God will take care of those who afflict us (vv 5-8)
We who believe will glorify God, marveling at Him. (v 10)
And then the prayer:
To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. - 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (ESV)
10/20/2006
Celebration of Discipline - review
Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster drives the Christian to practicing spiritual disciplines. Foster divides his book into three sections covering twelve spiritual disciplines: meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance, and celebration.
This is a great book. Foster is clear and deals with the ‘real-ness’ of doing these spiritual disciplines. The only shortcomings of the book were that in some chapters he didn’t give much depth as to why we should be doing these things and that he was very ‘optimistic’ about a wide-range of practices. A worthy note: this book was #11 on the top 50 most influential books that have shaped evangelicals (Christianity Today).
Let me highlight a chapter that particularly spoke to me: Simplicity (pp 79-95)
Foster says that simplicity is “an inward reality that results in an outward life-style.” The “lust for affluence in contemporary society is psychotic” because it loses touch with reality. Our desires are set on “things that we neither need or enjoy.”
“Covetousness we call ambition.
Hoarding we call prudence.
Greed we call industry.”
Jesus declared war on materialism: “no one can serve to masters” (Luke 16:13), “where your treasure is your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21), the rich young ruler is told to shed his wealth for the kingdom (Luke 19), and the rich farmer whose life centered on hoarding was called a fool (Luke 12:16-21). To this, Foster attacks extreme self-denial: “Asceticism makes an unbiblical division between a good material world and an evil material world.”
“The central point for the Discipline of simplicity is to seek the kingdom of God and the righteousness of his kingdom first and then everything necessary will come in its proper order.” He clarifies his point further: “The person who does not seek the kingdom first, does not seek it at all.”
Foster closes the chapter with ten helpful tips for increasing simplicity in our lives:
- Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status.
- Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you.
- Develop a habit of giving things away.
- Refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry.
- Learn to enjoy things without owning them.
- Develop a deeper appreciation of the creation.
- Look with a healthy skepticism at all “buy now, pay later” schemes.
- Obey Jesus’ instructions about plain, honest speech.
- Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others.
- Shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the kingdom of God.
How to Lose a Battle - review
[So I saw this book at a Barnes and Noble in Rochester. I briefly looked at it, saw that it might be interesting, made a mental note, and then got it a little while later off Amazon. Even though there were bad reviews, I pushed ahead. Listen to others my friends, listen to others.]
How to Lose a Battle by Bill Fawcett (ed.) is a collection of battles throughout history that went awry. History is a subject that I enjoy so this book held a real fascination for me. That is, until I started reading it. Sure the subject matter is interesting, but these are stories that are poorly told.
Strengths and weaknesses
Some of the battles are laid out in an interesting and understandable fashion. There were quite a few battles that were unknown to me. I look forward to investigating these further. (That’s about all I can say – the only thing that kept me turning the pages was the hope that the next chapter would be better than the last.)
This book had quite a few weaknesses. There was some real concern that authors might not have all their facts straight. You have the Romans being defeated at Carrhae (p 29) only to retreat to Carrhae (p 32). There are tremendous gaps in the story like the capture of the French king at the battle of Agincourt (p 55). Sometimes the main events are only breezed over like the thousands of lives that were lost at Okinawa (p 300). None of the authors made any references to any other works and no information was given about any of the other authors.
Even if these accounts are credible, the book still left much to be desired. After every battle, there was some sort of analysis. This analysis was either way too general or it didn’t fit with the details that the author presented. Some authors used exaggeration to the point of being annoying – the Charge of the Light Brigade only lost 139 men but it was “the most notoriously futile and costly cavalry charge in British history.” (p 98) They misspelled the word “could” by spelling it “couild.” With all the spell-checkers we have today?!? I am more sympathetic to “cold” or “cloud” but not couild (p 300).
This sort of nit-picking could go on, but the long and short of it is – don’t buy this book. The best thing to do would be to go to your library and xerox off the table of contents. Take your list of 38 battles and look them up on wikipedia or encyclopedia.ftd.com.
How to Lose a Battle by Bill Fawcett (ed.) is a collection of battles throughout history that went awry. History is a subject that I enjoy so this book held a real fascination for me. That is, until I started reading it. Sure the subject matter is interesting, but these are stories that are poorly told.
Strengths and weaknesses
Some of the battles are laid out in an interesting and understandable fashion. There were quite a few battles that were unknown to me. I look forward to investigating these further. (That’s about all I can say – the only thing that kept me turning the pages was the hope that the next chapter would be better than the last.)
This book had quite a few weaknesses. There was some real concern that authors might not have all their facts straight. You have the Romans being defeated at Carrhae (p 29) only to retreat to Carrhae (p 32). There are tremendous gaps in the story like the capture of the French king at the battle of Agincourt (p 55). Sometimes the main events are only breezed over like the thousands of lives that were lost at Okinawa (p 300). None of the authors made any references to any other works and no information was given about any of the other authors.
Even if these accounts are credible, the book still left much to be desired. After every battle, there was some sort of analysis. This analysis was either way too general or it didn’t fit with the details that the author presented. Some authors used exaggeration to the point of being annoying – the Charge of the Light Brigade only lost 139 men but it was “the most notoriously futile and costly cavalry charge in British history.” (p 98) They misspelled the word “could” by spelling it “couild.” With all the spell-checkers we have today?!? I am more sympathetic to “cold” or “cloud” but not couild (p 300).
This sort of nit-picking could go on, but the long and short of it is – don’t buy this book. The best thing to do would be to go to your library and xerox off the table of contents. Take your list of 38 battles and look them up on wikipedia or encyclopedia.ftd.com.
10/13/2006
Colossians 3 – My life
When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. – Colossians 3:14 (ESV)
What is my life? My vocation, my family, my free time? No, Christ is my life. Moreover, when He appears, I will appear with Him!
How easily I get distracted - how quickly I focus on the minutiae of life. I wonder if my life more closely resembles a humorless Seinfeld episode, than it does being “hidden with Christ in God” (v 3).
Because of the grace of God, my life IS in Christ. This is the most exciting and humbling truth - my life is in Christ! My mind should be on that (v 2), not the trinkets and baubles a shadowy earth offers (v 2:17).
What is my life? My vocation, my family, my free time? No, Christ is my life. Moreover, when He appears, I will appear with Him!
How easily I get distracted - how quickly I focus on the minutiae of life. I wonder if my life more closely resembles a humorless Seinfeld episode, than it does being “hidden with Christ in God” (v 3).
Because of the grace of God, my life IS in Christ. This is the most exciting and humbling truth - my life is in Christ! My mind should be on that (v 2), not the trinkets and baubles a shadowy earth offers (v 2:17).
Humility and Absolute Surrender - review
[Note: I recently listened to Absolute Surrender off of Librivox and I didn’t take any notes. So this review will only cover the Humility section of this two volume book. BTW – I really enjoyed Absolute Surrender; it created a greater desire to debase myself before my creator.]
Substance
With an incredible amount of eloquence and directness, Andrew Murray (1828-1917) wants Christians “to prove that meekness and lowliness of heart are the chief mark by which they who follow the meek and lowly Lamb of God are to be known.” (p 3) I feel (for his part) that Murray achieves this end.
Quotes [a small sampling]
“…in their very nature, pride and faith are irreconcilably at variance…” (p 42)
“Jesus, in whom we trust, can make us humble. … Our humility is his care and work.” (p 52)
“Our humility before God is nothing if not proved in humility before men.” (p 26)
“The first and chief of the marks of the dying of the Lord Jesus, of the death-marks that show the true followers of Jesus, is humility.” (p 46)
“[Jesus has spoken] of humility as the only path to the glory of God.” (p 22)
“…nothing is more natural and beautiful and blessed then to be nothing, that God may be all” (p 1)
I liked this book quite a bit. It is not something you read and put back on the shelf – you mull over it and ponder what Murray says. You read the Scriptures he highlighted with the same meaning but with a new depth and richness. And, like a few other books, you pick it up again, read a chapter or two, and withdraw: challenged, humbled, and hopeful.
Humility and Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray
Substance
With an incredible amount of eloquence and directness, Andrew Murray (1828-1917) wants Christians “to prove that meekness and lowliness of heart are the chief mark by which they who follow the meek and lowly Lamb of God are to be known.” (p 3) I feel (for his part) that Murray achieves this end.
Quotes [a small sampling]
“…in their very nature, pride and faith are irreconcilably at variance…” (p 42)
“Jesus, in whom we trust, can make us humble. … Our humility is his care and work.” (p 52)
“Our humility before God is nothing if not proved in humility before men.” (p 26)
“The first and chief of the marks of the dying of the Lord Jesus, of the death-marks that show the true followers of Jesus, is humility.” (p 46)
“[Jesus has spoken] of humility as the only path to the glory of God.” (p 22)
“…nothing is more natural and beautiful and blessed then to be nothing, that God may be all” (p 1)
I liked this book quite a bit. It is not something you read and put back on the shelf – you mull over it and ponder what Murray says. You read the Scriptures he highlighted with the same meaning but with a new depth and richness. And, like a few other books, you pick it up again, read a chapter or two, and withdraw: challenged, humbled, and hopeful.
Why America Doesn’t Work by Chuck Colson & Jack Eckerd (1991)
[Note: We had a booth at a local fair and it was super slow, so I went over and picked up a book from the library book giveaway. I got through about half of this book just sitting at my booth, but then some friends came by and no more reading. It has been a few months since the fair, but there it was on the shelf so I went ahead and finished it. ]
Substance
This book is an easy read by Chuck Colson and Jack Eckerd (of Eckerd drugstore fame). Their major contention is that America has lost her work ethic: the determination, the pride, the character. The book is divided into four parts and one long chapter 12 (6 sections). The breakdown: ‘What isn’t working?,’ ‘Whatever became of the work ethic?,’ ‘The predatory society,’ and ‘Restoring the work ethic.’ Chapter 12 (the last chapter) is in part four, but entitled, ‘Restoring the marketplace.’
Strengths and weaknesses
If you like stories, this book is full of them. The authors give tons of illustrative examples to help bolster their points. Plus the book is well-documented. All of this makes for an easy, comfortable read.
At the outset, the authors try to establish that a loss in the work ethic stems from a departure of the Christian moorings that established work in America. There was a good discussion on some of the foundational causes. While I was concerned for a good part of the book, Colson and Eckerd brought me back to some very foundational principles:
‘Why, then, should we work? Because work gives expression to our creative gifts and thus fulfills our need for meaning and purpose. Because work is intrinsically good when done with the proper attitude and motive. Because we are commanded to exercise stewardship over the earth, participating in the work of Creation in a way that glorifies God. Because we are citizens of this earth and have certain responsibilities to our fellow citizens.’ (p 178)
Even though I agreed with a good part of their assessment, I felt that most of the evidence was anecdotal. The stories were inspiring, but by themselves, didn’t necessarily move me towards agreeing with a particular position. Also, I struggled with the pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality versus a cross-centered view that was mentioned at the outset of the book. While most of the book was examples that illustrated the greater point, many times that point was lost or not developed very well. Finally, I was a bit irked when I noticed that a blurb endorsing the book was by someone who was highlighted as a good example within the book (you’ll have to read it to discover the endorser/example).
Remember this book is over 15 years old. As an assessment of the culture, it is somewhat outdated. In this book, the unresolved struggle is wondering how to develop this sort of God-honoring desire in our work without Christ. But there are lots of good stories and barring a few areas of disagreement, an OK book.
10/07/2006
Ephesians 6 – Stamina
praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, – Ephesians 6:18 (ESV)
A simple encouragement in the middle of a filled passage – don’t forget to pray for other believers. Paul then gets specific in asking for prayer for himself. There is a connectedness that believers have with one another that should naturally result in this constant prayer.
Prayer is hard though. Seriously, it really is. It can be long; it means remembering others; it means spending energy. That’s why Paul urges us to give all our stamina to this task. And while, yes, it is hard, I am glad others seek the Lord on my behalf. So too, my care and concern for others must extend to the closet, where only God dwells.
A simple encouragement in the middle of a filled passage – don’t forget to pray for other believers. Paul then gets specific in asking for prayer for himself. There is a connectedness that believers have with one another that should naturally result in this constant prayer.
Prayer is hard though. Seriously, it really is. It can be long; it means remembering others; it means spending energy. That’s why Paul urges us to give all our stamina to this task. And while, yes, it is hard, I am glad others seek the Lord on my behalf. So too, my care and concern for others must extend to the closet, where only God dwells.
The Jesus Creed - review
The Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight (who writes an excellent blog by the same name) is a seminal work for this very prolific author. As I have mentioned earlier, the big point on the Jesus Creed is that Jesus took the Shema (Hear!) of Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and added Leviticus 19:18 to create Mark 12:29-31 - this is the Jesus Creed: love God and love others. McKnight then takes this creed and, by using the people and events in the Gospels, shows examples of transformation, kingdom values, spiritual formation, and joining Christ.
Strengths and weaknesses
The Jesus Creed is full of stories – McKnight tries to connect with the reader lots of real life examples. Also, McKnight has done his research by including relevant voices that supplement his points. This book is very easy to read; there is a clarity in the writing that is refreshing.
The book doesn’t give as much support for his notion of the Jesus Creed being the transformational key to the church as I would have liked to see. Not that I disagree with the power and depth of loving God and others, but some exposition in other texts would have been helpful to flush out the creed’s influence as a creed. McKnight contends for the daily recitation of this Jesus Creed, but yet only gives Jewish tradition as support. His insights into the lives of the individuals in the Gospels are vivid, but some of the thoughts are simply conjecture to some degree. (Just because you can name the Hebrew label doesn’t necessarily mean that such and such happened in that story. There tends to be some blurring of what the passage actually says and reading between the lines.)
There is some automatic hesitancy from me when I read McKnight. In terms of the Kingdom of God, he seems to be more “already” than “not yet” compared to where I land. He also is not afraid to attack some groups that seem to be close to the mark (but not in his exact camp), while being extraordinarily kind to other groups that tend to be all over the place (to put it kindly). While we disagree on other issues as well, he is a well-respected scholar whom I read quite often for insight. The Jesus Creed has quite a few gems within it; I have several pages dog-eared and many passages underlined. He is very lucid and (while he might balk at such a label) represents a good evangelical understanding of Christ in this book.
(BTW – If you’ve heard the lecture, you have a good overview of the book.)
10/06/2006
Desiring God Conference: Supremacy of Christ
Several items
1) The audio to this conference is online and free to download. It is worth your time to listen to the messages. They are here.
2) We had a wonderful time meeting friends from now and times past. We were able to stay with some good friends of ours – Boyd and Ingrid. Their passion for the Lord was very refreshing. We were also blessed by many other old friends from Columbia and Trinity (plus a few people from just two days earilier). It was awesome to just see everyone again.
3) I was very challenged by the messages. I want to pursue the Lord with a deeper passion. The gospel needs to more fully impact my life. As I steadily listen to the messages again, I remember afresh the calling the Lord has placed on all our lives to glorify Him and Him alone. The friends are great as are the books and all the free stuff, but to be refocused on Christ is the greatest thing I took away from the conference.
4) Next year you should go. Maybe we could car pool.
1) The audio to this conference is online and free to download. It is worth your time to listen to the messages. They are here.
2) We had a wonderful time meeting friends from now and times past. We were able to stay with some good friends of ours – Boyd and Ingrid. Their passion for the Lord was very refreshing. We were also blessed by many other old friends from Columbia and Trinity (plus a few people from just two days earilier). It was awesome to just see everyone again.
3) I was very challenged by the messages. I want to pursue the Lord with a deeper passion. The gospel needs to more fully impact my life. As I steadily listen to the messages again, I remember afresh the calling the Lord has placed on all our lives to glorify Him and Him alone. The friends are great as are the books and all the free stuff, but to be refocused on Christ is the greatest thing I took away from the conference.
4) Next year you should go. Maybe we could car pool.
Pastors and Wives Conference: Rest
The theme at Hidden Acres this year was rest (with the last session being a high energy presentation about outreach). Rest is good; rest is vital to connecting to the Lord. We are currently working through rest as a topic in our Men’s Refreshers.
The main thought I gained from this time was that the Lord releases captives. Deuteronomy 5 repeats the 10 commandments, but commandment #4 (keeping the Sabbath) has different rationale:
Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. – Deuteronomy 5:12-15
Slaves of men get no Sabbaths. When we are slaves of the Lord, He gives us rest (and to our servants as well.) Taking rest is a way of demonstrating our release from captivity; we are saying that we are beholden to the Lord alone.
(And for many of us, taking rest means that others rest as well.)
The main thought I gained from this time was that the Lord releases captives. Deuteronomy 5 repeats the 10 commandments, but commandment #4 (keeping the Sabbath) has different rationale:
Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. – Deuteronomy 5:12-15
Slaves of men get no Sabbaths. When we are slaves of the Lord, He gives us rest (and to our servants as well.) Taking rest is a way of demonstrating our release from captivity; we are saying that we are beholden to the Lord alone.
(And for many of us, taking rest means that others rest as well.)
10/02/2006
Upon the Altar of the Nation - review
Upon the Altar of the Nation
by Harry S. Stout
A moral history of the American Civil War
According to Stout, the type of literature that surrounds the Civil War contains either romanticized and glamorized military conquests, or political histories focused on slavery and emancipation. But was the war right? Was it moral? These questions often remain unasked because the drama of this war was too compelling or the evil of slavery was too great.
One item that Stout drew out was the unchanging military tactics with advanced weaponry. Prior to the Civil War, the large frontal assault was key to removing your opponent from the field, but by the Civil War, the weaponry had advanced so that such assaults led to piles and piles of dead bodies. Even though the death tolls were enormous, it still took some time for the West Point trained generals to change their battle strategies. Remember, over 620,000 men died in the Civil War.
Another point made by Stout is that the religious leaders of the time often reflected the feelings (and moral evaluation) of their people. Stout observes that “in 1865 no less than 1860, [Southerners] believed that abolitionism was the ultimate sin such that, ‘all who love the Lord Jesus Christ must and will oppose this monster heresy unto death.’” (409) Northern pulpits cheered Sherman’s savagery in Georgia and South Carolina and jeered at his gracious offered of peace to the surrendered armies of the South.
In a side note, Stout takes a brief look ahead to the Federal government’s dealings with the Native Americans (1868-1883). The US generals employed the same ‘total war’ tactics that were used in the Civil War – attacks upon personal property and upon non-combatants. Stout then closes the book with this consideration:
“Why is it important to finally write the moral history of the Civil War? It’s important because we are its legates, and if we question nothing from that costly conflict, then we need question nothing in conflicts of the present and future. Issues of discrimination and proportionality recur in every war. The Civil War does not provide an especially encouraging model in this regard, especially if the crimes go largely unnoticed beneath the natural urge to forget and move on. But as with the holocaust, if we forget, we do so at great peril to our own humanity.” (461)
For those interested in politics and following Christ, this book is a great read. It is thick, but Stout does a good job piecing this information together. While this is not a comprehensive overview of the Civil War, the battles, the politics, or the personalities, it does live up to the claim of being a moral history of this dark time.
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