Truth be told the cat hasn’t gone anywhere (unfortunately), but the wife has. Some ladies from our church hold an annual weekend retreat, and this just so happens to be the weekend Aileen is away. She is in Niagara Falls with the group just having a weekend away and a time of worship and learning. In the meantime, I am minding the kids all weekend. Though rewarding, it leaves me absolutely no time for writing, so it is unlikely I will have much to say today and tomorrow. Abby woke up and called (screamed) for Aileen for about an hour or two last night so we’re all a bit tired.

But not to complain! I am happy to have the time to spend with the kids. I wish you all a good weekend!

This is a story with a moral to it. The story involves my 18-month old daughter and a package of gum. It goes something like this:

Abby loves to explore. She also loves to climb and it seems that these two traits often go hand-in-hand, for she has discovered that the higher she climbs the more there is to explore. Not too long ago she found that if she drags chairs across the house she can use them as gateways to ever great discoveries. Just the other day I surreptitiously watched as she dragged a chair across the dining room and parked it beside our side-table. She looked around to see if anyone was watching and, not seeing anyone, pulled herself onto the chair. I prefer to think she did not see me since the alternative is that she knows that I am a pushover when it comes to her naughtiness. She began a quick survey of the table and though there was not much to see, her eyes lit up when she spied a package of gum. It was one of those new-fangled packs of Juicy Fruit where each piece of gum is inside its own little plastic bubble and to get it out you need to pop it through a piece of foil. You know the ones I mean….

She grabbed the package of gum in her little hands and began to study it, not know what it was, but suspecting she had found a treasure. At first she just looked at the package trying to determine what it was and what possible function it had. She turned it over and looked at the back and as she did so, she squeezed it slightly. That, of course, made the foil crackle a little, so for a few moments she just stood in place squeezing the gum and delighting in the various sounds it made. She came to realize that there had to be more to this object than just fun noises, so she continued to examine it. Still curious, she raised it to her face and took a tentative bite of the package - it was completely unsatisfying, but she did notice a wonderful smell. She now knew that there was food in that package! She knew there was more to it than she was experiencing.

It did not take her long to figure out that the cardboard shell could be pulled away, leaving the tasty sweets visible, separated from her by just a tiny, thin piece of foil. She bent, pulled and twisted on the package with little success. I could see her little face begin to show determination as she decided she was going to get into that package at all costs. Finally, with a push and a twist a little rectangle of gum popped out of the package and fell to the table with a "click!" She dropped the package to the table and grabbed the treasure with her pudgy little hands. Her face broke into a wide grin as she popped that gum into her mouth and enjoyed the treasure she had worked to hard to obtain.

I suppose I should have gotten her in trouble for defying the rules by climbing up on chairs (little good can come from an 18-month old child climbing on chairs) but I had simply enjoyed watching her too much to ruin her fun. Of course I did stop her from devouring the rest of the package of gum…

My daughter could have overlooked the treasure altogether, or having seen the package she could have taken a bite of the cardboard, determined there was nothing more to experience and just gone her way. But she knew there was more than what a cursory glance could reveal. Her determination earned her a reward.

As I thought about what she had done, I realized the parallel between her childish curiosity and the way we are to examine the Bible. Just as Abby had focused all her attention on this one task, determined to get the treasure she knew the package contained, so I need to approach the Bible determined to extract God's treasures from it. As Abby broke into a smile when she achieved her goal, so I should feel content and blessed when I learn more from the One who watches over me. A careful, methodical approach to God's Word is crucial to discovering His treasures.

Beginning next week I am going to begin an inductive study of a book of the Bible on this site. I have used the inductive approach in the past and have found it to be a wonderful way of mining the depths of God's Word. It involves care, time and a methodical approach. It allows God to speak from His Word and prevents me from trying to read my beliefs into it. I intend to study James since it contains a wonderful mixture of both basic and advanced doctrine, of things that are easy and things that are difficult to understand. I am inviting anyone who reads this to join in the journey to see if together we can master this approach to studying the Bible.

Ever since the Canadian dollar drastically weakened in relation to the American dollar, it seems that Christian concerts have become quite a rare occurrence in this neck of the woods. Yesterday, though, Switchfoot bucked the trend and made a stop in Toronto as part of their Beautiful Letdown tour. As they are one of my favorite bands (and have been since long before they become "popular") I could not pass up the opportunity to see them live. They were originally scheduled to play in a small venue downtown, but as that one quickly sold out they changed plans and moved to a larger one. Even though I knew this I was still shocked when I arrived almost an hour before the show started to see a line stretching around two sides of the building and beginning to make its way down a third. Apparently the concert had received some significant promotion on mainstream radio. I almost never listen to the radio so had no idea anyone in Toronto cared. It was an interesting crowd as it contained a large number of Christians (evidenced by people talking about their worship bands and whole youth groups arriving at the same time) but also a large number of non-Christians.

After a cursory pat-down (first time I've ever been frisked going into a concert) we packed into a large, very dark, chairless warehouse and stood around waiting for the show to begin. At around 8 the opening act, Copeland, whom I had never heard of, took the stage and performed a rather unremarkable set. They are a band composed of people who all profess Christ but not signed to a Christian label. I suppose since I buy all my music at Christian bookstores that will explain why I have not heard of them. They played 8 or 9 songs, none of which were terrible, but neither were they awfully good. Their guitarist, while skilled, looked completely bored the entire time. It seemed to me like he would much rather just have been at home in bed. Anyways, as an opening act they did their job - they got the crowd excited about the main act.

My initial impression of the concert was that it was loud. And I'm not talking just loud - I mean ear-splitting, paint-peeling loud. Now maybe I'm just getting old, but I honestly think it was too loud. I can't imagine any rational reason it needed to be that loud. But anyways, after a few songs my ears kind of went numb and it was smooth-sailing after that. I wonder what the long-term ramifications to my hearing will be…

When Copeland's set was over, there was more standing around on aching legs while we waited for the roadies to get the stage ready for Switchfoot. Finally the lights went down and Switchfoot hit the stage, beginning with Dare You To Move. I must say - this band is great. They were really, really good - easily one of the best live bands I have seen. They had loads of fun up on stage and got the crowd to have fun with them. It was great, wholesome entertainment. While the band never took the opportunity to preach, they sang many of their most spiritual songs while explaining the rationale behind the words they had written.

For example, before singing "24," Jon (the lead vocalist) explained that the song was based on the struggle of trying to live a consistent life and continually failing - 24 times a day for the 24 hours in a day.

Twenty-four oceans
Twenty-four skies
Twenty-four failures
And twenty-four tries
Twenty-four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
With twenty-four drop outs
At the end of the day
…
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I’m singing ‘Spirit,
take me up in arms with You’

Their set list, focusing almost entirely on their latest release, was something like this:

Dare You To Move
Noise
New Way To Be Human
More Than Fine
Ammunition
Circles (New song)
Only Hope
24
This Is Your Life
The Beautiful Letdown
Loser
Meant To Live
Gone (Encore)

The show was long enough to keep the crowd happy, but short enough that it left us all wanting more. It was a great show and if you enjoy that type of music I would highly recommend catching them in a town near you!

Are men and women supposed to relate to God differently?

It seems to me that much of the women’s books in your average Christian bookstore these days attempt to make God out to be the ultimate Man. He is the one who is always there to listen and understand. His shoulders are always available for them to cry on when they are having a tough time with life. He loves them in a deep and almost romantic way…

Men, of course, have no desire to view God as a shoulder to cry on or one who loves them in a deep and romantic way. For men God is the ultimate Friend - one who will be there when we want to hike deep into the mountains or when the stress of work is beating us down. He is the one who loves us in a deep but completely platonic way - who gives us a good, affectionate punch in the shoulder when we happen to be feeling down.

The question is…are we supposed to view God differently? Does God meet different needs for men and women? Is there any Biblical justification for treating God differently?

Any thoughts you may have would be appreciated…

I recently read and reviewed Richard Mayhue's book How To Interpret The Bible For Yourself. There was one part of the book in particular that has been on my mind since the moment I read it and it has to do with 2 Timothy 2:15. In that passage Paul is exhorting Timothy to preach the gospel with accuracy, saying "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." The word the New King James translates as "rightly dividing" is (excuse the Greek but after studying it many years ago it is exciting to realize I still know some of it!) a derivative of the word orthotomeo which translates to "cut straight." Paul tells Timothy to cut straight the word of truth.

The word is used just this one time in the Bible but fortunately was used in extra-Biblical writing and that provides a clear idea of the full meaning of the word. It is used to describe what happens when a farmer plows his field - he methodically and carefully plows long, straight furrows in the ground. It is also used to describe the work of a stone mason as he strikes rocks with his tools - he deliberately and sharply strikes the rocks to shape them so they would fit perfectly into a wall. Another use is in describing the cuts made by a tailors or tentmaker. When he cut into their fabric, he needed to make strong, straight cuts in order to ensure he did not ruin or waste fabric. In any example the point is clear: we are to handle the word of God with precision.

Paul's choice of words is interesting for he could, just as easily, have used the word kopto which also speaks of cutting stone, but in a more tentative manner. It implies making hacking blows rather than precise blows. A man who beats on his chest in grief does so with hacking blows rather than precise blows. Paul, though, chose to tell Timothy to treat the word of God with deliberate precision.

Picture, if you will, a stone mason who is cutting a large stone so that it can fit into the foundation of a building. He begins with a shapeless rock but with deliberate effort and strong blows of hammer to chisel, he begins to shape the rock. As his arms swing that hammer, the rock is shaped into a stone worthy of being fitted into a foundation. Were he not deliberate, he could break the rock or carve a misshapen stone that would not fit, would be brittle or would not support the building. That is the picture Paul wished to bring to Timothy's mind. He wanted to show Timothy that learning from God's word requires deliberate effort. It requires precision and confidence, not hesitance and vagueness.

A master stonemason did not become so overnight. It took years of effort and training. It took practice and humility to learn under the tutelage of teachers. And so it is with learning to rightly divide God's word. We are indwelled by the Master and He has promised He will help us to learn and apply His word and we need to seek His guidance. We have the example of many great teachers who have learned to make straight cuts and we should turn to their examples to learn what God has taught them. We need to apply ourselves to His word, seeking the wisdom, skill and humility we need to make straight cuts.

Today I thought I would highlight what some of the people on my blogroll have been writing about recently. If you are uncertain as to what a blogroll is, it is simply a list of other blogs I visit and recommend. You can see it by scrolling down on this page and looking in the right column. While some people link to just about every site under the sun, I try to keep mine fairly selective, linking only to friends or to sites I really enjoy and recommend. I click on every link in my blogroll just about every day and for some reason I always start at the bottom, so for today I’ll cover the bottom half of the blogroll.

David at He Lives has been writing about Free Will and how free will is more consistent with Calvinistic theology than with Arminian theology.

Tim at The Irvins has a new job driving a truck so spends more time driving around the US of A than he does blogging. While that is unfortunate for those of us who appreciate what he writes, I suppose it is better for his bank account.

The Jollyblogger has been covering a wide number of topics, including Jessica Simpson, Mary as Co-Redemptrix (sounds strangely familiar, actually) and, well, all sorts of those “oh-so-old” what ________ are you quizzes.

In The Faith shows just what exactly Good Friday and Easter are while also covering some of the recent faith-based headlines in the news.

Ochuk has been writing about awkwardness (or lack thereof), the certainty of life, and satisfaction with life.

Doug at Coffeeswirls continues to blog through the Bible, one day at a time. He has also been reflecting on Easter and on John Piper’s book Desiring God.

For the first time in a long while I have added a site to my Blogroll. You can view my list of recommended links by scrolling down a little bit on this page. The site I added is Jollyblogger, the weblog of David Wayne, a pastor of an Evangelical Presbyterian church in Maryland. He writes about a variety of topics, most of which concern Christianity, and even better, Reformed Christianity. He updates at least once daily, so his site is a good one to add to your daily travellings.

Today is Good Friday. I was not raised as part of a tradition that celebrated religious holidays. Sure we took Good Friday off and visited family on the Easter weekend, but we never celebrated it in a religious sense. Christmas was much the same - we did gifts and celebrated family, but did not regard it as a religious occasion. So the concept of fulfilling religious obligations on Good Friday is still foreign to me. However, I do appreciate having the excuse to take a day away from work.

I have been struck recently by the necessity of good Bible study skills. It occurs to me that sin entered the world through poor interpretation of God’s Word. After all, Satan managed to convince Eve that God’s words did not really mean what she thought they did - that the obvious (and correct) interpretation was not correct (“Did God really say?”). It is strange, then, that churches do not invest a lot of time in teaching people who to properly interpret Scripture. How many of the church’s problems are directly attributable to poor interpretation of God’s most obvious commands? Perhaps the reason is that even church leaders are uncomfortable with their Bible study skills. I wonder…

On a related note, a book I ordered just arrived at my local Christian bookstore. It is a guide to proper interpretation to Scripture and through the first few chapters is excellent. I will keep reading and will review it when it is complete.

And on that note, I will everyone a wonderful weekend. My plans involve reading, writing, watching a bit of golf and baseball and just taking it easy. My church is also having a whole lot of services this weekend so I’ll be spending a lot of time there…

Incidentally, it seems Google has decided to increase my Pagerank from 5 to 6. I guess I should be honored.

The first Challies Dot Com contest has ended and I am now ready to announce the winners. First, though, thanks to all of those who took the time to enter - this contest was a lot of fun. So here we go:

Most Original:

My name is Chris Roth, here’s a short introduction:
I met Tim Challies by way of church function.
For over two years, on Tuesdays we’d meet,
To study the Bible, sing songs, eat a treat.
I thought it was fitting and about time,
That I posted a note, so here’s one with rhyme.
I’m a sucker for contests, what can I say?
I was born a Menno and am to this day.
Just what is a Menno? I hear you entreat,
It means I pinch pennies, I’m exceedingly cheap.
My forefathers are farmers, and good ones at that,
But they hadn’t much extra, nor were they fat
So when something is free, I can’t pass up the offer,
Especially a book, to add to my coffer.

I’ve seen many a website, both large and small,
But Challies.com is the best of them all.
His humour, musing and reasoned critiques,
could keep many web browsers reading for weeks.
Discussions on various topics abound,
The Passion and Rick Warren are a few to be found.
With scripture in hand Tim cuts straight to the end,
And for that helpful work, he’s a good trusted friend.

As for this poem, it’s time for its close
I hope you’ve enjoyed my witty prose,
Will my entry win? Only Tim knows.

Chris Roth is our first winner.

Most Pathetic:

It is necessary that I win this contest. If I fail I may likely lose my sanity and head down a path of destruction. My reasoning is closely related to Pascal’s Wager, amplified in his follow-up book to PENSEES titled JOUEUR. A person has only so many lucky “strikes” in life, and each person has a different number. I play the lotto all the time. Should I win millions, I will certainly fall prey to the allure of “lifestyles of the rich and famous.” I may only have a few lucky “strikes” allotted to me. If I win this contest, that number will decrease by one, thereby lessening my chance to win millions which would bring my destruction. Entering this contest is perilous in itself, for if I lose I may hasten my big win. Exacerbating the situation is the fact that I enter raffles all the time, trying to win a “set of kitchen doilies” here, or an “automatic potato peeler” there in order to use up my “wins.” Only I never win. I have gotten myself into a fine mess. One might say “Why don’t you just quit playing the lotto?” If I do that, I surely will never own an 88 inch XRT plasma television with surround sound decoders. I guess I really don’t know if I want to win this contest or not so I’ll just employ a variation of Ockman’s Razor and let you decide. Bob P.S. If I win, you may give the book to another lucky fellow, thereby decreasing his chances of ruination.

Our second winner is Bob Wakefield.

Funniest:

I do not normally enter contests, as I am not really a “competitive ” type. Well, I used to be, somewhat, before I lost the use of both my arms in a typing accident. That really put an end to my contest-entering, pretty much…I used to enter a whole lot of contests back before I lost the use of both my legs in an aerobics mishap. Aerobics can be pretty dangerous, especially to people who really don’t have the use of their necks, as was the case with me, due to a rubber-necking incident on the interstate a while back. ( I now firmly discourage rubber-necking to those who have previously lost the use of their sense of smell.) Anyway, I find your contest very intriguing… I would really love to have a copy of Mr. Perkins’ wonderful new book, as I believe it would be very beneficial for my elderly, forgetful husband and for my chronically immature son, who, by the way, is typing this for me. I’ll have to give some serious thought to entering this contest of yours…or maybe, since I have to go now to somehow accompany my fragile and ailing mother to the doctor (again) you would consider this e-mail an entry. Either way, I am Very Carefully Yours, Jeri Tanner.

So our third winner is Jeri Tanner.

Congratulations to Chris, Bob and Jeri. Send a follow-up email with your address and how you would like the book to be signed and they will be sent your way pronto. As for the rest of you…I hope to have another contest in the future!

Just a small update on this site. I have been remarkably busy lately and at the same time my daughter has decided that mom and dad just don’t need sleep, so my writing has been minimal of late. I think she’s starting to get the hang of sleeping again, so hopefully I can get back to waking early (which gives me time to write). Here is what is coming soon:

• The Challies Dot Com contest ends in 2 hours. Winners will be announced tomorrow and the winning entries will be posted here.
• In all likelihood this site will get a new look in the next few days.
• I have several articles about a variety of topics in the works.
• I have book reviews for John Edlredge’s Wild at Heart and John MacArthur’s Ashamed of the Gospel just about ready to go.
• I will continue my in-depth study of John Piper’s Desiring God.
• I am planning on posting a list of great resources for finding information about The Passion of the Christ.

So…there is lots coming up. Hang in there and hopefully by tomorrow I’ll have something interesting to say…