tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166Thu, 29 Aug 2024 01:31:37 +0000DoctrinePoetryFictionJesusMarriageMinistryWorldviewhttp://majeskireads.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)Blogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-3831369192254825027Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:51:00 +00002009-08-18T09:10:40.432-07:00DoctrineJesusIn typical Puritan fashion, The Glory of Christ by John Owen is a bold statement that spiritual life without Christ is really no spiritual life at all. If your soul feels dry and lacks any substantial joy - grab this little book (which is anything but little in content) and meditate on the greatness of God our Savior.Quote from the book:"A constant view of the glory of Christ will revive our http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2009/08/glory-of-christ-by-john-owen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-7609663893480297867Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:32:00 +00002009-06-01T10:34:37.461-07:00PoetryLord, with what care hast thou begirt us round! Parents first season us: then schoolmasters Deliver us to laws; they send us boundTo rules of reason, holy messengers, Pulpits and Sundays, sorrow dogging sin, Afflictions sorted, anguish of all sizes Fine nets and stratagems to catch us in,Bibles laid open, millions of surprise,Blessings beforehand, ties of gratefulness, The sound of glory http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2009/06/sin-and-its-power-george-hebert.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-3874518875002182314Thu, 14 May 2009 16:35:00 +00002009-09-22T12:20:45.907-07:00MinistryBaxter's classic rebuke of pastors is convicting in the Puritan tradition and Chesterton-ian in its quotability (I had to stop taking notes). I amazed at the ability of the Puritans to convict by exposing sin specifically and, at the same time, point to the supreme glory of Christ. It is an ability that can come only from a God-entranced view of all things (to steal a title). Below is a http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2009/05/reformed-pastor-by-richard-baxter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-8414988319416184299Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:08:00 +00002009-04-10T09:10:01.402-07:00PoetryAm I a stone, and not a sheep, That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross, To number drop by drop Thy blood's slow loss, And yet not weep?Not so those women loved Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee; Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly; Not so the thief was moved;Not so the Sun and Moon Which hid their faces in a starless sky, A horror of great darkness at broad noon--http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2009/04/good-friday-poem-by-christina-rossetti.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-7755876301125609508Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:47:00 +00002009-04-10T10:43:01.189-07:00Doctrineby canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2.14)For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1.19-20)From Chapter 10 "He Was Nailed to the Cross So I Might http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2009/04/violent-grace-by-michael-card.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-5706946174162519083Sat, 04 Apr 2009 13:49:00 +00002009-04-04T07:10:18.355-07:00PoetryI will accept they will to do and be, Thy hatred and intolerance of sin, Thy will at least to love, that burns within And thirsteth after Me:So I will render fruitful, blessing still The germs and small beginnings in thy heart, Because thy will cleaves to the better part, - Alas, I cannot will.Dost not thou will, pour soul? Yet I receive The inner unseen longings of the soul, I guide them http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2009/04/bruised-reed-shall-he-not-break.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-4488958873930206914Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:11:00 +00002009-04-04T07:11:42.557-07:00DoctrineAgree or disagree the Institutes are clear and that is, to me, refreshing.  As usual, I'll use this space to relay my highlights.  From Chapter 1:"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 http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2009/03/institutes-of-christian-religion.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-3446470539022765800Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:00:00 +00002009-04-04T07:10:38.745-07:00PoetryAfter Michael, the archangel, explains to Adam how God will bring good through his sin, through a Savior for all mankind, Milton's Adam has this response:"O goodness infinite, goodness immense!That all this good of evil shall produce,And evil turn to good; more wonderfulThan that which by creation first brought forthLight out of darkness! Full of doubt I stand,Whether I should repent me now of http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2009/02/paradise-lost-book-xii-lines-469-478.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-2490309752766069640Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:23:00 +00002009-04-04T07:10:38.745-07:00PoetryImmortal Heat, O let thy greater flame Attract the lesser to it: let those fires, Which shall consume the world, first make it tame,And kindle in our hearts such true desires,As may consume our lusts, and make thee way. Then shall our hearts pant thee; then shall our brain All her intervention on thine Altar lay,And there in hymns send back thy fire again.Our eyes shall see thee, which before sawhttp://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2009/02/love-ii-by-george-herbert.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-8559717037814971674Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:40:00 +00002009-04-04T07:11:42.557-07:00DoctrineI realize it is shocking that I would be reading a book by John Piper, but this one has novel merit for me as a pastor.  The term "born again" has lost its weight and that loss has done violence to the Gospel leaving some to believe they have crossed over from death to life when they have not.  Consider the following quotes from the Introduction; "I'm not saying their [the Barna Group on the http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2009/02/finally-alive.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-2561258414979223693Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:57:00 +00002009-04-04T07:12:12.672-07:00MarriageI'm discovering that I am lacking something as a husband.  I do not have an appreciation for God's intention in my marriage.  I could preach a decent sermon on the subject, but my heart still needs some work.  When I step outside of God's plan for me or when there is some disunity in my marriage, I want to feel what God feels and be grieved by something lost.The romance in this book is not http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2008/11/this-momentary-marriage-john-piper.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-3512064973909200395Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:40:00 +00002009-04-04T07:12:35.403-07:00WorldviewExcerpt from Chapter 1, "A Delicious Paradise Lost": pg. 46"They (pre-industrial revolution Americans) had little that was new; we have little that has persisted.  This is true of things, relationships and values.  That was a tranquil world.  To be sure, they had their tragedies and sorrows, but they did not have the world's sorrow, from country after country, spilling nightly into their living http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2008/11/no-place-for-truth.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-7394270266091256476Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:37:00 +00002009-04-04T07:11:42.557-07:00DoctrineA fantastic way to communicate the glory of some lofty-sounding doctrines like expiation, propitiation, etc.http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2008/11/death-by-love-mark-driscoll.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-6929651463685464253Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:37:00 +00002009-04-04T07:11:42.557-07:00DoctrineTo call this "An Introduction..." is a little ridiculous. I'm hanging on here - trying to gird up the loins of my mind!A great quote by J.C. Ryle in the 1st Chapter:"He that wishes to attain right views about Christian holiness, must begin by examining the vast and solemn subject of sin. He must dig down very low if he would build high. A mistake here is most mischievous. Wrong views about http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2008/11/christian-life-doctrinal-introduction.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2201418480829500166.post-6581839466942938693Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:27:00 +00002009-04-04T07:12:47.754-07:00FictionChapter 15 (by C.S. Lewis):My Dear Wormwood,I had noticed, of course, that the humans were having a lull in their European war-what they naively call 'The War'! - and am not surprised that there is a corresponding lull in the patient's anxieties. Do we want to encourage this, or to keep him worried? Tortured fear and stupid confidence are both desirable states of mind. Our choice between them http://majeskireads.blogspot.com/2008/10/screwtape-letters.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mitch Majeski)