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Reading Classics Together - The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (IV)

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:22:00 -0500

Today, in our effort to read together some of the Christian classics, we come to chapter four of Jeremiah Burroughs' The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. This is the third and final chapter that has dealt with "The Mystery of Contentment."

Discussion

I am not a very good reader. Though I read a lot, I have a lot of trouble with retention and lose far more than I remember. Maybe this is part of why I read so much--I'm seeking to replace quality with quantity. So I tend to set reasonable expectations; if I can take one or two points from each chapter and just a few major points from each book, I am pleased. That is what I have done here. This chapter offered me a couple of things that resounded in my mind. It was a short chapter so I figure that two things is enough!

The first was the importance of being full of grace. Burroughs seeks to prove that a Christian finds contentment within, not from the natural man but from the Spirit who lives within. There is a mystery here, he says, so that only a Christian can understand it. Here is an illustration he provides:

As it is with a vessel that is full of liquor, if you strike it, it will make no great noise, but if it is empty then it makes a great noise; so it is with the heart, a heart that is full of grace and goodness within will bear a great many strokes, and never make any noise, but if an empty heart is struck it will make a noise. When some men and women are complaining so much, and always whining, it is a sign that there is an emptiness in their hearts. If their hearts were filled with grace they would not make such a noise. A man whose bones are filled with marrow, and his veins with good blood does not complain of the cold as others do. So a gracious heart, having the Spirit of God within him, and his heart filled with grace has that within him that makes him find contentment.

In times of suffering, when we are faced with a lack of contentment, there will be the temptation to complain bitterly, to whine and fuss. Those who are full of grace, full of the Lord, will respond with grace in a way that honors the Lord. Those who are empty will sound like a gong, loudly complaining about all they deserve that they have not been given. Do you know people, who at the smallest whisper of trouble begin to cry loudly and bitterly? Do you know people who under the heaviest burden display the grace that only God can give? It is these people who have found the rare jewel of contentment.

The other thing that stood out to me was the importance of prayer in the pursuit of contentment.

Other men or women are discontented, but how do they help themselves? By abuse, by bad language. Someone crosses them, and they have no way to help themselves but by abuse and by bitter words, and so they relieve themselves in that way when they are angry. But when a godly man is crossed, how does he relieve himself? He is aware of his cross as well as you, but he goes to God in prayer, and there opens his heart to God and lets out his sorrows and fears, and then can come away with a joyful countenance. Do you find that you can come away from prayer and not look sad? It is said of Hannah, that when she had been at prayer her countenance was no more said (1 Samuel 1:18), she was comforted: this is the right way to contentment.

It strikes me that prayer, then, is not only a means to greater contentment, but a mark of one who has found contentment. The fact that we should pray to God, not angrily in some kind of "imprecatory prayer," but humbly and contentedly, this is a sign that our hearts are content before him and that they will remain content before him.

Do you wish to be content? Then pray! Are you already content? Then you will pray all the more.

Next Week

For next week, please read chapter 5, "How Christ Teaches Contentment," and then return here on Thursday to join in the discussion.

Your Turn

The purpose of this program is to read these classics together. So if there is something you'd like to share about what you read, please feel free to do so. You can leave a comment or a link to your blog and we'll make this a collaborative effort.
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A La Carte (7/9)

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:18:00 -0500

Kindle Price Drop
If you've been waiting to get a Kindle, the time has never been better. The price has just fallen to $299 for the new generation of the reading device.

Calvin Downloads
In honor of Calvin's 500th birthday, Christian Audio is offering great deals on a list of Calvin-related audio books.

Prime Minister Harper and Transubstantiation
"At a recent funeral for a Canadian dignitary, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was televised at the altar of a Roman Catholic church about to take the Eucharist. Instead of ingesting the host, Harper slipped it into his pocket. This created a furor amongst leading Canadian Catholics." My buddy Ian has the story and video.

Next Live Available for Download
Bob Kauflin: "The Next 2009 conference took place in Baltimore, Maryland May 30-June 2. Over 2500 people gathered to worship Jesus Christ in song, to study his Word, and to rediscover who he is and what he has done. I had the privilege of leading the songs along with three different bands: the Na Band, Reilly, and Zelos. Some of the sessions also featured a 14 piece string section. We were able to record the event and are now offering Next 2009 Live, a 13 song download for $5. That's right - 13 songs for 5 bucks. Where else are you going to find a deal like that?"

Is Hurt Mail the New Hate Mail?
Carl Trueman takes this on one in his latest column.

Deliberate Mortgage Defaults
I found this article from TIME rather interesting. "Up to 26% of U.S. homeowners who stop paying their mortgage may be doing so intentionally, not because they can't make the payments but because they don't want to put money into a house that's worth less than what they owe."

Deal of the Day: The Hope Fulfilled
RHB has The Hope Fulfilled on sale today. "In honoring Dr. Owen Palmer Robertson who is a scholar, pastor, church planter, seminary professor, author, and missionary-administrator, this collection of essays seeks to embody both the Reformation and Westminster tradition flavors of Old Princeton theology and Old Southern Presbyterianism."

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Idolatry New and Old

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:49:00 -0500

A little while ago my friend Ian loaned me the PBS DVD series The Story of India This six-part series, which runs about six hours, simply tells the story of India from ancient times until roughly the time of Indian Independence. It is a good documentary, even if the host's excessive exuberance toward all things Indian is a little bit hard to take after a while. "Oh, isn't that wonderful! Fantastic! Remarkable! Unbelievable! Stupendous!"

As one would have to expect for a series focusing on the history and culture of India, this film devoted a good bit of attention to Indian religion. And, as you know, India is a hotbed of religious fervor where Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and nearly every other religion you can imagine coexist, at times peacefully and at times through great bloodshed. As much as the history of India is the history of faiths existing together in peace, it is equally a story of the battle for dominance of one faith or another. The documentary devoted a good bit of attention to the various means of religious expression, from Muslims venerating the tomb of a sufi to Jains pouring out their offerings to a statue of Gomateshwara to Hindus bowing low before their ancient deities. The idolatry, portrayed so vividly in full-color and wide screen is quite shocking. India represents a fascinating collision of the first world with the third world, of the ancient with the modern. Somehow it seems that this form of idolatry should have been left in the past; have we not evolved or developed or matured beyond bowing before gods of wood and bronze? Yet here are countless millions of men and women who are every bit as devoted to their gods as were the enemies of the Israelites of old.

As I watched these people venerate their gods I felt pity for them and I felt gratitude to God for his grace in saving me from such idolatry, such sinful adulation of Satan. I suppose that may sound arrogant; I do not mean it that way. Here were men and women bowing low before gods who were so clearly made in their own image--gods who were not good and righteous and perfect and omnipotent, but gods who are so often petty and perplexed and perverted--gods who are so very human. There is no transcendence here; there is little to distinguish these gods from those who worship them. These people are, in a very real sense, worshiping themselves. They create gods who are very much like themselves and then prostrate themselves before such pathetic deities. Rarely have I seen such a vivid picture of the idolatry that dwells within the human heart.

Yesterday the world memorialized Michael Jackson. The numbers are still being tabulated but there is little doubt that millions, probably hundreds of millions, watched at least a portion of the memorial service. How many did so, as did I, merely out a morbid sense of curiosity, probably cannot be calculated.

Jackson's service was an representation of just the kind of pluralism that has marked India. Everybody involved wanted to invoke God's name, as you're supposed to do when remembering a loved one, but it was clear that most of them invoked a god made in their own image. Even those who spoke of Jesus or who prayed to Jesus did so without any clear reference to the Jesus of the Bible. They spoke of a Jesus who accepts all and even (or perhaps especially) those who had rejected him. Never did Michael Jackson give any evidence of putting his faith in Jesus Christ, yet those who watched were assured, time and again, that he was now safe in the presence of the Lord, waiting there for the rest of us to arrive. Words and phrases invoked God and used the Christian lexicon but without any reference to the gospel, the true gospel, the gospel that saves. Lost men declared to other lost men untruths about the god they wish for, not the God who is.

During the singing of the old song We Are the World, those who watched saw religious symbols from all faiths spinning across a video screen, blurring, blending their lies to the already blind.

All faiths are the same, don't you know? Why dwell on such petty distinctions? God is whoever you want him (or her or it) to be. We are the world. We are god.

What surprised me more than anything was the genuine grief, the genuine mourning, of those who attended the memorial service. Of course his brothers and sister and daughter were distraught, but so too were many of the fans who so loved him. On the radio I heard an interview with a woman from Toronto who attended a screening of the service. She told how when she heard of Jackson's death she collapsed and was inconsolable, at least until she could go to a tattoo parlor and have "Gone too soon" tattooed onto her body; that was the beginning of the healing process. She had brought her young son to the memorial service so he could see his mother's love for this man she so venerated. All across North America, all across the world, there are similar stories of worship. Can we call it anything other than worship? I don't think this is too strong a word. For many people, Jackson was a god; for many people celebrity is idolatry.

Yesterday we saw idolatry of a whole different order yet idolatry that is so similar to what I saw in The Story of India. There are some who, in their idolatry, bow low before gods of wood and stone and burnished bronze. There are others who, in their idolatry, live vicariously through celebrities and who bow low before the spirit of the age. Michael Jackson's funeral, where God's name was invoked and where Jesus' name was supposedly held high, was as vivid an expression of idolatry as was the footage of hordes of Indian Hindus dancing with joy and veneration before their statues. One is a base idolatry, the other is sophisticated and proper. Both are the same ancient sin, the same ancient rebellion against the one true God.

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A La Carte (7/8)

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:48:00 -0500

MJ's Religion Thriller
Boston.com tries to unravel Michael Jackson's religious beliefs. "In those days since the King of Pop died, I've now seen so many items about his faith that my head is starting to spin. He was a Jehovah's Witness. A Muslim. He accepted Jesus before he died. The Vatican loved him, but was that right? There's even a Jewish angle of sorts. Not to mention the unending discussion of what it means to call him an icon, or an idol. Some folks have suggested that his funeral will shed some light on his final faith practices, but I'm not holding out much hope for that. "

True Woman '10
Next year there will be not one but three True Woman conferences (could we say it's kind of equivalent to a Together for the Gospel directed specifically at women?). The 2008 version of the event was excellent. Click the link for information and a video.

How Bad Are Auto Sales?
TIME answers the question in this brief article.

Why Palin Quit
Here's an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal: "People close to Sarah Palin say national political reporters and pundits have missed the real reasons for her surprising decision to resign as Alaska governor. The national media have dismissed or downplayed her real motives, which had little to do with any plans to run for president in 2012."

Self-Help is No Help
"Bridget Jones is not alone in turning to self-help mantras to boost her spirits, but a study warns they may have the opposite effect. Canadian researchers found those with low self-esteem actually felt worse after repeating positive statements about themselves."

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Book Review - Why We Love the Church

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:51:00 -0500

Church is out, spirituality is in. This is true outside Christians circles but, shockingly, it is true within as well. Recent years have seen a long succession of books talking of the revolution to come (or the revolution underway) which will see Christians abandon the institutional church in favor of expressions of the faith that are supposedly more pure. Christians meeting together in Starbucks in twos or threes, Christians meeting on park benches or around a backyard swimming pool. This, say some, is a true, pure, biblical expression of Christian community. It is in reaction to this kind of misinterpretation of Scripture that Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck have written, Why We Love the Church.

You may recognize DeYoung and Kluck as the men behind Why We're Not Emergent, a book that won Christianity Today's 2009 Book Award in the The Church/Pastoral Leadership category. In that first book they showed why they, though apparently prime candidates to follow along within the Emerging Church movement, had eschewed it in favor of a more traditional expression of the faith. This book is a follow-up, of sorts, offering the positive expression of what they declared negatively in the first book. We know that they are not Emergent and here we learn why they love the church. They follow the same pattern, writing completely separate chapters. DeYoung's chapters are the more academic ones--providing the theological foundation. Kluck's chapters, on the other hand, are less formal and more reflective. Both men are excellent writers who are adept at turning a phrase, making this a book that is just plain enjoyable to read.

The question will be asked: Is this as good, as enjoyable a book as Why We're Not Emergent. I don't think so; I don't know that they quite recaptured the voice, the perspective they spoke from in the first book. Somehow it seems they were not able to duplicate the magic, the interplay between the two authors, that marked Why We're Not Emergent. Yet Why We Love the Church is still plenty good in its own right.

The book, they say, is written for four kinds of people: the committed, the disgruntled, the waffling and the disconnected. For each of these people there will be value in reading the book and reflecting on the message it shares. When it comes to the disgruntled, the waffling and the disconnected, they offer four reasons, or perhaps four groups of reasons that people are disillusioned with the church: the missiological (the church is simply not fulfilling her God-given mission); the personal (the church is anti-women, anti-gay, hypocritical, etc); the historical (the church as we know it is a product of paganism, not Scripture); the theological (the church as an organization, institution, hierarchy, etc is foreign to the Bible). Throughout the book, DeYoung and Kluck respond to these people and respond to these reasons, always looking to Scripture, always seeking to provide a biblical understanding of who and what and why the church is.

There are two great strengths in this book. The first is in offering the biblical perspective on what God is doing through the church. The authors show how the church is central to all that God is doing in the world and prove well that without the church there is no Christianity. They take the historic view that participating in the church is normative for the Christian life--that under ordinary circumstances we should not expect a person who deliberately remains outside the visible church to be a true believer.

The second great strength is in responding to the tired but all-too-common arguments against organized religion or institutionalized church or whatever else people may wish to call it. They offer lines like this--ones well worth pondering: "It's more than a little ironic that the same folks who want the church to ditch the phoney, plastic persona and become a haven for broken, imperfect sinners are ready to leave the church when she is broken, imperfect and sinful." They do not allow such people to glamorize the early church, the New Testament church, as if she was a perfect, sinless expression of the Christian faith (haven't these people read 1 Corinthians or the early chapters of Revelation?). They offer valuable responses to disillusionment based on historical hubris, church buildings and institutions and even the role of Christians in the Crusades--all of those arguments that tend to be passed along but without much thought and without ever verifying the claims. Just the response to these arguments is worth the price of the book.

If there is a weak point in Why We Love the Church, it has to be Chapter 6, titled "Snapshots." Here Kluck offers brief interviews with various churched people. Not only does the chapter feel a little bit out of place, but it also focuses a lot of attention on Chuck Colson who, through his efforts with Evangelicals and Catholics Together, seeks to undermine much of what the church is. It is a strange diversion in an otherwise excellent book.

I had expected this book to be written from a fully positive perspective, which is to say it would be more proactive than reactive--that it would explain why these men love the church without reference to all of those who seem not to love her. Yet much of the book is a response to Leonard Sweet and William Young and George Barna and the other naysayers. In this way it did cement itself in my mind as a true sequel to Why We're Not Emergent; where the first book reacted to the leaders of the emerging church, this one responds equally to those who would lead the charge away from the church altogether. Not surprisingly, some of the antagonists in the first book make appearances here as well. And so, if you are eager to read a response to this kind of reaction against the church or if you are looking for an apologetic as to why you ought to love and value and treasure the church, this is a book you will enjoy and a book that will benefit you. Read this book and I am confident that you will come to a deeper love, a deeper appreciation, of both Christ and his church.

Buy it at Monergism Books

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A La Carte (7/7)

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:40:00 -0500

How to Overspiritualize Everything
A comic.

Calvin 500
Calvin500 is underway and you can read updates about what's going on there at the Calvin500 blog. Mike Dewalt is also blogging from Geneva.

Historic Bible Pages Online
About 800 pages of the earliest surviving Christian Bible have been recovered and put on the internet. Visitors to the website www.codexsinaiticus.org can now see images of more than half the 1,600-year-old Codex Sinaiticus manuscript.

Being Degraded by Reality TV
"In their new book, 'The Mirror Effect,' addiction medicine specialist Drew Pinsky and business professor S. Mark Young argue that following the foibles of reality TV stars and other celebrities is not a wholly harmless pastime. The more time we spend observing the shocking, materialistic and egotistical behavior of reality TV stars, they argue, the more likely we are to mimic that behavior in our own lives and view the pathological self-centeredness of these 'Joe Six-Pack' celebrities as normal. "

Deal of the Day: Our Sovereign God
This book is a transcription of the lectures given at the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology from the years 1974-1976. Contributors include Roger Nicole, Stuart Sacks, R.C. Sproul, and John Stott. It is available, while supplies last, at less than half price.

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Your Suffering Does Not Just Belong to You

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:39:00 -0500

The more I grow in my knowledge of the Lord (through my knowledge of his Word) the more I see the utter centrality of the church, the local church, in his plan for his people. The more I learn of him, the more I see what a jewel the church is--what a blessing, what an honor it is to be part of something so amazing, so other-worldly. This is something that has been brought home to me in recent years primarily by the joy and privilege of being part of a faithful local church. But it has also been emphasized through many of the books I've read.

Last week I read Ligon Duncan's Does Grace Grow Best in Winter? (see my review) and followed that with Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck's Why We Love the Church (check in tomorrow for a review). One is a book about suffering and the other is a book specifically about the church. And yet the theme is the same. I will have more to say about Why We Love the Church tomorrow. But for today I wanted to share something I read in Duncan's book--something that really grabbed my attention.

You may be familiar with these words from the first chapter of Colossians:

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

They are words I have read many times and yet somehow Duncan's application of them was entirely fresh. In the chapter in which he discusses these verses he is explaining what God may be accomplishing through your suffering and one of the four points he brings up is this one: Building up the church. Have you ever considered this before, that through your suffering God is strengthening the church? He says, "Our suffering aids the maturity of the whole body of believers. It is extraordinary that our suffering is designed not only to work godliness in us as individuals, causing us to prize Christ more, but also to work maturity within the whole church." And this is exactly what Paul points to in the opening verses of Colossians. "Suffering is God's instrument to bring about the maturity of the whole church. God ordains for our suffering, as a participation in the suffering of Christ's body, to bring about in the church the purposes of Christ's affliction. In other words, sometimes God appoints his children to suffer so that the whole body will become mature." We all know that as members of the church we are to rejoice together and to mourn together, but do we understand that these occasions of mourning are given for our maturity? If we truly are a body, each part dependent on the other, then it cannot be any other way. One person's suffering is every person's suffering; one person's maturing is every person's maturing.

And as you think about this, can't you see how it is true? Can't you think to some of the Christian men and women whose suffering you have witnessed and see how their example has served to strengthen the church? I can think of many examples. Some of them are people who suffered far away from me, far from my local church, but whose suffering served to strengthen even those Christians whom they had never met face-to-face. Others of them are people who have been a part of my local church, my local congregation, whose suffering has been witnessed by only a few; but those few have been strengthened by their witness. I think of people who suffered through illness or joblessness or the loss of a child; they grew in maturity through the suffering but, remarkably, so did those of us who wept with them.

Duncan says, "These 'lacking; afflictions of Christ's do not indicate that his suffering was insufficient for our salvation. They are simply a recognition that when you become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you become a part of his body. Since you are part of his body, your sufferings are his sufferings. What are the sufferings that are lacking in Christ's affliction? They are the ones that have not been experienced yet by his body, the church. They will continue to be experienced by his body until he comes again and makes an end of all suffering for his people." Duncan goes on to say, "The apostle Paul is telling us something amazing. The afflictions of the body of Christ are intended to bring it to maturity. That is to say, God ordains, by the Spirit and by faith, for our suffering to bring about in the church the purposes of Christian affliction. These purposes are: Christ in us, the hope of glory, and every one of us being made mature in Jesus Christ."

So I guess this is something we ought to keep in mind in those times that God calls us to suffer. Our suffering is not pointless; it is not meaningless. At least in part, our suffering is mandated by God so we can strengthen and edify our brothers and sisters in Christ so that they, and we, may strive toward Christian maturity. "Your suffering does not just belong to you. You are members of a body. Your suffering is for the body's maturity as much as it is for yours. Your suffering is there to build up the church of Christ. It is there for the people of God to be given faith and hope and confidence in the hour of their trials. Your suffering is also the body's suffering because one of God's purposes in suffering is the maturity of the whole church."

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A La Carte (7/6)

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:17:00 -0500

Rachel Goes Home
Rachel Barkey, whose message titled "Death is Not Dying" became a bit of an internet phenomenon, went home to her Lord on July 2, 2009 at 37 years of age. If you have not yet heard "Death is Not Dying," this is a good time to do so.

Reviewing the Lincoln Bios
At the New Republic, Sean Wilentz has a lengthy essay in which he seeks to understand, based on all of the new biographies, who Lincoln was and was not. A long read, but an interesting one.

Heteronormativity
I learned a new word this morning and just had to share it: "heteronormativity." "Researchers at the University of Michigan have concluded that the love stories told in classic Disney and other G-rated children's films - such as the Little Mermaid - are partially to blame for the pervasiveness of what they label 'heteronormativity.'"

Deal of the Day (Month)
Through the month of July, Monergism Books is offering free shipping on all orders over $25 (all orders, that is, shipping to American addresses). You can get details and the coupon code at the link.

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Worshiping Worship

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:09:00 -0500

This morning, as most of the readers of this site head to church to worship the Lord, it seemed appropriate to post a few words on worship. These words come courtesy of D.A. Carson and his book Worship by the Book. Here Carson has just offered a definition of worship and he is now expanding upon it, challenging the reader to pursue true worship.

*****

In an age increasingly suspicious of (linear) thought, there is much more respect for the "feelings" of things - whether a film or a church service. It is disturbingly easy to plot surveys of people, especially young people, drifting from a church of excellent preaching and teaching to one with excellent music because, it is alleged, there is "better worship" there. But we need to think carefully about this matter. Let us restrict ourselves for the moment to corporate worship. Although there are things that can be done to enhance corporate worship, there is a profound sense in which excellent worship cannot be attained merely by pursuing excellent worship. In the same way that, according to Jesus, you cannot find yourself until you lose yourself, so also you cannot find excellent corporate worship until you stop trying to find excellent corporate worship and pursue God himself. Despite the protestations, one sometimes wonders if we are beginning to worship worship rather than worship God. As a brother put it to me, it's a bit like those who begin by admiring the sunset and soon begin to admire themselves admiring the sunset.

This point is acknowledged in a praise chorus like "Let's forget about ourselves, and magnify the Lord, and worship him." The trouble is that after you have sung this repetitious chorus three of four times, you are no farther ahead. The way you forget about yourself is by focusing on God--not by singing about doing it, but by doing it. There are far too choruses and services and sermons that expand our vision of God--his attributes, his works, his character, his words. Some think that corporate worship is good because it is lively where it had been dull. But it may also be shallow where it is lively, leaving people dissatisfied and restless in a few months' time. Sheep lie down when they are well fed (cf. Psalm 23:2); they are more likely to be restless when they are hungry. "Feed my sheep," Jesus commanded Peter (John 21); and many sheep are unfed. If you wish to deepen the worship of the people of God, above all deepen their grasp of his ineffable majesty in his person and in all his works.

We do not expect the garage mechanic to expatiate on the wonders of his tools; we expect him to fix the car. He must know how to use his tools, but he must not lose sight of the goal. So we dare not focus on the mechanics of corporate worship and lose sight of the goal. We focus on God himself, and thus we become more godly and learn to worship--and collaterally we learn to edify one another, forbear with one another, challenge one another.

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Books I Didn't Review

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:52:00 -0500

I guess this is going to become a regular feature around here--a list of some of the books I didn't review. The fact is that I receive far more books than I could ever read and that I read more books than I could review. Yet many of these are perfectly good books--excellent books even--that deserve some kind of a mention. So this allows me to draw attention a few of the ones I just couldn't get to, whether good or bad (Click here for a previous roundup).

First off, here are a few titles I read but have not reviewed in full.

Meeting God Behind Enemy Lines by Steve Watkins. Steve Watkins was not always pastor of Kenton Baptist Church as he is today. In 1987, after deciding he was not eager to face four years of college, he decided to join the Navy with a view to being one of the elite Navy Seals. Not lacking in ability or motivation, he did just that and began a successful career in the military. He served in Iraq during the Gulf War but eventually left the Navy to pursue the pastorate. He graduated from the Masters Seminary in Los Angeles and, since then, has been serving Kenton Baptist Church in Kenton, Kentucky. This biography recounts his career in the armed forces and his eventual conversion. It is an enjoyable read, especially for those with an interest in military affairs. Watkins offers an interesting description of his conversion and is careful to ascribe all glory to God.

Good Mr. Baxter by Vance Salisbury. This short biography of only just over 100 pages does an excellent job of introducing the great Puritan pastor and writer Richard Baxter. As any short biography ought to do, this one led me hoping to find a much longer treatment of the life of this fascinating character.

50 People Every Christian Should Know by Warren Wiersbe. This book offers fifty short biographical sketches of Christian figures of varying importance, ranging from Katherine von Bora to A.W. Tozer and had its genesis in magazine articles in Moody Monthly and The Good News Broadcaster. It combines two previous books, Living with the Giants and Victorious Christians. As a collection of short biographies it does with excellence exactly what is sets out to do--provide a mere introduction to important Christian figures. There is am emphasis on figures in some way related to Moody, but this hardly detracts from it. It's an excellent choice to read just a few pages at a time.

Here are some books I've received but have chosen not to review:

The Cross: 38,102 miles. 38 years. 1 mission by Arthur Blessitt. This is an autobiography of the man who has carried a cross across America and across the world, visiting every country and island group in the world. Neither he nor the book interests me enough to read it.

Religions of the Stars by Richard Abanes is another in a long list of books in which Richard Abanes looks at contemporary cultural themes through the lens of Scripture. Here he shows "What Hollywood Believes and How it Affects You." He looks at a list of several popular religions: Kabbalah, Scientology, Mormonism and so on. I'm not quite interested enough in the subject matter to read it.

I've received several titles from DayOne, many of which look excellent. DayOne, a relative newcomer to the North American markets, is publishing a lot of books these days (several per month, it seems) and they are filling a lot of gaps in the publishing field, I'm sure. Many of their books are eminently practical, seeking to help Christians consistently apply biblical truths. A few of the recent titles are:

Darwin and Darwinism 150 Years Later by Ian McNaughton and Paul Taylor
Evolution: Good Science? Exposition the Ideological Nature of Darwin's Theory by Dominic Statham. This title and the one before it are part of the "Creation Points" series.
Same-Sex Marriage: Is it Really the Same? by Mark Christopher
Merchant to Romania: Business as Missions in Post-Communist Eastern Europe by Jeri Little
Jesus: The Life Changer by Simon J. Robinson. In this book Robinson seeks to stand in the shoes of some of the people who met Jesus to give a first-person account of their encounter with the Lord.
Simon Peter: The Training Years and Simon Peter: Challenging Times by Helen Clark.
Six-Day Creation: Does it Matter What You Believe? by Robert Gurney. Needless to say, this book maintains that it does, indeed, matter what you believe.
Teach Your Family the Truth by Brian Stone

Buddhism: A Christian Exploration and Appraisal by Keith Yandell and Harold Netland. This may be the kind of book I'll refer to in the future as needed, but it's not one I would prioritize at the moment.

Politics for the Greatest Good: The Case for Prudence in the Public Square. I don't think I'm smart enough to read it.

Worship in Song: A Biblical Approach to Music and Worship by Scott Aniol. This carries an endorsement by Ligon Duncan so much be good. But it has been on my shelf for long enough now that I guess I'm not likely to read it.

Teaching Acts by David Cook. I like the look of this book and will keep it around for if and when I do need to think about teaching Acts. It is part of a series of similar books published by Christian Focus that helps teach a teacher how to teach. It looks very, very helpful for that purpose.

Did the Resurrection Happen? by Gary Habermas and Anthony Flew. This would be interesting, I'm sure, but I can't prioritize it.

Let's Study Matthew by Mark E. Ross. This series, published by Banner of Truth and edited by Sinclair Ferguson, expands to include Matthew. These are valuable little guides for person Bible study. They come highly recommended.

Psalms: Songs Along the Way by Kathleen Buswell Nielson continues P&R's "Living Word" Bible Study series. Aileen enjoys using these studies to provide structure to her times of personal devotion.

Courage to Stand: Jeremiah's Message for Post-Christian Times by Philip Graham Ryken is, well, I guess you can pretty much figure it out by the title.

Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong features John MacArthur and the leadership team at Grace Community Church. It offers Christian wisdom on a variety of contemporary topics ranging from the cult of celebrity and homosexual marriage to environmentalism and birth control. While I have not read it cover-to-cover, I have referred to several of the chapters and have enjoyed what I have read there. It looks like a good volume to keep on my shelves for future reference.

Practical Prayer by Derek Prime. Here's another one I keep thinking I'm going to read but then don't actually get to. Sooner or later I should, I suppose, as it looks like a good read.

The Fine Line: Re-envisioning the Gap Between Christ and Culture by Kary Oberbrunner. I'm sorry, Kary, but I just can't read another Christ and culture book right now. My apologies!

Desperately Wicked: Philosophy, Christianity and the Human Heart by Patrick Downey. Again, I'm pretty sure this one would make my head explode.

Stars in God's Sky by Faith Cook is another compilation of the short biographies Cook is known for.

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Free Stuff Fridays

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:56:00 -0500

It's Friday and that means I've got another Free Stuff Fridays for you. This week's sponsor is Shepherd Press, a name I'm sure most are familiar with. "Shepherd Press is committed to provide God's people with solid biblical books and materials. ... At Shepherd Press we look for materials that ... will enable us to identify the idols of the heart that pollute our service to Christ, keeping us mired in confusion, unable to obey God. They will also encourage us that we can "do all things through Christ who gives [us] strength." Remember the gospel is for Christians. We daily repent and cast ourselves on the abundant grace of Jesus Christ."

This week five participants will each win a copy of Paul David Tripp's new book Broken-Down House: Living Productively in a World Gone Bad along with his previous title Lost in the Middle. "Sin has ravaged the house that God created. It sits slumped, disheveled, in pain and groaning for the restoration that can only be accomplished by the hands of him who built it in the first place. The good news is that the divine Builder will not relent until everything about his house is made new again. The bad news is that you and I are living right in the middle of the restoration process. We live each day in a house that is terribly broken, where nothing works exactly as intended. But Emmanuel lives here as well, and he is at work returning his house to its former beauty."

Here is a video in which Tripp describes this book:

Rules: You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.

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Monitoring Mohler (II)

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:30:00 -0500

A couple of weeks ago I said that I was Monitoring Mohler (so to speak), reading through his entire suggested summer reading list. At that point I had read The Unforgiving Minute, With Wings Like Eagles, Hunting Eichmann and World War One. Since then I've read several of the other titles on this list and thought I'd check in.

Number five on the list was Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton. Mohler says, "Horse Soldiers is a story that demands to be told and Stanton tells it well. No one reading this account will believe that the establishment of a lasting peace in Afghanistan will be anything but unspeakably difficult--and unquestionably important." This book tells the story of a tiny handful of US soldiers who were among the first American servicemen to deploy to Afghanistan after 9/11. What they did there was pretty incredible and Doug Stanton tells the story very well. Anyone with an interest in military history or modern warfare will want to read this one to see how twenty-first century warfare came face-to-face with the nineteenth century in the mountains of Afghanistan. And, as Mohler says, this book shows the great and perhaps impossible challenge Afghanistan faces as it tries to build a lasting peace. Having said that, it's hard to believe that what the Americans did there has had any lasting value as it seems that the violence continues to escalate and that the nation is a long, long way away from any kind of peace. Time will tell, I suppose. Do note that there is some swearing in this book since these are, after all, soldiers we are talking about here.

Up sixth was Sultana by Alan Huffman, a book about the worst maritime disaster in American history. Through gross greed and negligence, the Sultana, hugely overloaded with Union soldiers recently liberated from Confederate prison camps, exploded and sank in the Mississippi. Around 1700 of the 2400 passengers aboard the ship died. Mohler says, "Sultana is a book that makes for compelling reading that reaches the heart." The book does more than recount the disaster. It follows several of the men involved through their service in the Union army, through their imprisonment and it is only in the final few chapters that we come to the Sultana. Ironically, I found the earlier chapters more interesting and more compelling than the tale of the disaster itself. I appreciated that the author saw fit to widen the scope of the book by making it about the whole war and not just about a single tragedy. Any Civil War enthusiast will appreciate this book, I'm sure.

Next in line was For the Thrill of It, the New York Times bestseller that describes the brutal murder in Chicago in 1924 of a child by two wealthy college students who killed solely for the thrill of the experience. The crime scandalized and riveted the nation. Mohler says, "Simon Baatz tells his tale with the skill a reporter and the skill of a historian. For the Thrill of It is one of most compelling criminal legal thrillers of our times. Readers of this book will gain an understanding of America in the 1920s even as they follow one of the most interesting criminal investigations and trials and the nation's history. Beyond this, the reader will have to think through some of the most difficult moral and theological issues that arise when we are confronted with the darkness of human depravity." This was a very odd story of homosexual lovers who were also arrogant intellectuals and who were out looking for depraved thrills. Honestly, I found the story hard to read and recoiled a bit at the depravity portrayed. I found little of redeeming value (as is usually the case, in my experience, with "true crime" books)--I did not sense that this murder and the subsequent trial have had a lot of long-term impact in America and, though it was a scandal in its day, I think it has largely been forgotten. Therefore, I wondered at what value there was in reading about it. I'd recommend any of the other titles on this list ahead of this one.

The eighth book on my list was The Third Reich at War by Richard J. Evans. This is probably the most "niche" book Mohler recommended and it is going to appeal to only a narrow spectrum of readers. Thankfully I am among that group and I enjoyed it a lot. It is a huge book with over 750 pages of text (and over a hundred pages of end notes and indexes). Mohler says, "Richard J. Evans' achievement is to tell this massive story in a way that maintains the reader's attention and provides detail missing from other accounts. The Third Reich 'continues to command the attention of thinking people around the world,' Evans states. For this reason, thinking people will be especially appreciative of The Third Reich at War." And he is right on. This book not only completes Evans' trilogy on the Third Reich but it does so in a way that is interesting and wide-reaching. He looks to far more than the battles but looks as well to the home front and the foreign frontiers. He looks to economies, media and even art during the Second World War. This is a must-read for any serious student of World War II. But beyond that crowd I suspect it will have only very limited appeal. If there is a knock on this book it is the sheer space it gives to atrocities. There must be at least two hundred pages that describe the various ways and means by which the Germans put people to death. We cannot downplay such acts and yet, at the same time, it may be that Evans gives them just a little bit too much ink. It is hard to know. Regardless, the book is fascinating and well worth the read.

I mentioned in my first post that in his "Reading List" feature Mohler had recommended a novel that looked rather interesting: City of Thieves by David Benioff. I decided to give it a read. Mohler said of it, "City of Thieves is brutal, and is not for the faint of heart. It glides very close to nihilism, but pulls back. It is one of the most thought-provoking coming-of-age novels I have read in years." It is, indeed, a great story--so simple and yet so interesting. Quite simply, it tells of two young men, one a deserter and the other a thief, who, during the German's brutal siege of Leningrad, are given a chance to save their lives by complying with a commander's strange request: find a dozen eggs for his daughter's wedding cake. Again, the story is brilliant and the writing is nothing short of excellent. But the language and much of the narrative is absolutely filthy. There is constant profanity and more vulgarity than in any other novel I've ever read. There is lots of (mostly non-graphic) sex and ongoing coarse jesting from cover to cover. So I'm not quite sure what to say. I usually hand any novels I read to Aileen so she can enjoy them after me; but this one I just got rid of. As good as the story is, I just don't think I could recommend it to her or to anyone else. It is brutal, indeed. And I have to think it could have been just as good, or maybe better, without all the filth.

And that's it for now. I have just two left to complete Mohler's list: Maverick Military Leaders and Masters and Commanders. Both books showed up at the door while I was writing this post, so give me a week or two and I'll let you know what they are all about. And then I'll have to go looking for another reading list to make my way through. Any suggestions?

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A La Carte (7/3)

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:16:00 -0500

Virginity Rocks...But not on a T-Shirt
This article from Boundless is worth reading just for this one section: "You see, since being married I've learned a lot about the differences between the male and female mind. I've learned how something that may seem innocuous to me may be viewed as sexual by a male. I've learned that a young man reading "Virginity Rocks" on a tight, hot pink t-shirt is probably not going to immediately start contemplating purity. And it was discouraging that this young lady didn't seem to be aware that her message was not matching her medium."

Duncan and Keller on Women in the Deaconate
Here is the audio from the discussion that Ligon Duncan and Tim Keller had at the 2009 PCA GA concerning the role of women and the deaconate. I think Duncan does an especially good job of arguing that the deaconate is open only to qualified men.

Good News for Toronto
My friend PMac is interning at our church this summer, working as an evangelist. He has begun a blog to share some of his experiences.

Fancy Fast Food
I love the premise of this site. "These photographs show extreme makeovers of actual fast food items purchased at popular fast food restaurants. No additional ingredients have been added except for an occasional simple garnish." They can somehow make a Big Mac look delicious.

July Wallpaper
Fancy up your desktop with some new wallpaper courtesy of Smashing Magazine.

Deal of the Day: Fabulous Fridays
CBD has a few good deals in this week's Fabulous Friday sale. There are a couple of Randy Alcorn books for $5.99 and $0.99, Prince Caspian book plus audio book for $3.99, Mohler's Culture Shift for $5.99 and a picture book of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for $1.99.

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Reading Classics Together - The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (III)

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:15:00 -0500

Today we come to our third reading in Jeremiah Burroughs' The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. If you have not yet started the book but would like to read along with us, you're not too late. We are only three chapters in and you can still easily catch up. Another couple of weeks and it may be difficult to catch up, so join in while you still can!

Summary

This is going to be a bit of an abbreviated summary. We've got sick people in the home and I've got to split my day between work and doctoring (or, at least, running to the store to buy soda crackers and ginger ale).

Last week, in chapter two, Burroughs introduced "The Mystery of Contentment." The business of this book, he says, is to do just this--to open to you the art and mystery of contentment. The mystery is this: how can a person be content with his affliction and yet thoroughly sensible of it at the same time, so that he even endeavors to remove it. "How to join these two together: to be sensible of an affliction as much as a man or woman who is not content; I am sensible of it as fully as they, and I seek ways to be delivered from it as well as they, and yet still my heart abides content--this is, I say, a mystery, that is very hard for a carnal heart to understand." In the second chapter he provided seven "things for opening the mystery of contentment." This week he continued with six more.

First, he (the Christian) lives upon the dew of God's blessing. Like a person does not know what a grasshopper feeds upon (at least, he did not know back then), "in the same way a Christian can get food that the world does not know of; he is fed in a secret way by the dew of the blessing of God." In other words, a Christian receives contentment in a way that is a mystery to the unbeliever. Here Burroughs offers five considerations of why a Christian finds contentment in what he has even though it may be only very little: all that he has is an expression of God's love to him; what he has is sanctified to him for good; a gracious heart has what he has free of cost; what he has he has by right of Jesus Christ, by the purchase of Christ; and every bit of what he has is a down payment of sorts, a shadowing of the greater good that is to come. "Just as every affliction that the wicked have is but the beginning of sorrows, and forerunner of those eternal sorrows that they are likely to have hereafter in Hell, so every comfort you have is a forerunner of those eternal mercies you shall have with God in Heaven."

Second, in all the afflictions, all the evils that befall him, the Christian can see the love, and can enjoy the sweetness of love in his afflictions as well as his mercies. Or, to quote Jerome, "He is a happy man who is beaten when the stroke is a stroke of love."

Third, a godly man sees contentment as a mystery because just as he sees all his afflictions come from the same love that Jesus Christ did, so he sees them all sanctified in Jesus Christ, sanctified in a Mediator. The Christian can have all taken away from him and realize that Jesus, too, had no place to lay his head. He can be persecuted and realize that Jesus, too, was persecuted. And so "the exercising of faith on what Christ endured is the way to get contentment in the midst of our pains."

Fourth, a gracious heart has contentment by getting strength from Jesus Christ; he is able to bear his burden by getting strength from someone else. Through faith a Christian is able to gain the strength of Christ. And so "faith is the great grace that is to be acted under afflictions."

Fifth, a godly heart enjoys much of God in everything he has, and knows how to make up all wants in God himself. Here he uses an interesting and effective illustration that relies on pipes. "This indeed is an excellent art, to be able to draw from God what one had before in the creature. Christian, how did you enjoy comfort before? Was the creature anything to you but a conduit, a pipe, that conveyed God's goodness to you? 'The pipe is cut off,' says God, 'come to me, the fountain, and drink immediately.'" An extended quote will help, I think:

Now the Lord would not have the affections of his children to run waste; he does not care for other men's affections, but yours are precious, and God would not have them to run waste; therefore he has cut off your other pipes that your heart might flow wholly to him. If you have children, and because you let your servants perhaps feed them and give them things, you perceive that your servants are stealing away the hearts of your children, you would hardly be able to bear it; you would be ready to send away such a servant. When the servant is gone, the child is at a great loss, it has not got the nurse, but the father or mother intends by sending her away, that the affections of the child might run more strongly towards himself or herself, and what loss is it to the child that the affections that ran in a rough channel before towards the servant, run now towards the mother? So those affections that run towards the creature, God would have run towards himself, that so he may be all in all to you here in this world.

Finally, for this chapter, a gracious heart gets contentment from the Covenant that God has made with him. This section will receive more attention in the next chapter.

And so Burroughs continues to do what he does so well--sharing biblical wisdom in a pointed, relevant, compassionate way. He uses occasional illustrations but useful ones. And through it all, he is pastoral, constantly drawing the Christian's heart to the Savior. I continue to really enjoy this book.

Next Week

For next week, simply read chapter 4. Then, on Thursday, swing back by this site and we can discuss the chapter together a little bit.

Your Turn

A La Carte (7/1)

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:32:00 -0500

Church: Love It, Don't Leave It
Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck are guest voices in the Washington Post, talking about the church. "Here's what Bono, Oprah, and the guru speakers on PBS won't tell you: Jesus believed in organized religion and he founded an institution. Of course, Jesus had no patience for religious hacks and self-righteous wannabes, but he was still Jewish. And as Jew, he read the Holy Book, worshiped in the synagogue, and kept Torah. He did not start a movement of latte-drinking disciples who excelled in spiritual conversations. He founded the church (Matt. 16:18) and commissioned the apostles to proclaim the good news that Israel's Messiah had come and the sins of the world could be forgiven through his death on the cross (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:14-36)."

Free Christian Audio
This month's free download from Christian Audio is Francis Chan's Crazy Love, a book that is well worth reading and/or listening to.

My Canada Includes Canada
An opinion column from the Ottawa Citizen that may interest my fellow Canucks. "I will not, and vow I will never, call it "Canada Day" without inverted commas. It would not matter to me if every other living Canadian called it that without further thought. It continues to be Dominion Day, in my view: the patriotic anniversary of my own country. God Himself cannot rewrite history; I recognize no Act of Parliament that attempts to do so."

The Worst First Page Ever
This may well be the worst opening page of a novel in all of human history. I think we can blame self-publishing for this monstrosity!

Death by Show Business
Jim Spiegel: "The death of Michael Jackson last week is in some ways a distinctively American tragedy. While there is nothing new under the sun about the soul-crushing effects of fame and fortune, the dynamics involved in the demise of the greatest pop icon of his generation are eerily familiar."

Top Commentaries
Keith Mathison has completed his look at the top five commentaries on every book of the Bible. You can see a series roundup here.

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