place. The article itself is  good,  but the photo—which Karen probably had no control over—is not. I am sorry I didn't see it before I shared the link in the first place.]

Kim:

When I purged my books in January, I came across quite a few that were merely "trends," I realized I needed to be more careful about my book buying.

Old Books, New Books, and Trends That Fade Away.

Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Kim:

This week's episode of "Mortification of Spin" talks about the danger of success in leadership. One of the comments made was that when someone is up in front of a congregation (or a Sunday school class) and we see people engaged with us, we can become more interested in our own glory than God's. Carl Trueman commented that we should welcome evaluation because it is a humbling thing. As I listened to this, I could not help but think how Twitter can foster a lot of ego, because we can garner many followers who validate us, while at the same time, blocking the criticism.

"Hit Man Wanted"

Persis:

I appreciate this post by Lisa Spencer, On Platt and Priorities, about the recent reaction, both pro and con, to Pastor David Platt's prayer for the president of the United States. When it comes to politics and its ability to polarize even Christians, it is possible to forget the priority of Christ and his gospel. Lisa reminds us of that:

The book of Jonah is instructive here. God told Jonah to bring a message to the Ninevites about turning their hearts towards him. Instead, Jonah did everything he could to avoid such a spectacle and begrudged the fact that God would ask such a thing. Just like Jonah, who qualified who should receive God's grace and mercy, we might be saying the same thing disguised as anti-partisan interests.

Rebecca:

Stand to Reason has a series of videos with apologetics tips. In the latest one, Alan Shlemon reminds people like me (those who feel guilty for not saying enough when talking with non-believers) to set a modest goal for our conversations.  We don't need to get the gospel in every time. "Instead," he says, "aim to put a stone in their shoe." 

Quotes of Note

Each Monday, we share quotes we found encouraging, convicting, thought-provoking, or all of the above.

Persis:

I'm rereading All That's Good by Hannah Anderson with a group of women from church. The whole book is great, but the last chapter sums up the reason for discernment. A reason that is just bigger than my individual Christian life. It's for the healing of the Body of Christ.

Here's the hard truth: If you are entrusted with a certain gift, most of the people around you won't be similarly gifted. They won't be able to see as clearly because God has not equipped them to. But being gifted with discernment does not give you permission to be spiteful, arrogant, or judgmental toward them. It is your responsibility to help the community by raising uncomfortable questions, and then waiting patiently while it struggles with them. And more than likely, you'll have to wait much longer than you want... you will have to remember that you are part of the Body, you are part of something bigger than yourself. You will have to remember that the clarity you enjoy is not for you alone. It is for the healing of the Body of Christ.

Rebecca:

The simplicity of God can be hard to understand. That God is simple means that he is not made up of parts. Or to put is another way, he is not a composite being. Still, we list God's attributes (love, righteousness, and power, for instance), and consider them separately, although we know God is truly one undivided essence.

In None Greater: The  Undomesticated Attributes of God, Matthew Barrett illustrates simplicity this way.

What I love best about traveling is seeing old churches. Churches that are several hundred years old typically have stained glass. Back then, churches would hire a craftsman to fashion biblical scenes using the colorful glass. Stepping back from the glass, one could see the entire story of the Bible pictured. The beauty of stained glass is seen most when one sunbeam hits the glass and several different colors are portrayed on the inside of the glass—yellow, red, blue, and so on. That imagery pictures simplicity in a way. God is one, and his attributes are identical with one another. Yet when God's undivided essence is revealed to humanity, it shines in various ways. Nevertheless, it is the same, single ray of light that radiates. God's attributes, says the Puritan George Swinnock, "are all one and the same; as when the sunbeams shine through a yellow glass they are yellow, a green glass they are green, a red glass they are red, and yet all the while the beams are the same."

As finite creatures, we can't know God in his infinite simplicity, but we can see him as he "shines through glass," so to speak. From our human viewpoint, we see various perfections, and with each perfection, we can understand another aspect of God's one undivided essence.

Kim:

From Grant Osborne's commentary on Matthew:

Jesus is never called "Immanuel" (1:23) as a proper name; rather, the term is a metaphor for the fact that in Jesus God is present "with" his people in a whole new way. There are four stages biblically: (1) God is present via his "Shekniah," or dwelling via the pillar of fire and cloud in the exodus and his throne at the midpoint where the wings of the seraphim meet above the ark, i.e., in the Most Holy Place throughout the OT. (2) God is present via his son, who was in a sense a walking Most Holy Place during his life on this earth. (3) God is present via the holy Spirit during the church age. (4) God is present physically and in full reality throughout eternity (Rev. 21:1-22:5).

Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Persis:

What do we do when the figures we admire in church history have feet of clay? Ignore or gloss over those flaws? But if we believe the gospel saves sinners and that believers struggle with sin until they are glorified, what should our response be knowing that we have been saved as well? This is a thought-provoking post on one of those figures, George Whitefield, by Jared Wilson - Was George Whitefield a Christian? 

Rebecca:

In the video How Is Brokenness Different from Sin?, Jeremy Treat and Eric Thoennes discuss the relationship between brokenness and sin. I’ll admit I’m not crazy about the word “broken,” but then the people I hear use it seem to think “brokenness” is humanity’s primary problem. (It isn't; sin is.)

But if “broken” is used along with the word “sin”—and simply used to describe the effects of sin in this world—I might be okay with it.

Kim:

Here is an opportunity to understand how to better help missionaries reaching out to unreached people groups. Seth Callahan shares a couple of interesting ideas. I have known Seth for a long time, and have served with him in camp ministry. 

OK, so here’s the starting point for the conversation: The Evangelical church spends 99.7% of their (our) funds engaging with people in REACHED people groups, that is, people who already have access to God’s Word in their language and have a functioning indigenous church.

Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Persis:

This is another letter in the Seven Letters Seven Dangers series - The Doctrinaire Church, a post that hits close to home. How easy it is to love the truth but fail to love the Giver of truth. This shows in how we use the truth.

You are right to pursue truth and know the Scriptures. But be on guard against being doctrinaire. Our brother Paul said “watch your life and doctrine closely.” Our temptation is to use our doctrines in ways that is cold, dry, or even forceful, hurtful and graceless.

This is also another thought-provoking post - On Being the Church for the Weak. When the goal is tp be a "church for winners," does that create real community? Or is it enduring together knowing full well that we are weak and broken?

Even my own life is full of habits of being that pursue prominence and push away vulnerability. The church is a profoundly painful place because we all have ways of hurting each other by our very ways of being...

So why do I choose church membership again and again? The church is the place where the Lordship of Jesus Christ is confessed and enacted week by week. The church is the place where I can climb down the ladder to meet him as he reaches down to the dust to heal the weakest.

Rebecca:

On putting a theology degree (or even just some solid knowledge of theology) to work in unexpected places. 

Could a theology degree equip you to produce a blog, newsletter, curriculum, or podcast to serve your local church?

Could a theology degree allow you to answer the complex questions of younger women?

If you’re a woman with a theology degree—or just a solid foundation through your childhood, church, or college ministry—you are needed.

And one more for good measure: Jared Wilson shows that Job 31:13-15 tells us at least three things about the unborn.

Quotes of Note

Each Monday, we share quotes we found encouraging, convicting, thought-provoking, or all of the above.

Persis:

This is a quote from You Are What You Love by James K.A. Smith which may be one of the most eye-opening books I have read this year.

Christian worship, we should recognize, is essentially a counterformation to these rival liturgies we are often immersed in, cultural practices that covertly capture our loves and longings, miscalibrating them, orienting us to rival versions of the good life. This is why worship is the heart of discipleship. We can't counter the power of cultural liturgies with didactic information poured into our intellects. We can't recalibrate the heart from the top down, through merely informational measures. The orientation of the heart happens from the bottom up, through the formation of our habits of desire. Learning to love (God) takes practice. (pg. 25)

Rebecca:

In None Greater, Matthew Barrett writes that God's aseity—that he "has of himself all that he has"—

is wrapped up in . . . his role as Israel's covenant Lord and Savior. When God enters into a covenant relationship with Abraham and later on with Israel, he does so as the God who is independent. His independence entails his possession of (rather than his dependence on) all things. As the God who is sovereign over all things, he can give to Abraham and Israel a great and prosperous land and make them a nation that will bless all nations. 

What's more, the gospel depends on God's aseity:

If God were not life in and of himself, if he were not independent of us, then he would not be . . . able to save us . . . .  If God were not a se, then he would be weak and pathetic, for he would be needy and dependent to. He would need saving, just as we do . . . . 

[I]t is precisely because God is free from creation that he is able to save lost sinners like you and me (Ephesians 1:7-8). If God were a needy God, he would need our help just as much as we need his. What good news it is, then, that the gospel depends on a God who does not depend on us.

Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Persis:

Theology for Everyone has started a series, Seven Letters Seven Dangers. Each letter is written to the church on a particular area of concern. So far the posts have covered Pride, Fear of Man, and Zeal & Complacency. I appreciate these warnings because I am not immune and need to take heed lest I fall. (1 Cor. 10:11)

Rebecca:

One pastor gives one piece of advice to mothers of wayward adult children:

I believe that behind many of the lives I've seen transformed in my years of young-adult ministry are moms who refused to quit praying even when it felt hopeless . . .  —Austin Gohn

He uses Monica, Augustine's mother an example of a mother who prayed fervently for her son's salvation. If you want to know more of Monica's story, here's a biographical sketch by Simonetta Carr.

Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Rebecca:

Some of the most beautiful (and saddest) lines in the Psalms are found Psalm 137: 

By the waters of Babylon,

there we sat down and wept,

when we remembered Zion.

2 On the willows there

we hung up our lyres.

3 For there our captors

required of us songs,

and our tormentors, mirth, saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4 How shall we sing the LORD's song

in a foreign land?

Here is a reflection from Stephen Nichols on Singing the Lord's Song in a Foreign Land:

When Israel first arrived in Babylon, the degree to the which the land was foreign was striking. We know from the book of Daniel, for instance, how idolatry ruled the land. How foreign was that place from Jerusalem and from the Temple and from the land of the Lord their God. The psalmist calls the Babylonians not only his captors, but also his tormentors. The foreign-ness of that place was palpable. It threw the Psalmist off balance. How could he sing?

Persis:

Simonetta Carr writes about When Broken People Show Up At Your Broken Church:

It’s easy to find articles indicting the church for its failure to welcome and help people with mental illness. A Google search of these keywords brings up dismal results. That’s probably because we are quicker to report bad news than good ones. There are, in fact, loving communities where people with mental illness find love and inclusion...

Realizing we are all in the same boat and in equal need of a Savior brings down barriers, eliminates stigma, fosters sincere compassion, and encourages open communication. In that sense, Covenant OPC is not unusual. There are many other churches where the gospel is preached every Sunday, constantly changing hearts of stone. They are still imperfect, but so are families, doctors, and hospitals. We all learn as we go, and it’s this willingness to admit we’re broken and to humbly learn to love our broken neighbors that makes a difference.

Quotes of Note

Each Monday, we share quotes we found encouraging, convicting, thought-provoking, or all of the above.

Persis:

This was a convicting quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the "Ministry of Listening" in his book, Life Together:

The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists of listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God's love for us that He not only gives us His Word but also lends us His ear. So it is His work that we do for our brothers when we learn to listen to him...

Brotherly pastoral care is essentially distinguished from preaching by the fact that, added to the task of speaking the Word, there is the obligation of listening. There is a kind of listening with half an ear that presumes already to know what the other person has to say. It is an impatient, inattentive listening, that despises the brother and is only waiting for a chance to speak and thus get rid of the other person. This is no fulfillment of our obligation, and it is certain that here too our attitude toward our brother only reflects our relationship to God. 

Kim: 

I am really enjoying Ed Hirsch, Jr.'s Validity in Interpretation. It's not a Christian book, but it is about hermeneutics in general. It really gets to the heart of what meaning and interpretation are. And that can only be helpful when applied to Biblical texts.

Hirsch reminds us that interpretation is an art:

A translation or paraphrase tries to render the meaning in new terms; an explanation tries to point to the meaning in new terms. That is why interpretation, like translation, is an art, for the interpreter has to find means of conveying to the uninitiated, in terms familiar to them, those presuppositions and meanings which are equivalent to those in the original meaning. 

Even as I think about this in the context of teaching (which relies on paraphrase), I realize that finding ways which draw on the student's presuppositions and pre-understandings is something very challenging.

Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Persis:

I loved this article by Karen Kessens and the parallel she drew between our favorite book genres and the people we normally gravitate to in the local church -  How Well Are You Reading Your Church?

Next time you walk into the human library that is your local church, take notice. We are surrounded by “a great cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1) of saints who have gone before us but all around us are living stories of what God has done and continues doing as he is building his church.

Don’t miss out on the vastness of his redeeming work by only reading in one or two genres, but look outside your normal spheres of interaction to broaden your engagement with the community of believers he has specially chosen to put you among that day.

Read broadly and don’t neglect the great shelf of witnesses placed on the pew next to you.

Kim:

I found very helpful this article  by Steve Matthewson, "How Can I Regain the Use of Hebrew and Greek?" . I completed my Greek studies this year and I begin Hebrew in September. I have to say that learning Koine Greek has been one of the most satisfying and helpful things I've done.

There are ways to study the biblical languages without going to seminary. Bill Mounce has resources to learn online. Think of it this way: if you have time to spend an hour or two a day on a hobby or activity, consider investing that time in learning Greek. It's worth the effort.

Rebecca:

No one wants to have to make end of life medical decisions for a loved one who is unable to direct their own medical care, but if (when) you find yourself in this difficult position, this piece by Kathryn Butler lays out a few bibilical principles to ground your decision making and suggests some questions to help you sort through the issues.

Quotes of Note

Each Monday, we share quotes we found encouraging, convicting, thought-provoking, or all of the above.

Persis:

This is a quote on love for our neighbor in Body Broken by Charles Drew:

Zeal for the coming Christ and love for people go together. Our practice of public goodness aims not to put people down but to win people to him before it is too late. What our culture needs these days is a vibrant, plausible, winsome Christianity. Intellectual and philosophical arguments are important and good, but they cannot stand alone. They must come from lives of people who have evidently been changed for the better by the God they profess. Do we love people enough, we must ask, to showcase - by how we talk, how we do business, how we do politics, how we treat people, and how we as Christians get along with each other - something of the goodness, justice, loyalty, beauty, and love of our true home?

Rebecca:

If we know anything about God, it is because he has chosen to make it known; revelation is a gift. In that light, our task cannot be speculation. Our response to his revelation concerning himself is not to demand knowledge of that which he has chosen to conceal. 

Instead, Christian humility requires us to receive with gratitude what he has spoken and to limit ourselves to what he has said and done, rather than pine after what he has not said and those works he has left unperformed.

 [Matthew Barrett in None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God]

Kim:

From Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics: God and Creation.  Bavinck has spent time discussing the arguments for the existence of God:

Faith attempts to give an account of the religious impressions and feelings that we humans receive and carry with us in our soul. That faith also exerts its influence on the intellect, which in turn seeks little by little to introduce some order in that chaos of impressions and notions. It classifies them and reduces them to a few categories. Impressions come to us from the world of ideas (the ontological argument); from the world of finite contingent, and mutable things (the cosmological arguments); from the world of beauty and harmonious design (the teleological argument); from that of moral order (the moral argument); from the speech of history of all humankind (the universal consent and the historical argument). However, although these impressions may be so classified, no one should ever think that these six proofs are the sole, isolated testimonies God sends us. On the contrary; to the believer all things speak of god; the whole universe is the mirror of his perfections. There is not an atom of the universe in which his everlasting power and deity are not clearly seen.

Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Rebecca:

5 Minutes in Church History is one of my favorite podcasts. Here's an interesting episode about Perpetua and Felicitas, two early Christian women who were martyred for their faith.

Kim: 

Karl Vaters discusses "6 Important Differences Between Performance Music and Worship Music"  It contains good points but also generates more questions. My first question is how does the us of "worship teams" with multiple people on a platform as the centre of attention make the risk of performance greater than a more minimalist approach.

Persis:

I appreciate Pastor Sam Powell's posts. This is from Good Friday of last week but worth contemplating any day - Ye Who Think of Sin But Lightly...

How bad is our sin? Our sin is so bad that the only solution was the death of the Son of God. He who is perfect innocence, infinite love, immaculate beauty, pure and undefiled goodness….the one who cried out with tears in Gethsemane “If you are willing, take this cup away from me”. But the cup would not be taken away, because it is the only way that sinners can stand before God. His compassion and obedience were perfect, for he is true and righteous man. And his power is infinite, for he is true God. “Not my will, but thine be done.”

Quotes of Note

Each Monday, we share quotes we found encouraging, convicting, thought-provoking, or all of the above.


Kim:

My Greek professor, Wayne Baxter, has written a book We've Lost. What Now? Practical Counsel from the Book of Daniel. It deals with the issue of coping as Christians in culture when we have become marginalized:

God knew that the Western church would eventually lose its footing in society and be shoved into the periphery. And yet, God is still there for us. In the midst of the mockery and the animosity that we so often attract, we can still humbly turn to God with confidence, knowing that he has not excused himself from the scene. Though sometimes feeling abandoned, he has not left us as orphans (Isa. 49:15). Therefore, although we live in exile we should never live with a sense of despair over our circumstances, simply biding time until Jesus "calls it" and finally returns for his church. For not only can we count on God's abiding presence, he has also given us unique gifts to equip us in our exile in order to enable us to speak prophetically, through word and deed, to a watching world so that we can witness more effectively to our community.

Persis:

We just finished a Sunday school class on John Owen's Mortification of Sin. Here is an encouraging quote on who supplies the wherewithall to mortify sin.

Christ is the fountain from which the new man must draw the influence of life and strength, or he will decay every day. If we are 'strengthened with power ... in [our] inner being', it is by Christ's 'dwelling in [our] hearts through faith' (Eph. 3:16-17).

That this is not to be done without the Holy Spirit we have already considered. You might ask: 'Whence, then, do we expect the Spirit? From whom do we look for Him? Who has promised Him to us? Who has secured His aid for us?' Is not the answer to all these questions, Christ alone?

Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Rebecca:

Natasha Crain models one excellent way to help older kids (middle school aged and up) think through some of the so-called wisdom they hear: Choose Kind Over Being Right?

This morning I attended weekly chapel with my kids at their school. At the end, one of the kids from student government shared an “inspirational quote” . . . 

I was happy that both of my 10-year-olds immediately looked up at me with a questioning glance. This is the kind of secular wisdom that sounds good but has layers of problems. Like other quotes of this nature, there is some truth, but it’s also very misleading.

Persis:

Amy Mantravadi continues her articles on the doctrine of God - How Can We Know God? 

Christianity is a religion of revelation, and our God is a God who reveals himself. Perhaps you, like me, experience dark days when you feel that God is distant or even absent from your life, but it is a great comfort to know that God has not left us as ignorant orphans. He has condescended and spoken, authoritatively and finally, into our lives. Human history is the story of the revelation of God.

Kim:

Matthew Boffey shares "Three Rules for Using Commentaries." I am thankful that he points out that we need to think ahead before choosing one. 

When you know the kind of question you have, you know the kind of commentary to reach for. If it’s a textual question, a critical commentary is best suited to help you. If it’s interpretive, reach for a critical or expository commentary. And if it’s about theology or application, scan a theological or application commentary. Conveniently, the type is usually in the name. 

A very helpful site that I have benefitted from is Best Commentaries. It has the added help of indicating whether the commentary is technical, pastoral, or devotional.

Look for the Helper

I knew a young man who embraced the gospel joyfully (or so it seemed), began to attend church, but then rejected it all when his old friends rejected him. His friends thought he’s gone nuts, especially when they found out what Christianity teaches about sexual morality. Their insults and ridicule were too much for him to bear, and before long he chose his friends’ approval over Christ’s.

It can be difficult to be a Christian when your friends, family, and culture reject you. The temptation to leave the faith because of the suffering that comes from this kind of abuse is real.

The people to whom New Testament book of Hebrews was written had experienced similar suffering, but to an even greater degree. After they “were enlightened,” they had “endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction . . . .” Their possessions were confiscated, too, and some of them were imprisoned (Hebrews 10:32-34 ESV). They were mistreated because of their faith, but unlike the young man I knew, they stayed the course. They could have avoided their trials by walking away from the faith, but instead, they courageously and joyfully chose a path they knew would bring more trials to them.

At the time Hebrews was written, it seems they were facing suffering again, and the author of Hebrews was concerned for them because they “were being tempted to be disloyal to God and give up their Christian profession.” [1] This time around their trials might be even worse. This time, perhaps, a few would be called to lay down their lives for their faith (Hebrews 12:4). Would they all stand firm once more? Or would some of them “drift away” (Hebrews 2:1) when the going got rough?

The author of Hebrew encourages them to withstand this round of suffering by pointing them to Jesus:

For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted (Hebrews 2:18 NASB)

I’ve quoted this verse from NASB because it (along with the NRSV) translates this verse in a way that makes a point that both of the commentaries I consulted [2] also make. The subject of the paragraph this verse is in is Jesus offering himself as a sacrifice for human sin. This verse, then, isn’t focusing on Jesus’s experience of human temptation in general, but rather on the temptations he experienced as he faced the cross.[3] He was tempted to choose an easier path than the “way of suffering and death.”[4]

But he didn’t give into temptation. Jesus was “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

Those who first received the Epistle of Hebrews could look to Jesus, the founder of their salvation (Hebrews 2:10), as an example of endurance in suffering. But he wasn't simply an example to them. He could help them stay true when they were tempted to turn away from him in order to avoid trials.  Jesus experienced temptation similar to theirs, so he could intercede for them before the Father. “What a source of strength it was to them,” writes F. F. Bruce, “to be assured that in the presence of God they had as their champion and intercessor one who had known similar and even sorer temptations, and had withstood them victoriously.”[5]

Jesus is our intercessor, too. When we are tempted to do whatever it takes to avoid insults and rejection because of what we believe—and at this point in time, that’s probably the worst we’ll have to endure, although I expect thing to get worse in the future—we have a helper who understands how much this kind of suffering hurts. He will come to our aid. Because "He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered," he can help us endure our trials and stay faithful to him.

---

[1]F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, page 89.

[2]Bruce's commentary, and Thomas R Schreiner, Commentary on Hebrews.

[3]See Matthew 16:23 for a specific example, and also Jesus's experience in Gethsemane.

[4]Bruce, page 89.
[5]Bruce, Page 89.

Quotes of Note

Each Monday, we share quotes we found encouraging, convicting, thought-provoking, or all of the above.

Persis:

I just finished reading Disruptive Witness by Alan Noble. It's one of the most thought-provoking books I have read this year. This is quote on how Christian witness during times of suffering can be counter-cultural.

Virtually every force in our culture mitigates against us contemplating our mortality and its implications. Rather than a traditional period of mourning as we find in other cultures and times, American culture encourages us to cope and move on. We can offer a disruptive witness merely by weeping with those who weep, giving them space and dialogue to experience sorrow and to contemplate mortality, suffering, and evil. Our presence and openness to the weight of tragedy will itself be a witness to God's compassion and the significance of each human life. (pg. 168)

Rebecca:

All week long, as I read I kept my eye open for a suitable quote for the Quotes of Note, but I found nothing. So how about a little poetry?

Here are the last two verses of Christina Rosetti's poem The Offering Of The New Law, The One Oblation Once Offered:

Sacrifice and Offering
None there is that I can bring,
None, save what is Thine alone:
I bring Thee, Lord, but of Thine Own— 

Broken Body, Blood Outpoured,
These I bring, my God, my Lord;
Wine of Life, and Living Bread,
With these for me Thy Board is spread.

Now go read the whole thing.

Five Star Links

Each Friday, we share links we found especially interesting or inspiring during the previous week. 

Persis:

The Weakness and Strength of Being an Autistic Christian:

We all have strengths and weaknesses, and we can and should all work together as the Body of Christ. So, with compassion let us as Autistics and Neurotypicals build each other up and bear with one another in love. The Neurotypical Christian can help the Autistic feel more comfortable and to learn social skills, boundaries, and body language. The Autistic Christian can use their interests to grow the Body and show them the deep wonder of the ordinary world God made. In all our weaknesses, God uses our weakness for His glory!

And another link for good measure. The testimony of how Dr. Michael Haykin was rescued from Marxism to Christ:

The third night—to my amazement—I fell on my knees, crying out to God for salvation. Graciously he opened my eyes to know his Son, and to know that in Christ there is salvation not only from sin’s power, but also from sin’s wages—eternal death. When I went home that weekend to Ancaster and Hamilton on the Greyhound bus, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was no longer alone—God had graciously come into my heart, the citadel of my life, and taken possession of it by his Holy Spirit.

Rebecca: 

Bill Mounce asks, "What's the proper way to translate John 3:16?"  Read the piece and take the poll.

Also, Amy Mantravadi on the simplicity of God, an important doctrine that "is the common confession of most Catholics and Protestants, medievals and moderns."

Kim:

I appreciated Christina Fox's post "Favorite Books About Writing." I have read three of the five on her list, and I agree with her on the usefulness of them. I was intrigued by the suggestion of a book by C.S. Lewis on writing, and have added that to my wish list. My favourite book on writing is Stephen King's On Writing.

And seeing as we're giving bonus links, also check out Christina's post, "We Don't Always Need Something New."

Quotes of Note

Each Monday, we share quotes we found encouraging, convicting, thought-provoking, or all of the above.

Persis:

We were blessed to have Dr. William Vandoodewaard speak at my church's theology conference this past weekend. This quote is from his book on the Marrow Controversy and contains a quote from Thomas Boston on the mystical union of Christ and the believer.

Boston describes the two parts of "the mystical union betwixt Christ and believers" as begun and sustained by the work of "the Spirit on Christ's part, whereby he apprehendeth, taketh, and keepeth hold of us" and the subsequent "faith on the believer's part" whereby "the believer apprehends, takes, and keeps hold of Christ," Boston states, "This faith is that true one, whereby a sinner rests on Christ for all his salvation.... [This] faith is the only mean on our part.... a self-emptying and creature-emptying grace.... The soul having faith wrought in it by the Spirit actually believes and receives Christ, putting forth the hand of the soul to embrace him."  pg. 83

Rebecca:

Here's another quote from F. F. Bruce's commentary on The Epistle to the Hebrews.

It calls for an exceptional effort of mind on our part to appreciate how paradoxical was the attitude of those early Christians to the death of Christ. If ever death had appeared to be triumphant, it was when Jesus of Nazareth, disowned by the leaders of his nation abandoned by his disciples, executed by the might of imperial Rome, breathed his last on the cross. Why, some had actually recognized in his cry of pain and desolation the complaint that even God had forsaken him. His faithful followers had confidently expected him to be the destined liberator of Israel; but he had died—not, like Judas of Galilee of Judas Maccabaeus, in the forefront of the struggle against the Gentile oppressors of Israel, but in evident weakness and disgrace—and their hopes died with him. If ever a cause was lost, it was his; if ever the powers of evil were victorious, it was then. And yet—within a generation his followers were exultingly proclaiming the crucified Jesus to be the conqueror of death and asserting, like our author here, that by dying he had reduced the erstwhile lord of death to impotence. The keys of death and Hades were henceforth held firmly in Jesus’ powerful hand, for he, in the language of his own parable, had invaded the strong man’s fortress, disarmed him, bound him fast, and robbed him of his spoil (Luke 11:21f). This is the unanimous witness of the New Testament writers; this was the assurance which nerved martyrs to face death boldly in his name. This sudden change from disillusionment to triumph can only be explained by the account which the apostles gave—that their Master rose from the dead and imparted to them the power of his risen life.

This is written specifically in regards to Hebrews 2:14, but you don't even need to know the context to see that this is a powerful paragraph. Commentaries don't have to be boring!

Kim (Chiming in late; it was a busy weekend!):

The book Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Exposition of Genesis, is one my professor recommended to me for my paper on Genesis 15. This is a short paragraph, but I believe it is important. The author, Allen Ross, is discussing the need to develop the theology of a passage:

In the final analysis the narrative unit has something to say theologically. It may include theological motifs and statements, but together they will express a unified theological idea. Accordingly, the exposition should develop the theology of the passage; failure to do so will inevitably leave the exposition on the level of storytelling, historical inquiry, or Bible trivia. (emphasis mine)

Quotes of Note

Each Monday, we share quotes we found encouraging, convicting, thought-provoking, or all of the above.

Persis:

A quote from Devoted to God by Sinclair Ferguson:

If we are to understand the nature of sanctification and successfully pursue it, we must immerse ourselves in appreciating the grace of God expressed to us in Jesus Christ and applied in us by the Holy Spirit. Our response is dependent on it and motivated by it. This alone empowers us to grow in the kind of holiness of which Paul is here speaking. [Rom. 8:3-4] Justification, forgiveness, acceptance, and union with Christ, are the logical and actual grounds for sanctification and obedience - not the other way round. (pg. 35)

Kim:

I'm researching for a paper on Genesis 15, and my professor recommended the book Kingdom Through Covenant. He suggested I read the pertinent sections, but I began reading from the beginning, and found helpful this passage about the link between systematic theology and biblical theology:

Systematic theology involves a twofold task. First, in order to apply Scripture properly, we must interpret Scripture correctly. This requires the doing of biblical theology, namely, as related above, describe for us how God's plan unfolds. This is why biblical theology provides the basis for theologizing and doctrine, since we are not drawing proper theological conclusions unless we first correctly understand all that the Bible teaches in the way the Bible presents it. Yet our reading of Scripture presupposed theological commitments consistent with Scripture and orthodox theology.  Second, systematic theology is more than just the mere repeating of Scripture or the doing of biblical theology since it involves the application of Scripture to all areas of life. Systematic theology inevitably entails theological construction and doctrinal formulation, which is grounded in biblical theology and done in light of historical theology but which also includes interacting with all areas of life -- science, psychology, ethics, and so on.

I remember when I took systematic theology two years ago, I was struck by the truth of that last sentence: that it touches on all areas of life. The systematic theologian has to be a very diverse thinker.

This looks to be a great book. So far, I'm learning a lot about the difference between dispensationalism and covenant theology, something I've long been wanting to do.

Rebecca:

In the Greco-Roman world, the idea that anyone divine would have any relationship with suffering was shocking. To associate himself with suffering seemed beneath a perfect God. The author of Hebrews, then, felt it necessary to explain that it was right for God to cause Jesus to suffer:

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering (Hebrews 2:10 ESV).

We may not find this particular concept counterintuitive, but still, we need to be careful not to presume we know what God ought to do. In F. F. Bruce's commentary on this verse, he reminds us that

[t]here are many who are ready to tell us confidently what would and what would not be worthy of God; but in fact the only way to discover what is a worthy thing for God to do is to consider what God has actually done. The person who says, "I could not have a high opinion of a God who would (or would not) do this or that," is not adding anything to our knowledge of God; he is simply telling us something about himself. We may be sure that all that God does is worthy of himself . . . .