challenging quote (to say the least)

the following is from the chapter, "the discipline of the mind" in r. kent hughes' book "disciplines of a godly man":

"i am aware of the wise warnings against using words like 'all,' 'every,' and 'always' in what i say. absolutizing one's pronouncements is dangerous. but i'm going to do it anyway. here it is: it is impossible for any Christian who spends the bulk of his evenings, month after month, week upon week, day in and day out watching the major TV networks or contemporary videos to have a Christian mind. this is always true of all Christians in every situation! a Biblical mental program cannot coexist with worldly programming.... i am not suggesting a new legalism which forbids tv and the cinema. (there are many worthwhile things to view; moreover, while Christianity is by nature countercultural, it is not anti-cultural.) but i am calling for believers to take control of their minds - what comes in and what goes out."

definitely a thinker... this book was written in 1991 and quotes a 1984 survey that showed U.S. citizens viewing an average of 4 hours of television a day. i am sure that number has not decreased since then. using that figure, that's 28 hours of tv a week... think if even half of that time was spent in serious Bible study and prayer, in loving service to other Christians and neighbors, in talking with my family and friends... how much greater could my impact be?

Bible math

it never ceases to amaze me the way the Bible works together as a unified whole! as i read in Psalm 119:160 today, "the sum of your word is truth."

my old testament reading this morning had me in Numbers 7. this is NOT one of the more lively, exciting passages i have ever read. it takes place in the 12 days following the original setting up of the tabernacle and the consecration of the altar. on each successive day, a list is given for what each chief among the tribes of israel brings to offer for his tribe. it's a fairly long list with each one bringing a couple silver bowls full of grain, a gold bowl full of incense, oxen, bulls, goats and lambs... and... EACH ONE BRINGS THE SAME LIST OF STUFF! it gets fairly repetitive, but there is an impressive tabulation at the end: after 12 days, they'd brought 2,400 shekels of silver (60 lbs.), 120 shekels of gold (3 lbs.), 12 bulls, 24 oxen, 72 rams, 72 male lambs, and 72 male goats - and this was just the first 12 days of the sacrificing that would continue on for hundreds of year! All pretty mindblowing, but how does this account relate to me now? and more importantly, what does it teach me about God?

well, my new testament reading just happened to have me in Luke 23. (God is so cool the way He works out even the little details of what i'll be reading together in a day!) what's Luke 23 about? Jesus' trial before pilate and herod, His suffering at their hands, and His crucifixion.

the verses that immediately spring to mind are 1 Peter 1:18-19, "knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." praise God that He did Himself what i could never do, even with stacks upon stacks of sacrifices: pay the price for my sin with the blood of His own Son. may the preciousness of that impress itself more and more and more on me, and may the idol of my self-sufficiency be replaced by His all sufficiency!

"for since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? but in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year. for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.... but when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool at his feet. for by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." Hebrews 10:1-4, 12-14

good stuff for chewing

i've been reading the institutes of the christian religion. at the rate i'm going, it'll probably take me 2 or 3 years, but it's good stuff that i've gotta get in good bite sized pieces. here are some samples from book 1, chapter 1:

"our wisdom, insofar as it ought to be deemed true and solid wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.... in the first place, no man can survey himself without forthwith turning his thoughts toward the God in whom he lives and moves; because it is perfectly obvious, that the endowments which we possess cannot possibly be from ourselves;... in the second place, those blessings which unceasingly distill to us from heaven, are like streams conducting us to the fountain... the infinitude of good which resides in God becomes more apparent from our poverty. in particular, the miserable ruin into which the revolt of the first man has plunged us, compels us to turn our eyes upward;"

"there exists in man something like a world of misery, and ever since we were stripped of the divine attire our naked shame discloses an immense series of disgraceful properties... we are accordingly urged by our own evil things to consider the good things of God; and, indeed, we cannot aspire to Him in earnest until we have begun to be displeased with ourselves... every person, therefore, on coming to the knowledge of himself, is not only urged to seek God, but is also led as by the hand to find Him."

"man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God and come down after such contemplation to look into himself. for (such is our innate pride) we always seem to ourselves just, and upright, and wise, and holy, until we are convinced, by clear evidence, of our injustice, vileness, folly, and impurity. convinced, however, we are not, if we look to ourselves only, and not to the Lord also - He being the only standard by the application of which this conviction can be produced."

"so long as we do not look beyond the earth, we are quite pleased with our own righteousness, wisdom, and virtue; we address ourselves in the most flattering terms, and seem only less than demigods. but should we once begin to raise our thoughts to God, and reflect what kind of being He is, and how absolute the perfection of that righteousness, and wisdom, and virtue, to which, as a standard, we are bound to be conformed, what formerly delighted us by its false show of righteousness will become polluted with the greatest iniquity; what strangely imposed upon us under the name of wisdom will disgust by its extreme folly; and what presented the appearance of virtuous energy will be condemned as the most miserable impotence."

"as Scripture uniformly relates, holy men were struck and overwhelmed whenever they beheld the presence of God.... men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.... when He shall exhibit His refulgence, and give a nearer view of it, the brightest objects will, in comparison, be covered with darkness."

hoping for a broken heart

a poem by paul david tripp from his book, "whiter than snow: meditations on sin and mercy":

I am too satisfied
with the things I say
the things I do
the attitudes
of heart
that shape my reactions
day
after
day
after day.
I too easily
accept
quick assessments
of my own righteousness
in situations
where I have been
anything but
righteous.
I am too skilled
at mounting
plausible arugments
structured
to make me feel okay
about what I think
what I desire
what I say
what I do.
I am too defensive
when a love one
makes an attempt
to call me out
and suggest
for a moment
that what I
have decided
said
or done
is less than
godly.
I am too
comfortable
with the state of things
between You and me
too relaxed
with the nature
of my love for You
too able to
minimize
my need for Your
grace.
In the recesses
of my private
world
there is so much
that is wrong
that I am able
to convince myself
is right.
There are attitudes there
that should not be.
There are words there
that should not be
spoken.
There are thoughts
that do not agree
with Your view
of me
and mine.
There are desires
that take me in a
different direction
than what You have planned
for me.
I make decisions
based more on what
I want
than on what
You will.
So I am hoping
for
wise eyes
that are able
to see through
the cloud of
self-righteousness
and see myself
as I actually
am.
I am praying
for
wise ears
that are able
to hear through
the background noise of
well-used platitudes
and hear myself
with clarity.
And I am longing
for
a humble spirit
that is willing
to
accept and confess
what You reveal
as You break through
my defenses
and show me
to me.
I am hoping
for
a broken heart.

"A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." Psalm 51:17

read old books

john piper quotes c.s. lewis in "God's passion for His glory" (the quote is originally from lewis' introduction to athanasius' "on the incarnation"):

There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books. . . . This mistaken preference for the modern books and this shyness of the old ones is nowhere more rampant than in theology. . . . Now this seems to me topsy-turvy. Naturally, since I myself am a writer, I do not wish the ordinary reader to read no modern books. But if he must read only the new or only the old, I would advise him to read the old. . . . It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones. . . . We all . . . need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books. . . . We may be sure that the characteristic blindness of the twentieth century . . . lies where we have never suspected it. . . . None of us can fully escape this blindness. . . . The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books.

doxology

during opening for our sunday school youth department, we've been talking about what different words mean - recently, words such as "advent,""hark,""herald,""Emmanuel," and "frankincense," just to name a few. since words are what we use to communicate, it's important for us to know what they mean, or else they don't really communicate much.

the Scripture reading for last sunday's sermon finished up with 1 Timothy 1:17, so i started thinking about singing "immortal, invisible, God only wise" this week for sunday school and thinking about the word "doxology."

now of course when we sing "the doxology," i know it's the song that goes:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

then, when i looked the word up on dictionary.com, i found that it means "a hymn or form of words containing an ascription of praise to God," and that it's origin is "[Medieval Latin doxologia, from Greek doxologiā, praise : doxa, glory, honor (from dokein, to seem; see dek- in Indo-European roots) + -logiā, -logy.]"

it also intrigues me how often in their epistles after making key doctrinal points, the apostles would just burst out in doxology - spontaneous praise to God. just scanning through quickly, i found at least the following examples: Romans 11:33-36, Romans 16:25-27, Ephesians 3:20-21, 1 Timothy 1:17, 1 Timothy 6:15-16, 2 Timothy 4:18, 1 Peter 4:11, 1 Peter 5:11, 2 Peter 3:18 and Jude 24-25.

this brief survey is just a reminder of where all our doctrine should bring us, where our religion should point, what is in fact our chief end and why gram and i could enjoy five iron frenzy together! PRAISE GOD!

a great way to start the new year...

from "jonathan edwards' resolutions and advice to young converts":

"being sensible that i am unable to do anything without God's help, i do humbly entreat Him by His grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ's sake.

remember to read over these resolutions once a week.

1. resolved, that i will do whatsoever i think to be most to God's glory and to my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now or never so many myriads of ages hence. resolved to do whatever i think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. resolved to do this, whatever difficulties i meet with, how ever so many and how ever so great."

(he's got 70 of 'em. they're worth checking out!)