I am trying something new for Sundays. I am combining a brief devotional (#1 below) with other bits and pieces. They could be stories, poems, songs, articles, quotes, and so on—anything I found especially enjoyable in the week that was or that I am especially looking forward to in the week to come. For now, in lieu of a better title, I’m calling it Works & Wonders (since a theme will be the works of God and the wonders of God). I hope you enjoy it!
1.
A Lord’s Day Devotional. There are many faiths in the world and a myriad of gods represented among them. These gods invariably relate to their followers on the basis of works. To honor such gods is to attempt to impress them and, through acts of contrition and obedience, to attempt to gain and maintain their favor. But unlike other gods, the God of the Bible relates to his people on the basis of grace. By his own initiative and through the greatest of all sacrifices, he has won them to himself. And for them, the only right and appropriate response is delight—to revel in the knowledge that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The God who gave so much to save us will certainly never turn away from us or do anything that would ultimately harm us. And so at all times and in all conditions, through joys and sorrows, dark valleys and green pastures, great gains and sore losses, we can and must find our joy in the God who has saved us, the God who has brought us safe thus far, and the God who will bring us home to himself.
“All our joy must terminate in God; and our thoughts of God must be delightful thoughts. It is our duty and privilege to rejoice in God, and to rejoice in him always; at all times, in all conditions.”
Matthew Henry
2.
Though I, like so many others, got swept up in the craze that was Wordle, I eventually grew frustrated by it and stopped playing just around the time it was sold to the New York Times. I was interested to learn this week that its creator has come up with a new game, Parseword. It looks rather difficult, but since I generally enjoy word games, I’ll be giving it a shot. Still, I won’t be surprised if, for me at least, it quickly goes the way of the Wordle.
3.
I have been a longtime appreciater of Indelible Grace Music, a band best-known for re-tuning old hymns. Their success quickly spawned a host of imitators, and soon we witnessed a whole new interest in refreshing older songs. My first memory of listening to IG’s music was when I borrowed my sister’s car and found their CD playing. It was love at first listen. It’s quite something to look back at the early albums and see the list of musicians who were involved back then: Sandra McCracken, Matthew Smith, Derek Webb, Matthew Perryman Jones, Dan Haseltine, and others. No wonder the songs were so strong musically! (It’s also sad that not all of them have stayed true to the Lord.)
Amazingly, it has been 30 years since IG was founded. To mark the anniversary, its founder, Kevin Twit, wrote The Formative Power Of Worship (the debut article for his new Substack) and explained how it grew out of his involvement with Reformed University Fellowship at Belmont and his many conversations with students. IG also held a 30th anniversary concert last night, which, if all went well, should be available at this link. If not, check the YouTube channel. Andrew Osenga has been part of it since the beginning and wrote an article titled Thirty Years of 20-Year Old Calvinists. Am I the only one who fondly remembers his old band, The Normals?
IG has released a new song, “Easter Greeting,” that, as you may surmise from the title, is about Christ’s resurrection. And finally, Getty Music recently released a new version of Sandra McCracken’s “Thy Mercy, My God,” which was originally featured on the second IG album.
4.
I can’t say that I’ve ever read a novel by Janette Oke, but I know many who have. I enjoyed this Christianity Today profile of a woman who became an unlikely tour de force in Christian publishing. Part of what makes her story remarkable is that she did not write her first novel until she was 42, yet still went on to sell over 30 million of them. “Oke says it’s been her life’s mission to communicate her faith through her writing, to inspire her readers to believe that if you surrender your life to Jesus, he will be there even in the deepest, darkest valley. Oke hasn’t just written that reality—she’s lived it.”
5.
This quote from Maltbie Davenport Babcock reminded me of the sheer goodness of God’s providence, and the fact that, whether or not things seem to be going our way, we can be certain they are always going God’s way.
When Abraham offered to Lot a choice of pastures, it seemed to Lot that fortune’s favors had certainly come to him. So did it seem to the Israelites when God gave them quails, and to a later generation, when he let them have a king. So did it to Jonah, doubtless, when he found the ship going his way for Tarshish. But they were all mistaken. The watered plains may have looked pleasant to Lot, but they were the way to Sodom. The quails, and the king, and the ship for Tarshish would better have been let alone. The real point is, not whether things are going our way, but whether they are going God’s way.
6.
I was explaining to someone this week that after Nick’s death, my family just needed to get away together for a while. We cashed in some airline points and went to Banff National Park in Alberta. There was just something about being in the mountains that was so helpful and healing to me. I went out one morning all by myself and just sat, cried, and worshipped. I snapped this photo that day, and it will always be special to me, not just for capturing the beauty of the scenery, but also for marking a time that the Lord ministered to me in a special way.
7.
This Sunday, when I preach in Providence, Rhode Island, is likely to be the final Sunday for my trusty ESV Heirloom Thinline Bible—the Bible that I have preached out of for many years. I was just about to go up front to do the Scripture reading last Sunday when I realized I couldn’t see that tiny font anymore. Thankfully, my son-in-law was sitting nearby and was willing to loan me his Bible with its bigger print.
I spent some time this week looking at the many options for ESV Bibles. I need something that can withstand the rigors of travel, lie flat on a pulpit … and has a font size of at least 10 or maybe even 11 points. I eventually got overwhelmed by all the options and decided I’d figure it out next week. Until then, I’m open to suggestions!
