A prophetic duo

Draweth Nigh
Originally uploaded by Leonard John Matthews.

The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
Daniel 2:10-11 (ESV)

Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 (ESV)


Predictive prophecies and individual revelation. Surprisingly, I encounter these more than you might think. There are several people who often preface their decisions with the phrase, "The Lord told me..."

In the majority of these cases, they are drawing from a clear command from Scripture that establishes the pattern of what it is like to be a follower of Christ - ex: "The Lord told me that I need to quit looking at explicit junk on the web." At other times it is more hazy - not contrary to Scripture, but yet unclear.

There is a need to communicate the great danger of misrepresenting the Lord and to listen with eyes pouring over pages of Scripture. For some, it may be a way to ratchet up the drama and importance (as they see it) in their lives; they become a local Christian seer. But there are times where it does seem like the Lord spoke to them.

These verses were on the same M'Cheyne day. They are helpful because they communicate that (1) there are things that people don't know and God does - Daniel communicates this more clearly later on - and (2) we should test and evaluate, but not despise.

Dominion - review

Dominion by Randy Alcorn (audio) is a novel that centers around issues of race, justice, and faith. The setting is primarily in Portland, Oregon, and hits many arenas of life: politics, crime, family devotion, church, friends, the police, and Jesus Christ.

One of the main themes in the book was racism. Told in a compelling fashion, it was amazing to get in touch with people of a different skin color - to attempt to see and experience the world as someone else would see and experience the world. Preconceived ideas about people run deep and the messages one sends to others can be telling. Alcorn makes the point that in this area, especially as believers, we still have quite a bit of growth. The Church should be leading the way in racial harmony, not being dragged by the culture.

While I enjoyed Safely Home more, this was a book. There were a few jumps since it was an abridged audio book. But 9+ hours of listening was enough to get a person engaged in the issues and story while feeling like there was resolution.

The Dangerous Book for Boys - review

The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden is a series of articles that constitute what boys need to know. The articles vary from making fire-proof cloth, encoding secret messages, famous battles, and learning proper grammar. The authors are weary of the cell-phones, TV, and video games that captivate our young men and seek to reclaim Sunday afternoons and long summer days. Thematically, the book is laid out like bathroom reader, jumping from subject to subject.

The articles in the book are well written and concise. There are many chapters that are simply reference, rather than story. It is quite entertaining and informative. I particularly liked the battle recaps, especially after being disappointed by another book devoted to battles last year.

On Dog Tricks:
Teaching a dog simple tricks helps the bond between you. Dogs enjoy pleasing their owners and a well-trained dog is a happy dog! The only difficulty is in making the dog understand what you want. Commands should be given in a firm, low voice. Don't expect them to understand perfectly the first time. Be prepared to come back to the same commands again and again, leaving a few days between. Most dogs are perfectly willing to jump through hoops (literally) for their owners.

The authors then list 15 commands your dog can learn.

We got this book as a present for a relative, but due to an extended time at Kohl's, I was able to read a large portion of this book, finishing it this morning. I really enjoyed most of it and see it as a good gift to any young man under 18.

How to read Proverbs - review

How to read Proverbs by Tremper Longman III is a short guide to navigating the book of Proverbs. Longman is a frequent lecturer on Proverbs and has written extensively on the OT.

This book is divided into three portions: Understanding Proverbs, Reading Proverbs in Context, and Following the Themes in Proverbs. Longman is straight-forward in his analysis of the book, as well as showing how Proverbs relates to other wisdom literature, such as Ecclesiastes and Job. The final three chapters take a thematic look through Proverbs on the subjects of money, sex, and speech.

Two chapters were particularly interesting. One is Longman's comparison of Proverbs to other ancient wisdom literature. The second is where Longman looks at Woman Wisdom and compares her to Jesus Christ. Longman's observations about the similarities and the cautions of interpreting metaphorical language are instructive.

The book was a good introduction to Proverbs and one that I would recommend to someone that knows little and wants to learn more. Bruce Waltke gave a series of lectures at Dallas Theological Seminary which were more helpful to me than Longman. Depends on what roads you have traveled on in your journey through Proverbs, I guess.

Cora smiles

Cora smiles a lot. Who would have thought that such a simple thing would be so fascinating?

New pictures for those who are interested.

Why Pro-Life? - review

Why Pro-Life? by Randy Alcorn is a simple and brief argument for the pro-life perspective. The book is easy to read, well documented, and up to date.

Alcorn speaks to the issue of abortion by using arguments from outside of Scripture (although he does talk about forgiveness and guilt at the end). The book was compelling and thoughtful, considering aspects that I had not thought of (such as the racial bias Planned Parenthood has in where they set up their clinics). He concludes with some helpful pointers on what we can be doing to help.

This is one of 'the' social issues of our time. It seems to me that we are guilty of turning children into commodities that exist simply to please us. When they don't please us, we kill or beat them (surprisingly strong correlation on the incidences of increased child abuse and abortion). The facts regarding abortion are absolutely stunning. Wherever you stand on this issue, I would recommend that you read this book. It is not long and for many, it is very eye-opening.

This was a free book at the Desiring God Conference. I can see why Alcorn and the DCM organizers were giving it to the people at the conference - extremely persuasive material.

Some booklets: In Our Joy & Sexual Temptation - review

(As I look at the title of this post, I realize that it is an odd pairing of reviews.)

In Our Joy is a book(let) from the Desiring God Conference. It is a condensed version of John Piper's What Jesus Demands from the World.

In Our Joy has six chapters:

Part One: The Hard Road of the Christian Life
(1) Coming to Jesus is not easy
(2) Following Jesus is a hard road
(3) The road is hard, but it is not joyless

Part Two: Jesus, Joy, and Striving to Enter the Kingdom
(4) Strive to enter the narrow door
(5) Without Jesus our striving would be losing
(6) Our joy sustains our striving

"If you follow Jesus only because he makes life easy now, it will look to the world as though you really love what they love, and Jesus just happens to provide it for you. But if you suffer with Jesus in the pathway of love because he is your supreme treasure, then it will be apparent to the world that your heart is set on a differene fortune than theirs." pp 21-22

The second booklet is Randy Alcorn's Sexual Temptation: How Christian Workers Can Win the Battle. Very brief and quite good. He give some great practical advice to those in ministry. Here is an example:

"Some years ago my copastor and friend Alan Hlvaka and I each developed a list of all the specific consequences we could think of that would result from our immorality. The lists were devastating, and to us they spoke more powerfully than any sermon or article on the subject."

"Periodically, especially when traveling or when in a time of temptation or weakness, we read though his list. In a personal and tangible way it brings home God's inviolate law of choice and consequence. It cuts through the fog of rationalization and fills our hearts with healthy, motivating fear of God. We find that when we begin to think unclearly, reviewing this list yanks us back to reality and the need both to fear God and the consequences of sin." pp 28-29

You can get a free copy here.

Pastors and Wives refresher

The three of us went down to Hidden Acres to this year's Pastors and Wives refresher. Like the times before, it was great to see friends we have made since coming to the area.

This year the speaker was John Nyquist on NT Models of Evangelism. Dr. Nyquist is professor of mission and evangelism and Trinity International University. (Even though he has been there for quite some time, I took the evangelism class from another professor. We did however have a great conversation in the hallway.) There was a strong encouragement for us, as pastors, to be involved in personal evangelism.

Lots of conferences in September! It is good to get a fresh perspective. I am eagerly waiting the Desiring God Pastor's Conference with D.A. Carson and Crawford Loritts!!

Stand - Desiring God National Conference

Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints

This is our second time going to the conference. We enjoy this time because we get to see some of our old friends from college as well as other people we have met since we have moved to Iowa. In addition to the wonderful teaching, we also like eating at some of the restaurants and getting lots of new books.

We got to hear from John MacArthur, Jerry Bridges, Randy Alcorn and Helen Roseveare. Cora did OK, but she was more interested in looking at the ceiling than listening to MacArthur exegete 2 Corinthians 4. The book packet that they gave was great as well. I have read through three of the smaller books and look forward to digesting the others.

If you want to listen to the conference, it is online for free. Just go here.

Elevate

Elevate is the retreat for leaders in Student Ministries held at Hidden Acres. My friend, Tim Olsen, led this year's Elevate and he was gracious enough to ask me to come and speak. My seminar was called An Orange Theology, and it involved using some resources to grow in our understanding of who the Lord is and what He is saying through Scripture.

As always Tim, an excellent time.