MSNBC on Matt Chandler

Here.

quote of the day

John Wesley:

When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart.

Bible Verses on Military Guns?

Here.

HiSTORY?

What is the definition of "history"?

Does history have any innate meaning?

How do we now history has any meaning?

What gives history its meaning?

Is history objective fact?

Or... Is history facts paired with interpretations of those facts?

Mounce on Sunday and Sabbath in the NT

Here.

Dr Piper reciting Philippians

i declare?

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

good biblical interpretation

From "The Art of Reading Scripture" edited by Ellen Davis and Richard B. Hays [pg 3].

Faithful interpretation of Scripture invites and presupposes participation in the community brought into being by God's redemptive action.

Scripture is like a musical score that must be played or sung in order to be understood.

an RC Sproul quote I totally agree with

I’ll retire when they pry my cold, dead fingers off of my Bible.

enjoy those 11 minutes this weekend

This is classic.

hymn of the day

By Anne Steele [1717-1778]

My God, my Father, blissful Name

O may I call Thee mine

May I with sweet assurance claim

A portion so divine

This only can my fears control

And bid my sorrows fly

What harm can ever reach my soul

Beneath my Father's eye

Whate'er Thy providence denies

I calmly would resign

For Thou art just and good and wise

O bend my will to Thine

Whate'er Thy sacred will ordains

O give me strength to bear

And let me know my Father reigns

And trust His tender care

If pain and sickness rend this frame

And life almost depart

Is not Thy mercy still the same

To cheer my drooping heart

If cares and sorrows me surround

Their pow'r why should I fear

My inward peace they cannot wound

If Thou, my God, art near

God made San Diego really pretty

COLOSSiANS 1.13-20

Paul's hymn about Jesus in Col 1.15-20 is filled with ideas and thoughts that are almost too wonderful to comprehend. For example,

He is before all things and in him all things hold together.

How does that work? How do all things, living or non-living, have their ongoing sustenance in/by Jesus? Or here's another one,

All things have been created through him and for him.

So, Paul, you're saying that not only did this Jesus cause all that is to come into existence, whether the seemingly infinite galaxies or the subatomic particles, but all things are somehow for Him? Hmmm. Wow.

While the majority of this passage is masterful and elegant in content, style, structure, etc, Paul ends in 1.20 on a minor chord. He says that Jesus

Made peace through the blood of His cross.

Now if you're living in the Roman Empire in the first century, the cross is not cute or even religious. The cross was for guilty criminals whose heinous deeds were known to all. Crucifixions were done publicly so as to shame the guilty. People were more than welcome to mock those being crucified to make themselves feel better.

If one was to think of the cross in light of the Roman Empire, they would think of it as the dark, dirty underbelly of justice. Those people were getting what was coming to them. The cross was a symbol of retribution. No one would ever dare think something as dumb or demented as peace being made through the cross. However, this was precisely the case.

This cross is saying something about the depth of the stain of sin [1.14, 21-22]. This cross is saying something about the greatness of the love of the Father [1.12-13]. There is something so radical and counter-cultural about the cross of Jesus that it changed Paul's thinking to its very core. It must effect the same in us.

Pastor?

Driscoll pokes fun at what the office of "pastor" has become in many churches. Here.

James' Newest Baby Sitter

Look what my friend Matt gave me today. I think it is from the 1970s. It has programmed drum loops [i.e. waltz, tango, rumba, and dozens more]. James loves to shake what his mama gave him. Of course, I'll enjoy making music with it and Sara has already loved toying around with it too.

ST AUGUSTiNE LiKES MY BEARD [this life is but a fragmentary solace]

In one of his discourses about beauty [bk 22, ch 24 of "The City of God"], he says:

Of course, some parts of the human body appear to have no other purpose than to add beauty, as the mamillae on a man's chest or the beard on his face. Certainly if the beard were meant for protection rather than for beauty, it would have served a better purpose for the weaker sex, whose face remains uncovered... I think, that in the creation of the human body, God put form before function.

All of this is Augustine articulating the intricate beauties that we get to partake in. He also talks about architecture, agriculture, navigation, language, rhythm, poise, symmetry, etc, etc. He closes this chapter by saying:

Remember, all these favors taken together are but the fragmentary solace allowed us in a life condemned to misery. What, then, must be the consolations of the blessed, seeing that men on earth enjoy so much of so many and of such marvelous blessings? What good will God not give to those predestined to eternal life, if He gives so much to those who are doomed to death?

James, soaking up some Florida sun

CA 10 [part 1]

We left Christmas night about 8:00 pm and drove 17 hours straight to Austin, TX.

After Austin, we drove through west Texas. I guess "everything is bigger in Texas" also means that everything is faster in Texas.

The barrenness of west Texas provided a nice salt flat to drive on. The back roads of New Mexico and Arizona were not that much more lively.

Our two consecutive nights on the road took us to Las Vegas. This was our hotel. The light that comes out of the top of it can be seen with the naked eye from space. Impressive.

We then tracked through the lowest point of elevation in North America - Death Valley, CA.

This brings us to the west coast. We shall see what awaits.

GO READ THiS BOOK.

Aside from being overwhelmingly needed, Chan's book is a great combination of devotional and theological. It's almost Puritanical in that you can't divorce the two in nearly every chapter.

He writes with relevance, awareness, and pastoral sensitivity. He also includes examples from the lives of other believers that are encouraging and hope-giving.

Chapter 1 begins by citing Tozer:

We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone. We have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord, and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost.

By grace, Chan remedies this challenge in his book. It is even seen in the book's summary subtitle: "Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit."

for sara. i miss her.