Some
would deride the vision of those girls who choose to stay at home and
prepare for being a wife to a man and a mother of children. We're seen
as lazy, and purposeless, and idle-- while our counterparts are
attending college and beginning careers in the wide world.
Even
we can begin to become lax -- it is so easy to let ourselves live a
smooth life. To stop striving. To take this season of our lives to
ourselves-- after all, we don't have a family to care for yet, and we do
enough with helping keeping our parent's households running, don't we?
It's okay if we are soft on ourselves, for after all, there's no young
man on the horizon, and af-----
Stop.
Look.
Girls, listen to me. If those girls who are going into the work force
are pouring these years into hard study and preparation.... to get a
_job_?.... shouldn't we maybe..... take our preparation even more
seriously? We're not just trying to gain skills to earn money. We're
right now learning to become queens of our own households. We will have
souls to train and mouths to feed and bodies to care for. We will have
households to run and businesses to look after and our husband's vision
to assist. It will be our responsibility to see our families taken care
of the best way possible.
If
a career girl is putting in long hours of college for her future job,
we should be throwing our whole selves into learning every skill we
possibly can to best care for our husbands and children 'someday'.
Believe me, 'someday' is so, so close. You can't afford to lose the time
you have now.
You can't.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Living Intentionally: The Key to a Godly, Productive Life
Are you a learner? Are you striving to further your knowledge and gain understanding? Or are you just passively living your life, hoping you'll absorb by osmosis the wisdom around you?
Godly people and successful people have this in common:
they live intentionally.
A wise man shall hear, and increase in learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
(Proverbs 1:5-6)
You don't gain much knowledge just by listening. You have to actively listen, intentionally gain wisdom,seek understanding. It doesn't just happen. It takes work.
Will you live intentionally today?
Godly people and successful people have this in common:
they live intentionally.
A wise man shall hear, and increase in learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
(Proverbs 1:5-6)
You don't gain much knowledge just by listening. You have to actively listen, intentionally gain wisdom,seek understanding. It doesn't just happen. It takes work.
Will you live intentionally today?
(linked article on being an intentional reader and getting the most out of reading: http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/how-to-read-a-book/ )
History vs. Devout Humanism
Moreover, pietism, because it makes man primary in salvation (by denying God's sovereignty and predestination), sees all things in terms of man rather than in terms of God. Thus, to cite a specific example, a minister, totally pietistic, saw the meaning of all events in relationship to himself. If a storm upsets his plans, it meant that Satan was trying to hinder him. If he foolishly made a costly blunder, it meant the Lord had brought it to pass to teach him something. The meaning of all events was no larger than himself; the whole universe revolved around frustrating or abetting him. Trains were late, or on time, because the Lord (or Satan in some cases) had a special purpose in it for him.
Such an attitude is not unusual. It has been fostered by generations of preaching. It reduces the sovereign and totally personal God to the level of a witch or warlock playing esoteric games with people. It does not make God personal; it makes God capricious, and a capricious God is ultimately impersonal, because He has no inner consistency or nature but merely unconscious drives and impulses.
Moreover, this minister's attitude was really a form of devout humanism, not Christianity. In a biblical theology, all things have reference to God, and God is totally in control of all things, so that nothing can be understood without reference to Him. In a consistent humanism, all things have reference to man, and nothing has any meaning apart from man. To understand the meaning of anything means to understand it as it relates to man. Moreover, in a theocentric universe, there is between man and God a whole multiplicity of secondary causes and consequences, so that, although God can act directly, He normally acts through His total work of history, which is totally ordained by Him; even God's miraculous acts within history are a part of that total context, the primary meaning of which is primarily determined by Him....
Thus, Charles Wesley rejoiced when his wife and daughter were hideously pockmarked following smallpox, because, therefore, "they cannot fall heir to sin of vanity." Such a view means that a man's essential attitude towards the world is that it is something to be rescued from rather than something to conquer as God's vicegerent.
----------
Rushdoony, from Institutes, Vol. 2
Such an attitude is not unusual. It has been fostered by generations of preaching. It reduces the sovereign and totally personal God to the level of a witch or warlock playing esoteric games with people. It does not make God personal; it makes God capricious, and a capricious God is ultimately impersonal, because He has no inner consistency or nature but merely unconscious drives and impulses.
Moreover, this minister's attitude was really a form of devout humanism, not Christianity. In a biblical theology, all things have reference to God, and God is totally in control of all things, so that nothing can be understood without reference to Him. In a consistent humanism, all things have reference to man, and nothing has any meaning apart from man. To understand the meaning of anything means to understand it as it relates to man. Moreover, in a theocentric universe, there is between man and God a whole multiplicity of secondary causes and consequences, so that, although God can act directly, He normally acts through His total work of history, which is totally ordained by Him; even God's miraculous acts within history are a part of that total context, the primary meaning of which is primarily determined by Him....
Thus, Charles Wesley rejoiced when his wife and daughter were hideously pockmarked following smallpox, because, therefore, "they cannot fall heir to sin of vanity." Such a view means that a man's essential attitude towards the world is that it is something to be rescued from rather than something to conquer as God's vicegerent.
----------
Rushdoony, from Institutes, Vol. 2
Friday, February 27, 2015
Safe in the Harbor
Here's a couple verses from one of my new favorite songs (the version I have is sung by David Coffin). Some inspiration really is worth putting down - solid stuff.
-----
Some men are sailors, but most are just dreamers
Held fast by the anchors they forge in their minds;
Who in their hearts know they'll never sail over deep water
To search for a treasure they're afraid they won't find.
So in Shelter Harbor they cling to their anchors
Back down their boilers and shut down their steam;
And wait for the sailors to return with the bright treasures
That will fan the dull embers and fire up their dreams.
And some men are schemers who laugh at the dreamers
Take the gold from the sailors and turn it to dross;
They're men in a prison, they're men without vision
Whose only horizon is profit and loss.
So when storm clouds come sailing across your blue ocean
Hold fast to your dreaming for all that you're worth;
For as long as there's dreamers, there will always be sailors
Bringing back their bright treasures from the corners of earth.
-- Eric Bogle
-----
Some men are sailors, but most are just dreamers
Held fast by the anchors they forge in their minds;
Who in their hearts know they'll never sail over deep water
To search for a treasure they're afraid they won't find.
So in Shelter Harbor they cling to their anchors
Back down their boilers and shut down their steam;
And wait for the sailors to return with the bright treasures
That will fan the dull embers and fire up their dreams.
And some men are schemers who laugh at the dreamers
Take the gold from the sailors and turn it to dross;
They're men in a prison, they're men without vision
Whose only horizon is profit and loss.
So when storm clouds come sailing across your blue ocean
Hold fast to your dreaming for all that you're worth;
For as long as there's dreamers, there will always be sailors
Bringing back their bright treasures from the corners of earth.
-- Eric Bogle
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Hymn
Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget
the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
and crown Him Lord of all.
the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Of Sheep and Conquerors
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
We are hardpressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed -
Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body."
2 Corinthians 4:7-10
Today's sermon topic was Matthew 5:10-12, in which Jesus introduced the correct understanding of persecution. Pastor Jim did a fine job of expounding the principles involved. Since I was already working on a post centered on Romans 8:36-37, I think I will combine the information for a point-by-point explanation of the Christian doctrine concerning persecution.
1. Every Christian who lives with the goal of godliness will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). A careful definition of persecution is an attack (whether verbal or physical) by someone with unrighteous motives on a person in whom the Spirit dwells. This is the rite of passage, in varying degrees, for all Christians; it must be decided when one counts the cost (Luke 14:28-31) and decides to lose their life in order to find it in the end.
2. Persecution is simply an outworking of carrying the cross in the man's environment. Once the man decides to build the tower and fight the war, he must take up the cross in order to accomplish these objectives. The man may know to fear God and not man, but in order to learn wisdom he must enter into the paradigm of men and remain God-fearing in order to make the cross-carrying worthwhile. The proverb commands us to buy truth and sell it not; so too, the man must determine the wisdom of God as superior to his own thinking and feeling.
3. Cross-carrying is understood very differently by the world as compared to the knowledge God has ordained. The world believes in natural selection, and in such a paradigm living by God's standards is considered the conduct of sheep; the bottom of the food chain. However, such a paradigm of persecution did not exist during Israel's time, in which they were conquering their local area and had the civil authority to fight against (and in God's permission, conquer - which we are not now permitted to do, see Deuteronomy 20) persecuting nations. During a period in which the church is a minority can we expect it, as in the case of the Romans to whom Paul wrote. As the earth and its institutions come progressively under the purview of Christianity, justice raises her banner and the unrighteous are condemned in their acts (Psalm 82; 94:1-2, 20-23; 125:1-3; 149:6-9; Romans 13:4; etc). Unfortunately, due to the conduct of some Christians at various time, who acted so sheepish as to confirm the viewpoint of the unrighteous, Christian men and women were needlessly slaughtered when they had means to defend themselves. We must always prevent evil when we can within God's construct of civil and institutional government.
4. We are more than conquerors whether in flight or in legal battle. Our cross-carrying involves laying our lives down against an enemy who has declared war on us by virtue of our existence. Such a battle is long-term and may involve times of relative peace when the forces of evil realize they cannot at that moment overcome us, but there is no fellowship between light and darkness; the natural man is at enmity with God (Colossians 1:21, Romans 8:7). It is our choice during this war to determine whether we will believe in God that we are more than conquerors and prove it, or conform to the worldly notion that we are sheep in the natural hierarchy.
5. The correct answer to future persecution is not pragmatism but consistent application of cross-carrying. Two principles coincide: first, he who is faithful in little will be faithful in much; second, he who loses his life now will find it, and vice versa. The man who will be rewarded with the fruits of the Spirit and a better resurrection must be living in such a manner to receive both, whether in the days of peace or the days of war.
6. Shame is yet another topic which we must address from God's viewpoint, or we will succumb to the fear of man. Shame involves insufficiency. To man, shame is found by non-conformance to a lifestyle the present culture (by its many manifestations) considers secure. To God, shame is determined by relying on something which is in fact unsupported by God's establishment of truth. It is a war of man's order versus God's order, and one will win out. Because Christ held to God's order, He despised the shame of men, and took on Himself the cross for His church (Philippians 2:7-9, Hebrews 12:2-3).
7. Finally, cross-carrying, whether in days of war or days of peace, has merit in God's eyes; in this we are more than conquerors. As our minds are renewed to the wisdom of God, we come to understand that the testing of our faith in perseverance produces patience, which proceeds to equip us with all the armory of God. Such progress involves rejoicing.
"As it is written, 'For your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.'
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
Romans 8:36-37
We are hardpressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed -
Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body."
2 Corinthians 4:7-10
Today's sermon topic was Matthew 5:10-12, in which Jesus introduced the correct understanding of persecution. Pastor Jim did a fine job of expounding the principles involved. Since I was already working on a post centered on Romans 8:36-37, I think I will combine the information for a point-by-point explanation of the Christian doctrine concerning persecution.
1. Every Christian who lives with the goal of godliness will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). A careful definition of persecution is an attack (whether verbal or physical) by someone with unrighteous motives on a person in whom the Spirit dwells. This is the rite of passage, in varying degrees, for all Christians; it must be decided when one counts the cost (Luke 14:28-31) and decides to lose their life in order to find it in the end.
2. Persecution is simply an outworking of carrying the cross in the man's environment. Once the man decides to build the tower and fight the war, he must take up the cross in order to accomplish these objectives. The man may know to fear God and not man, but in order to learn wisdom he must enter into the paradigm of men and remain God-fearing in order to make the cross-carrying worthwhile. The proverb commands us to buy truth and sell it not; so too, the man must determine the wisdom of God as superior to his own thinking and feeling.
3. Cross-carrying is understood very differently by the world as compared to the knowledge God has ordained. The world believes in natural selection, and in such a paradigm living by God's standards is considered the conduct of sheep; the bottom of the food chain. However, such a paradigm of persecution did not exist during Israel's time, in which they were conquering their local area and had the civil authority to fight against (and in God's permission, conquer - which we are not now permitted to do, see Deuteronomy 20) persecuting nations. During a period in which the church is a minority can we expect it, as in the case of the Romans to whom Paul wrote. As the earth and its institutions come progressively under the purview of Christianity, justice raises her banner and the unrighteous are condemned in their acts (Psalm 82; 94:1-2, 20-23; 125:1-3; 149:6-9; Romans 13:4; etc). Unfortunately, due to the conduct of some Christians at various time, who acted so sheepish as to confirm the viewpoint of the unrighteous, Christian men and women were needlessly slaughtered when they had means to defend themselves. We must always prevent evil when we can within God's construct of civil and institutional government.
4. We are more than conquerors whether in flight or in legal battle. Our cross-carrying involves laying our lives down against an enemy who has declared war on us by virtue of our existence. Such a battle is long-term and may involve times of relative peace when the forces of evil realize they cannot at that moment overcome us, but there is no fellowship between light and darkness; the natural man is at enmity with God (Colossians 1:21, Romans 8:7). It is our choice during this war to determine whether we will believe in God that we are more than conquerors and prove it, or conform to the worldly notion that we are sheep in the natural hierarchy.
5. The correct answer to future persecution is not pragmatism but consistent application of cross-carrying. Two principles coincide: first, he who is faithful in little will be faithful in much; second, he who loses his life now will find it, and vice versa. The man who will be rewarded with the fruits of the Spirit and a better resurrection must be living in such a manner to receive both, whether in the days of peace or the days of war.
6. Shame is yet another topic which we must address from God's viewpoint, or we will succumb to the fear of man. Shame involves insufficiency. To man, shame is found by non-conformance to a lifestyle the present culture (by its many manifestations) considers secure. To God, shame is determined by relying on something which is in fact unsupported by God's establishment of truth. It is a war of man's order versus God's order, and one will win out. Because Christ held to God's order, He despised the shame of men, and took on Himself the cross for His church (Philippians 2:7-9, Hebrews 12:2-3).
7. Finally, cross-carrying, whether in days of war or days of peace, has merit in God's eyes; in this we are more than conquerors. As our minds are renewed to the wisdom of God, we come to understand that the testing of our faith in perseverance produces patience, which proceeds to equip us with all the armory of God. Such progress involves rejoicing.
"As it is written, 'For your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.'
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
Romans 8:36-37
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
A Brief Note on Pleasure
"The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish, but He casts away the desire of the wicked."
Proverbs 10:3
Wisdom is above man's thinking. A man may think that if he descends into the depths of his sin, and depends on his lusts, he can make his pleasure secure. Any pleasures we receive, including those that involve temptation, come within the purview of God's providence, and may be cast away at His disposal. Therefore, it is better to wait on the pleasure God provides, for "He adds no sorrow to it".
Proverbs 10:3
Wisdom is above man's thinking. A man may think that if he descends into the depths of his sin, and depends on his lusts, he can make his pleasure secure. Any pleasures we receive, including those that involve temptation, come within the purview of God's providence, and may be cast away at His disposal. Therefore, it is better to wait on the pleasure God provides, for "He adds no sorrow to it".
Saturday, February 14, 2015
A Remedy for the Self-Consumed Heart
How would you like to take a dose of hope today? The most common problem man has is looking unto himself instead of looking unto Jesus. He is also the most hopeless and helpless man, with no control over his natural desires and the pressures his world imposes on him. Whoever desires to save his life will end up losing it. The good news is that whoever is willing to lose his life by looking to Jesus will find it. Here's a basic case study which outlines the steps God gives to turn around a self-consumed sinner. There's quite a bit of Scripture involved, but I have often felt that too many references makes reading difficult. If you'd like a list of all the references I used to construct this list, ask me for it by leaving a comment.
1. No one hates himself. "Love your neighbor" is predicated on loving one's self as a reference point which all people can relate to. The same is used as an illustration for a man to care for his wife.
2. Man's problem is that he spends too much attention on himself. God's will for man in this cursed world is taking up the cross. A man who loses his life will find it, but one who spends his life finding himself will eventually lose it. A sincere friend like-minded to Jesus will care for his brethren.
3. There is no neutrality: either a man seeks his own, or the things of Christ Jesus. Where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. A man cannot store his treasure in the air, as it were. The natural man worships himself, focuses on his desires, and considers such desires worthy. His path leads him to 2 Timothy 3:15. The righteous man stores up his treasure in heaven, and receives everything he needs from that source.
4. In order to understand ourselves, we must understand ourselves in the context of Christ. A man must examine himself using God's Word as a lamp. "But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble." As God enables us, we learn that when we think about ourselves, we need to think God's viewpoint about ourselves. In this way we accept what God has given us and do not think of ourselves in a way that is higher and unseemly.
5. We must trust ourselves (including all attempts at goodness) to God. First, He is the author of our faith, and also the finisher. "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ". In this way, we a) do not become self-sufficient, b) we take on God's viewpoint of ourselves, and c) we make an effort to obey God's commandments, because He is able to do the work of producing the fruit.
6. This is where the promises of Romans 8 come in, so that we can trust God instead of ourselves. We know we have:
a) everything from God pertaining to life and godliness because He did not spare His own son for our behalf.
b) the Providence of God which works out all things for our good, whether we sin or not.
c) the guarantee because every sinner who is predestined to the elect will be glorified - no sheep gets permanently lost.
d) God for us in His will and good pleasure.
e) the judgment of God in our behalf, so that no one can bring a charge against us or condemn us.
f) the love of Christ which cannot be separated from us, for inasmuch as God has created all things, nothing can usurp His power to separate us from Him.
7. In order to lay aside every encumbrance and run the race, we must look unto Jesus as the pattern, who endured the cross and hostility from sinners, and persevered, loving His own in the world until both the end of His life and the end when we are resurrected.
8. What do we do when we look to God and see ourselves as we should from God's perspective? We glorify God instead of ourselves; we also consciously determine that we will glorify God whether we exist, eat, or drink.
9. We determine that although we may not immediately find joy in glorifying God, but may feel pain as we are deprived of our pleasures (Hebrews 12:5-11); but this is eventually removed because our peace and joy are not from this world, but from above. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, etc, all of which lead to a productive and cheerful life in which we no longer require ourselves to be about the business of serving ourselves, nor do we constrain others to serve us.
10. As we receive the payoff of glorifying God, we look more and more into the glory of God so that we can do it better.
11. This leads us to the reformation of institutions and culture; we glorify God with the responsibilities He has invested in us.
"The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above."
Proverbs 14:14
It works!
1. No one hates himself. "Love your neighbor" is predicated on loving one's self as a reference point which all people can relate to. The same is used as an illustration for a man to care for his wife.
2. Man's problem is that he spends too much attention on himself. God's will for man in this cursed world is taking up the cross. A man who loses his life will find it, but one who spends his life finding himself will eventually lose it. A sincere friend like-minded to Jesus will care for his brethren.
3. There is no neutrality: either a man seeks his own, or the things of Christ Jesus. Where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. A man cannot store his treasure in the air, as it were. The natural man worships himself, focuses on his desires, and considers such desires worthy. His path leads him to 2 Timothy 3:15. The righteous man stores up his treasure in heaven, and receives everything he needs from that source.
4. In order to understand ourselves, we must understand ourselves in the context of Christ. A man must examine himself using God's Word as a lamp. "But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble." As God enables us, we learn that when we think about ourselves, we need to think God's viewpoint about ourselves. In this way we accept what God has given us and do not think of ourselves in a way that is higher and unseemly.
5. We must trust ourselves (including all attempts at goodness) to God. First, He is the author of our faith, and also the finisher. "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ". In this way, we a) do not become self-sufficient, b) we take on God's viewpoint of ourselves, and c) we make an effort to obey God's commandments, because He is able to do the work of producing the fruit.
6. This is where the promises of Romans 8 come in, so that we can trust God instead of ourselves. We know we have:
a) everything from God pertaining to life and godliness because He did not spare His own son for our behalf.
b) the Providence of God which works out all things for our good, whether we sin or not.
c) the guarantee because every sinner who is predestined to the elect will be glorified - no sheep gets permanently lost.
d) God for us in His will and good pleasure.
e) the judgment of God in our behalf, so that no one can bring a charge against us or condemn us.
f) the love of Christ which cannot be separated from us, for inasmuch as God has created all things, nothing can usurp His power to separate us from Him.
7. In order to lay aside every encumbrance and run the race, we must look unto Jesus as the pattern, who endured the cross and hostility from sinners, and persevered, loving His own in the world until both the end of His life and the end when we are resurrected.
8. What do we do when we look to God and see ourselves as we should from God's perspective? We glorify God instead of ourselves; we also consciously determine that we will glorify God whether we exist, eat, or drink.
9. We determine that although we may not immediately find joy in glorifying God, but may feel pain as we are deprived of our pleasures (Hebrews 12:5-11); but this is eventually removed because our peace and joy are not from this world, but from above. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, etc, all of which lead to a productive and cheerful life in which we no longer require ourselves to be about the business of serving ourselves, nor do we constrain others to serve us.
10. As we receive the payoff of glorifying God, we look more and more into the glory of God so that we can do it better.
11. This leads us to the reformation of institutions and culture; we glorify God with the responsibilities He has invested in us.
"The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above."
Proverbs 14:14
It works!
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Quote
"Spiritual sorrow will sink the heart if the pulley of faith does not raise it. As our sin is every before us, so God's promise must be ever before us. As we much feel our sting, so we must look up to Christ our brazen serpent. Some have faces so swollen with worldly grief that they can hardly look out of their eyes. That weeping is not good which blinds the eye of faith. If there are not some dawnings of faith in the soul, it is not the sorrow of humiliation but despair."
-- Thomas Watson
-- Thomas Watson
Friday, February 6, 2015
Therapy
Christianity has gradually adopted the worldly means of therapy. Worldly therapy involves self-help: the circumstances aren't so bad; they can be met by adopting a positive outlook. Self-worth can be found by looking deeply into ourselves to see the good there. Foster the good outlook, sift out the bad.
All of this may seem good at first, except for one problem: worldly therapists are liars. We don't bear good fruit. Our desires are rotted by sin. Attempts to twist them to good only twist them more. So where do we look? What do we depend on? I have come to realize that I don't feel weak when I'm depending on God. Depending on God is the remedy. God turns our trials to our benefit through His mercy. He completes what He starts. He builds us up together as a body through our struggles. His Spirit inside us grows the good fruit. That's a positive outlook that stands up and walks in the pain life brings, because it can look the truth square in the eye.
I can't imagine that what I'm writing now is new to the readers. But in the course of everyday events, what do we really do? In spite of all our good intentions, how do we help each other? What do we point our friends to when they come to us broken down?
"Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all."
All of this may seem good at first, except for one problem: worldly therapists are liars. We don't bear good fruit. Our desires are rotted by sin. Attempts to twist them to good only twist them more. So where do we look? What do we depend on? I have come to realize that I don't feel weak when I'm depending on God. Depending on God is the remedy. God turns our trials to our benefit through His mercy. He completes what He starts. He builds us up together as a body through our struggles. His Spirit inside us grows the good fruit. That's a positive outlook that stands up and walks in the pain life brings, because it can look the truth square in the eye.
I can't imagine that what I'm writing now is new to the readers. But in the course of everyday events, what do we really do? In spite of all our good intentions, how do we help each other? What do we point our friends to when they come to us broken down?
"Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all."
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
On 'Of Plymouth Plantation'
I read through Of Plymouth Plantation once before, and as my memory is not always sufficient, I decided to read through it again. I wish all history books were written like it. Bradford was a straightforward writer who did not attempt to make the history of his settlement anything more than it was. In spite of that fact, his constant reliance on God shines through, and he is not averse to giving advice to those who come after, knowing that experience learned from God is not in vain (as some who take humility to un-christian bounds think).
I'm somewhere near page 240. I have learned this so far:
A. Take heed lest we fall. Several men who survived the "starving time" and were close confidants of Bradford and other worthies fell into a snare when God blessed the general faithfulness of these Pilgrims with riches (such as Isaac Allerton). The tightly-knit church began to disperse when maximizing their material wealth became more important than fellowship, accountability, guidance, and mutual edification.
B. Don't give unworthy trust; know that a man only stands as God permits him. It is a pain to note how Bradford and the council sometimes did not operate with wisdom, but permitted unrighteous or back-sliding men to take advantage of them time and again.
C. Uphold the law. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." It is good that Bradford mixed a great measure of mercy with his judgment, but the extent to which he did so caused a great deal of harm to his community, as in the events surrounding Mr. Morton. His judicial pattern is much more lenient than the pattern upheld in Exodus - Deuteronomy and Romans 13. (To prevent an unnecessary effusion of commentary, know that I believe repentance a part of justice in certain instances, but trust must come with a re-assigning of authority.)
D. Tell the truth. The many letters inserted into the narrative are instructive. At the end of the day, I wish the writers would make less room for proclaiming how they were "unfeigned friends", "dear friends", etc, but rather told the truth and worked hard for the benefit of their friends. Proverbs 20:6 comes to mind: "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?"
Of Plymouth Plantation is good history. I commend the book for all those who have not read it.
I'm somewhere near page 240. I have learned this so far:
A. Take heed lest we fall. Several men who survived the "starving time" and were close confidants of Bradford and other worthies fell into a snare when God blessed the general faithfulness of these Pilgrims with riches (such as Isaac Allerton). The tightly-knit church began to disperse when maximizing their material wealth became more important than fellowship, accountability, guidance, and mutual edification.
B. Don't give unworthy trust; know that a man only stands as God permits him. It is a pain to note how Bradford and the council sometimes did not operate with wisdom, but permitted unrighteous or back-sliding men to take advantage of them time and again.
C. Uphold the law. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." It is good that Bradford mixed a great measure of mercy with his judgment, but the extent to which he did so caused a great deal of harm to his community, as in the events surrounding Mr. Morton. His judicial pattern is much more lenient than the pattern upheld in Exodus - Deuteronomy and Romans 13. (To prevent an unnecessary effusion of commentary, know that I believe repentance a part of justice in certain instances, but trust must come with a re-assigning of authority.)
D. Tell the truth. The many letters inserted into the narrative are instructive. At the end of the day, I wish the writers would make less room for proclaiming how they were "unfeigned friends", "dear friends", etc, but rather told the truth and worked hard for the benefit of their friends. Proverbs 20:6 comes to mind: "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?"
Of Plymouth Plantation is good history. I commend the book for all those who have not read it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)