How Do You Solve a Problem Like Mark Driscoll? (02/20/08 - 88 Comments)
How do you solve a problem like Mark Driscoll? Is he a darling, a demon, a lamb? He’d out pester any pest; drive a hornet from it’s nest. He could throw a whirling dervish out of whirl. He is gentle; he is wild. He’s a riddle; he’s a child. He’s a headache. He’s an angel. He’s a… Never mind. Forgive me for the introduction. Just a couple of days ago my mother-in-law and I were...
Learning How to Rest (02/18/08 - 12 Comments)
I got to bed just a little bit later than usual last night. But when I settled into bed, I felt that kind of comforting fatigue—the kind that is not so overbearing that I’m exhausted, but the kind that means I’m really looking forward to a good night’s rest. You know the kind, I’m sure. It’s the kind of tired that makes stretching out between the sheets a real pleasure. There was one false start...
Is Forgiveness Conditional or Unconditional? (02/15/08 - 69 Comments)
Some time ago I promised an article on the subject of conditional versus unconditional forgiveness. I’ve had many false starts and have been largely unsatisfied with anything I’ve written on the subject. So I decided to simplify and to provide only an outline of my thoughts on the subject. I am, perhaps, a little less than perfectly confident in my beliefs on this subject which is why I do not wish to be too dogmatic....
Having One Without the Other (02/06/08 - 50 Comments)
Some time ago a reader of this site, a new Calvinist, wrote to ask, “If a person is ‘a child of wrath’ from birth due to Adam’s sin and unable to choose God because of Adam’s sin, how is he responsible for his actions if he was born this way (and has no ability of his own to choose God)? … If Christ didn’t die for all men, yet all men were condemned for one...
The Beauty of a Good Translation (02/04/08 - 44 Comments)
I love language and the English language in particular. While I have always enjoyed using words and studying language, I found that my love of English was forged during the time I spent studying other languages, primarily those from which English is derived—Latin, Greek, and to some extent, French. I also studied linguistics and, of course, the English language itself. I came to love understanding how people use words to craft ideas. There is a...
Prayer for the Lord's Day (02/02/08 - 2 Comments)
Last Saturday I shared a prayer for the Lord’s Day Eve. Like that one, today’s prayer is also drawn from that collection of Puritan prayers The Valley of Vision. This prayer is meant for the Lord’s Day and is a perfect way to begin Sunday looking to the Lord of that day. O Lord, My Lord, This is thy day, the heavenly ordinance of rest, the open door of worship, the record of Jesus’ resurrection,...
They Do Not Profit this People (01/28/08 - 12 Comments)
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” The twenty-third...
A Lord's Day Eve Prayer (01/26/08 - 4 Comments)
In the tradition I grew up in, Saturday was considered a prelude to Sunday. It was a day of preparation for the Lord’s Day to come. I recently read a biography of theologian John Murray and enjoyed reading about how he understood the day in the same way (which makes good sense since he was also Presbyterian). Saturday evenings, in particular, were to be set aside for Sunday preparation. It reminded me of my youth....
Hand to the Plow (01/23/08 - 23 Comments)
It is easy to grow discouraged at the state of the church. As a person who invests quite a lot of time and attention to studying the church, her health and what Jesus requires of her, I often find myself lamenting her state. Writers from all backgrounds and denominations have written about the church, and I have read many of these books and publications. The standard book begins with a few chapters outlining all the...
Middle-earth or Narnia? (01/19/08 - 26 Comments)
I have no memory of reading (or having read to me) C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia (though I’ve been assured that my parents did read them to me at least once). On the other hand, I remember reading Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit many times. I read Tolkien for the joy of reading his stories. I love the world he created and I love the epic scope of the adventures....
The Pretty and the Practical (01/09/08 - 59 Comments)
I’ve been married for long enough now (it will be ten years this summer!) to realize that I will never fully understand my wife. In fact I’ll never really understand women. Despite knowing Aileen for thirteen years now and despite being married to her for a decade, she’s still a mystery to me in many ways. It’s probably better this way. Women, it seems, love to receive baskets full of smelly, pretty things they’ll never...
"...For That is Far Better." (01/07/08 - 15 Comments)
A few years ago Chris and Rebecca, close friends of ours, shared with us that her grandfather, Art, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The doctors considered it terminal and inoperable, saying that it was one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer. He would have only a couple of months to live and for much of that time, especially as the end approached, he would be in agonizing pain. Like the...
Escaping Justice (01/02/08 - 9 Comments)
The longer I live and the longer I walk through this Christian life, the more I come to understand what a gift it is to see the world through a Christian lens—through a Christian worldview. A worldview is simply the way we look at the world and the way we understand how life works. The predominant worldview in our day and our society is foundationally Darwinian. Built around an evolutionary framework, it teaches that we...
Holiness of Character (12/26/07 - 6 Comments)
Jerry Bridges’ The Discipline of Grace is one of those books that is worth reading slowly and meditatively, pausing often to reflect and, in my case, to write. I rarely dwell too long on a single book, but because of the sheer quantity and quality of Bible-based teaching within this book, I felt compelled to read it slowly and meditatively. It was well worth the effort and the time spent. One of the areas of...
Delighting in Delight (12/14/07 - 13 Comments)
Every year, in the weeks before Christmas, we have my son and daughter compile a list of the gifts they most desired. Topping my son’s list a couple of years ago was a Playmobil castle—a huge, grey castle that looks like the kind of toy every boy dreams about. He asked for this with some hesitation, though, because he knew that it was expensive. We told him several times leading up to Christmas that we...
Feedback Files: All About Blogging (12/07/07 - 36 Comments)
It has been a while since I cracked open the Feedback Files. While I receive a lot of questions through this site, probably the most common have to do with blogging. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve made several promises that I would soon write an article suggesting some things to consider when beginning a blog. Today I’ll keep those promises. I’m going to offer six tips for new or prospective bloggers. I hope...
A Common Word. A Common Faith? (12/05/07 - 40 Comments)
Last week I wrote a brief article about apostasy and heresy and concluded with a portion that dealt with the difference between dialog and controversy. I quoted an article written by David Samuel. He dealt with this same subject and said I think this explains the ease with which many in recent years have been able to enter into dialogue with Roman Catholics and even Muslims and Hindus. It demands a certain detachment from the...
The Immortal Goddess (12/01/07 - 2 Comments)
Yesterday I posted a brief reflection on the nineteenth chapter of Acts—a portion of Scripture that has often struck me as a hilarious commentary on human nature. Earlier this week, as I was reading through Phillip Ryken’s commentary on 1 Timothy, I found some thoughts he wrote about this portion of Scripture and immediately marked it as something worth sharing. Today seemed a logical time to do so. Demetrius was right to be worried. The...
Day of All the Week the Best (11/11/07 - 2 Comments)
Today is the day of rest - the day God has graciously given us that we might rest in Him. Today, while digging around in my files, I came across a favorite hymn—“Safely through another week,” penned by John Newton. It seemed a good hymn to ponder on a Sunday afternoon (even though it is clearly intended for Saturday evening reflection). It speaks of God’s grace in granting health and safety through the week gone...
Environmentalism - A New Religion (11/08/07 - 52 Comments)
Yesterday we received notice that the town of Oakville is changing the trash collection strategy. Currently we have our trash picked up every week and have "blue boxes" or recycling bins picked up every other week. Beginning in April, we've recently learned, we'll have garbage pickup every other week and recycling pickup every week. We'll all be given a "GreenCart" into which we can toss all manner of wet and compostable garbage. Though the layout...
