The law of God beats us up, but it does this for our edification, not our condemnation. Whenever we hear of His wisdom, His holiness, His righteousness, with humble hearts, it convicts us, but it also encourages us. But if we are exasperated by it, or condemned, or frustrated, or if we chafe under the …
All Good Gifts
Father and God, we thank You now for the arrival of yet another Lord’s Day. We thank You for the company of friends, for wine, for food, for the children. We are grateful to You for all good gifts, which You shower upon Your people faithfully. We look forward to our worship of You tomorrow, …
Not Working Is Such Hard Work
Let the Gentleman Do His Thing
I had made a mental note to post something about N.T. Wright’s comments on the Christian faith of Marcus Borg. Life has been busy, and this might be yesterday’s newspaper by now, but I would like to add my two cents. Those who missed the flap can catch up on it by looking at some …
Whatever the Artist Does
“The purpose is not to give the audience pleasure, but to assault them with a ‘decentering’ experience. Art becomes defined as ‘whatever an artist does.’ As a result, the work of art becomes less important than the artist, a view which encourages posturing, egotism, and self-indulgence instead of artistic excellence. These new assumptions about art …
God or Zeus
“Two basic options are open to us. We can either recognize that all of Scripture is consistent, and that an infinite God condescends to appear, from time to time, to finite men in finite form, or we wind up with an Olympian Zeus — a god who sleeps, finds things out, gets hungry, and, if …
Ezra Nehemiah 19
Introduction: Repentance is hard work. Although a change of heart and mind is right at the center of it, there are other aspects of repentance—study of the law of God being one of them. It is not enough to say that you would do what God wants “if you only knew.” Perhaps, if He has …
You Can Run But You Can’t Hide
“Christians might think that the confusions in the art world are no concern to them, simply another example of the vanity of this world. The arts, though, are important. We cannot escape them. They permeate our lives and our culture. The décor of our surroundings; the music we listen to; the entertainment we enjoy in …
Reason As Servant
“Suppose someone rejects the teaching of the Bible on God’s omniscience, but not because of any grammatical or exegetical reason. Suppose he rejects it because it contradicts something that his ‘reason’ insists on keeping. Who then is his Lord? Reason, or Christ? And who is the servant? Reason, or Christ? And to press it back …
Northern Runs
I enlisted in the Navy while I was still in high school, but didn’t have to go in until the fall after graduation. There was nothing thought-through in this choice of service. I had grown up in Annapolis, my father was an Annapolis grad, and the thought of doing something other than joining the Navy …