By Grace Alone

The Informed Conscience

2012-01-21T13:39:00.002-06:00

Over the last few days Bear Cub has started saying "No, no, no..." just before doing things that he knows he shouldn't. This is both very cute and quite helpful.

This morning he was heading for the toilet with his toothbrush in hand saying "No, no, no, no..." He knows that he is not to throw things in the toilet - Mommy and Daddy have taught him so. His conscience was clearly telling him that throwing his toothbrush in the toilet was NOT OK, though he was also about to ignore it.

God has given us all a conscience, and we do well to heed it. But more than that, we need to inform it. A well fed conscience will guide us and make us increasingly aware of our sin. The more we come to know God through availing ourselves of the means of grace, the more attuned we will be to our own sinfulness. The more we know God, the more we are able to please Him - and the more we will be grieved by our own sin. Study Gods Word - truly meditate on it (in the mind-filling sense, not the mind-emptying sense) and hide it in your heart and your conscience will be fed. A weak and starved conscience does little to keep us on the path of righteousness.

Does that mean we will not sin? Of course not. And we will have times when we ignore our conscience, just as Bear Cub did this morning. But as long as we find ourselves saying with the Apostle Paul:

Romans 7:24
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body?

We can know that we are indeed growing in grace and the knowledge of God. And we can also be assured:

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

Friday Favs

2012-01-20T07:07:00.001-06:00

Image Source

*Some great thoughts on feminism and the church:
http://andreamomm.blogspot.com/2012/01/feminism-and-church.html

*Ingrid Schlueter on Daddies and Daughters:
http://ingridschlueter.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/daddies-and-daughters/

*An excellent explanation of supralapsarianism and infralapsarianism by Phil Johnson :
http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/articles/sup_infr.htm

*And the most upsetting tweet of the week:
https://twitter.com/#!/JohnPiper/status/159953341177282560

Blessings Abound

2012-01-16T06:45:00.001-06:00

* I'm now 32 weeks and still pregnant - thank you for all of your prayers. I will continue on full bed rest for now.

* Though it's not the same as being with my church family, watching MacArthur's church service streamed live on Sunday morning is such a blessing to me.

* My husband has been able to take a FMLA leave to care for me and Bear Cub. He is working part time from home and going in to work one day a week, but mostly he is free to take care of our needs.

* He has done a wonderful job of learning "mommy things" and is enjoying spending more time with Bear Cub.

* Bear Cub and I have found new ways to have "mommy time":

* And he's found plenty of ways to entertain himself while Daddy tries to work:

* I have been really blessed by reading "The World Tilting Gospel" by Dan Philips and "John" by RC Sproul.

* I have wonderful parents and in laws who have been helping out when my husband needs to go to the office.

* I know I haven't blogged about this, but I didn't know where the Teen was for awhile. I now know that he is safe and staying with a Christian family - what a wonderful answer to prayer. That situation is only temporary, but at least I know he is safe for now.

*****

Lamentations 3:22-23

22 Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end.

23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!

Friday Sunday Favs

2012-01-08T13:07:00.001-06:00

Godliness with Contentment:
http://www.theologyforwomen.org/2012/01/godliness-with-contentment.html

A Gentle Mother:
http://www.agentlemother.blogspot.com/2011/11/if-i-could-only-be-like-her.html

An Excellent Family Technology Policy:
http://www.beckypliego.com/2011/12/family-technology-policy-by-wendy.html

Something seem strange about John Piper lately?

BETH MOORE AND JOHN PIPER LEAD LECTIO DIVINA-LITE AT PASSION 2012

***Please note that by posting this I'm not saying that all of Piper's teachings must be dismissed. He has made some very valuable contributions to the Church and as with everything, we must use discernment and be Bereans.

Brothers

2011-12-30T20:39:00.000-06:00

I had an ultrasound today (30 weeks) and I was amazed how much this baby looks like Bear Cub. The new baby is on the left and Bear Cub is on the right.

Isn't God's handiwork amazing?

The Word Became Flesh

2011-12-24T09:57:00.001-06:00

Image Source: Google Images

John 1

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2The same was in the beginning with God.

3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

*****

I wish you all a very blessed Christmas as we remember and celebrate the glorious Incarnation.

Pray for the Sproul Family

2011-12-18T15:01:00.001-06:00

Denise Sproul, wife of RC Sproul Jr and mother of 8 has gone to be with Jesus.

From the Ligonier blog:

Denise, enjoying the blessed vision of our God and Father, is at home with the Lord. Cancer no longer afflicts her, and every tear has been dried away. The Queen of Orlando casts her crown at her Savior’s feet, and together, they dance.

Image Source

Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right

2011-12-17T11:41:00.002-06:00

Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right

1. Whate’er my God ordains is right,

Holy His will abideth.

I will be still whate’er He does,

And follow where He guideth.

He is my God,

Though dark my road.

He holds me that I shall not fall

Wherefore to Him I leave it all

********

The words of this wonderful hymn have been in my head and on my heart this week.

Its been a long and hard week, yet I can trust that God is fully in control of all the circumstances of my life, and all that happens does so in accordance with His providential will.

My husbands aunt, who was a lovely sister in Christ, went to be with Jesus last weekend. Though we are deeply grieving her absence here, we are glad to know the she is home with the Lord. The true gospel was clearly preached at her funeral and we are praying that the predominantly catholic family that was there will carefully consider what they heard.

On Sunday I was sent to the hospital with preterm contractions. It took much longer to stop them than is usual for, but I am very grateful that they did eventually subside with only minimal cervical change. I had to return to the hospital on Wednesday because of an adverse reaction to the meds they sent me home with on Monday, but I am feeling much better now. I am on partial bed rest, which is difficult with a busy 15 month old at home, but we are making the best of it and reading lots of books. It does look like my husband will be able to take a medical leave to be home with us - a HUGE answer to prayer. I'm so thankful that he has a good job with great benefits during a time when so many are out of work and uninsured.

******

Friday Favs 12.9.11

2011-12-09T07:50:00.001-06:00

Here are a few of my favorite posts this week, enjoy!

* Encouraging Our Children to Feast on The Word

* The Simple Logic of Limited Atonement

* An Amazing Video Depicting and Unborn Baby's Full Development

* "Judge not, that ye be not judged." (Matthew 7:1) John MacArthur speaks about judging salvation and a profession of faith. (very short video)

I Make My Life a Prayer to You - Keith Green

2011-12-08T10:30:00.001-06:00

Click here for the video if reading in an email or RSS reader.

Repost: Thankful Thursday - Thanksgiving Edition

2011-11-24T08:08:00.000-06:00

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

What am I most thankful for?

That the Creator of the universe would look upon sinful man and make a way for us to be reconciled to Him.

That He sent His own Son to be born of a virgin, live a sinless life, suffer the agony of death on a cross, and rise again on the third day so that all who repent and put their trust in him will be saved.

I'm thankful that He softened my hard heart and granted me repentance, and that He continues His good work in me, all for His own glory.

I'm thankful that though man may remember my sinful past I know that God looks on me and sees Christ's righteousness.

Romans 8

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

5 Gospel Warnings

2011-11-18T18:12:00.000-06:00

1. Substitute anything for Christ, and the Gospel is totally spoiled!

2. Add anything to Christ, and the Gospel ceases to be a pure Gospel!

3. Put anything between a person and Christ, and that person will neglect Christ for that very thing!

4. Spoil the proportions of Christ's Gospel, and you spoil its efficacy!

5. Evangelical religion must be the Gospel, the whole Gospel and nothing but the Gospel.

~ J.C. Ryle

Tract: Evangelical Religion

*Source

Updates

2011-11-15T10:00:00.001-06:00

Since it's been a month since my last post I though I would start back with a few updates.

First, the baby is a boy!

I'm currently 23 weeks pregnant and getting bigger. I'm enjoying the feel of this precious little baby kicking and moving and growing - what a wonderful blessing. I've been VERY tired, but I'm thankful to have discovered the reason for that - anemia. Bear Cub is completely weaned now and I've been taking iron supplements in addition to the prenatal vitamins, so I'm hoping to feel better soon. The morning sickness is lingering, as it usually does for me. I'm very happy to not be on bed rest yet, and I hope it stays that way. I started bed rest with Bear Cub at 24 weeks and it was at 28 weeks with the Teen, so I'm quickly approaching the time when I usually start having trouble with preterm contractions/labor.

Bear Cub is 14 months old now and is walking well, saying more words everyday and is getting into EVERYTHING. This video was almost a month ago, so he's walking even better now - but I'll share it anyway.

Psalm 127:3-5

³Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

⁴As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

⁵Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

*Click here to few the video if viewing in an email or RSS reader

Repost: Comfort

2011-10-14T14:24:00.001-05:00

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;

-Lamentations 3:22-25

These words were penned by the prophet Jeremiah after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. For forty years he had warned the people of coming judgment and was scorned by those who heard him. That judgment finally came and Nebuchadnezzar took the Israelites captive and utterly destroyed Jerusalem and burned the temple.

Yet while looking upon the ruins of his beloved city, the prophet was able to say "Great is your faithfulness" and patiently wait upon the Lord.

It seems that there are so many people suffering right now. Health problems, marriage problems, the loss of a job, death of loved ones, the list goes on and on.

In these very difficult times, it is my prayer that all of us will be able to say "Great is Your faithfulness" and patiently wait upon the Lord. His compassions are new every morning and take comfort, the Lord IS good to those whose hope is in Him.

Have a blessed weekend.

Perspective

2011-10-14T08:49:00.000-05:00

These truly are wonders.

Thankful Thursday 10.13.11

2011-10-13T08:01:00.000-05:00

Deuteronomy 31:6

⁶ Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

******

What a wonderful promise of God. How quickly fears vanish when we remember that He who orders all things, and knows the end from the beginning, is in control of every situation and will never forsake us.

What a wonderful, blessed truth to keep in mind when life is hard.

******

Happy Thankful Thursday!

Thank you to Lynn for hosting Thankful Thursday this month.

Sunday Scriptures 10.9.11

2011-10-09T06:41:00.001-05:00

Teach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.
I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And will glorify Your name forever.
For Your lovingkindness toward me is great,
And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

-Psalm 86:11-13

Saturday Snapshots 10.8.11

2011-10-08T14:50:00.001-05:00

Smile!

He Doeth All Things Well

2011-10-07T10:38:00.001-05:00

Let us remember this as we look forward to the days yet to come: We know not what our days may be - bright or dark, many or few - but we know that we are in the hands of Him who does all things well. He will not err in any of His dealings with us. He will take away and give - He will move and He will settle - with perfect wisdom, at the right time, in the right way. The great Shepherd of the sheep makes no mistakes. He leads every lamb of His flock by the right way to the city of habitation.

~ J.C. Ryle

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1985], 152. {Mark 7:31-37}

Source

******

This wonderful quote reminds me of one of my favorites hymns by Fanny Crosby - All the Way My Savior Leads Me

All the way my Savior leads me;

What have I to ask beside?

Can I doubt His tender mercy,

Who through life has been my Guide?

Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort,

Here by faith in Him to dwell!

For I know, whate'er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well,

For I know, whate'er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well.

Source

Highland Sanctuary Book Tour

2011-10-03T03:00:00.001-05:00

About the book:
Gavin MacKenzie is hired to restore the ancient Castle of Braigh. He discovers a hidden village of outcasts that have created their own private sanctuary from the world. Among them is Serena Boyd, a mysterious and comely lass who captures Gavin’s heart. The villagers have an intriguing secret, while Serena harbors a deadly past that could destroy her future. When a fierce enemy launches an attack against them, greed leads to bitter betrayal. As Gavin prepares a defense, the villagers unite in a bold act of faith, showing how God’s love is more powerful than any human force on earth.

Author Bio
Jennifer Hudson Taylor is an award winning author of historical Christian fiction set in Europe and the Carolinas and a speaker on topics of faith, writing and publishing. Her work has appeared in national publications, such as Guideposts, Heritage Quest Magazine, Romantic Times Book Reviews, and The Military Trader. She serves as the Publicist at Hartline Literary Agency. Jennifer graduated from Elon University with a B.A. in Journalism. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with family, long walks, traveling, touring historical sites, hanging out at bookstores with coffee shops, genealogy, and reading. Jennifer’s fiction is represented by Literary Agent, Terry Burns with Hartline Literary Agency.

Website/blog: http://www.jenniferhudsontaylor.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JenniferHudsonTaylor

Twitter: www.twitter.com/jt4novels

My Review:
I really enjoyed this book. The setting is described in beautiful detail and its clear the book was thoroughly researched. The characters are easy to relate to and I found myself genuinely caring about what happened to them. The "outcasts" in the Village of Outcasts are particularly interesting and enjoyable. Serena quiet strength and kind heart is endearing. The superstitions of that time are also clearly portrayed in the book.
What occurred to me while reading this was how we, as the Church and the Bride of Christ, are a bit like the Village of Outcasts. We live here on this earth, but we are citizens of heaven and never truly fit in. We are different; set apart, and we need the fellowship of the other "outcasts."
Overall, this is an excellent book and I would highly recommend it.

Read the first chapter

Sunday Scriptures 10.2.11

2011-10-02T07:57:00.001-05:00

Thankful Thursday 9.29.11

2011-09-29T14:04:00.001-05:00

This past week we had a delightful family vacation to the south shore of Lake Superior. I’m thankful for few days away together, that Bear Cub traveled well, and for God’s magnificent creation.

Bear Cub found plenty of ways to entertain himself in the van.

The scenery was beautiful.

Mr K enjoyed the beautiful golf courses.

The sunsets were breathtaking.

It was a wonderful trip.

Thank you to Iris for hosting Thankful Thursday this month.

Thankful Thursday 9.22.11

2011-09-22T06:35:00.004-05:00

Saturday morning I woke up, peeked outside our front window and saw a plastic bag with what appeared to be a flyer or pamphlet in it hanging off our front door.

Mumbling slightly, I went to see what the J-Dubs had left this time (there’s a large Kingdom Hall right up the road from us).

This is what I found:

Slightly surprised but still unconvinced as the Jehovah’s Witnesses have been known to use Bible verses before, I turned it over.

Um… wow. That wasn’t the J-Dubs.

It was so refreshing to wake up and find the gospel stuck to my door – what a blessing! I realize you probably can’t read it, but it was good. Yes, I would have preferred they use the word repent – but our sin nature and need for a Savior is there.

I’m so thankful for whoever was out sharing the gospel with my neighbors Friday night, and for good Gospel tracts.

What a you thankful for this week?

Thank you to Iris for hosting Thankful Thursday this month.

Zucchini Bread

2011-09-19T04:13:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite things about the beginning of fall is the chance to get back to baking. One of my fall favorites is zucchini bread.

I made the three loaves using only one large zucchini.

Here’s the recipe:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
¼ cup cooking oil
Handful of raisins

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and ½ inch up the sides of an 8x4x3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and set aside.

2) In another medium bowl combine egg, sugar, shredded zucchini, and oil. Add zucchini mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in the raisins and spoon batter into the pan.

3) Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

TIP: I use the shredder attachment on my food processor to shred the zucchini, then put the regular blade in and pulse to achieve a finer consistency. This is much easier than shredding by hand.

Printer Friendly PDF

Check out other great recipes at the Secret Recipe Club.

God Is All We Need...and All We Should Want

2011-09-18T05:49:00.004-05:00

"Have we, at any time in our own experience, failed of any thing all our life long hitherto? have we wanted any thing? Our want arises because we will not admit, we will not receive, or we long after other things, which God is not pleased we should have.

There is in God an all-sufficiency of grace and mercy to pardon us; there is an all-sufficiency of spiritual strength to support us and carry us through all our difficulties; there is an all-sufficiency of goodness and beauty to satisfy us; and there is an all-sufficiency of power and glory to reward us."

~John Owen

from a sermon entitled The Everlasting Covenant, The Believer’s Support Under Distress, volume 9 of Works

Source

Friday Favs 9.16.2011

2011-09-16T09:16:00.009-05:00

Here are my favorite posts of the week:

An Open Letter to Steven Furtick - the second video is and absolute MUST WATCH. Its short and well worth the time.

Does the Doctrine of Election Trouble You?

Have a great weekend!

Thankful Thursday 9.15.2011

2011-09-15T13:35:00.001-05:00

September in Minnesota can be so beautiful. I'm so thankful for cool fall mornings, warm cups of Cafe Vienna, and soft flannel pajamas. A few trees in our neighborhood have leaves that are just starting to turn - a promise of a beautiful display of color to come.

Bear Cub has just been a delight to be with and is growing so fast. We are quickly transitioning into toddlerhood and loving the changes and challenges that come with it.

Thank you to Iris for hosting Thankful Thursday this month.

Sunday Scriptures

2011-09-11T08:07:00.001-05:00

Therefore if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creature;

the old things passed away;

behold, new things have come.

- 2Corinthians 5:17

Saturday Snapshots 9.10.11

2011-09-10T20:01:00.001-05:00

Alternately titled "Our future hockey player"

Don't worry, his favorite stuffed dog makes everything better!

Friday Favs

2011-09-03T12:51:00.003-05:00

Something new here folks. As I'm busy dealing with first trimester ickines while chasing after a busy 12 month old, I've found little time for blogging. Since I am much more of a reader than a writer, what blogging time I do have I've been spending reading your blogs, I thought I would share with you my favorite posts of the week - in no particular order. I hope you are a blessed and encouraged by them as I was.

Here they are:

The Super Men

You Might be a Calvinist If...

John MacArthur: "Who would have thought that John Piper would have Rick Warren at a Desiring God conference?"

Thankful Thursday - Birthday Edition

2011-09-01T10:58:00.001-05:00

Yum!!

I'm so thankful for a year of first words, first teeth, and first kisses for Mom.

Thank you to Iris for hosting Thankful Thursday this month.

And welcome back Ali with Saturday Snapshots!

Double Imputation

2011-08-30T12:24:00.000-05:00

Image Source

There are two parts to our acceptance with God.

1. Our absolution from the guilt of sin, that our disobedience be not charged upon us. This we have by the death of Christ; our sins being imputed to him, shall not be imputed to us, 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 4:25; Isa. 53:12.
2. Imputation of righteousness, that we may be accounted perfectly righteous before God; and this we have by the life of Christ. His righteousness in yielding obedience to the law is imputed to us. And thus is our acceptation with God completed. Being discharged from the guilt of our disobedience by the death of Christ, and having the righteousness of the life of Christ imputed to us, we have friendship and peace with God. And this is that which I call our grace of acceptation with God, wherein we have communion with Jesus Christ.

~ John Owen ~

from Of Communion With God, volume 2 of Works, page 176

Source

The Lord's Day

2011-08-28T08:39:00.001-05:00

Let us never forget that our feelings about Sundays are sure tests of the state of our souls. The person who can find no pleasure in giving God one day in the week, is manifestly unfit for heaven. Heaven itself is nothing but an eternal Sabbath. If we cannot enjoy a few hours in God’s service once a week in this world, it is plain that we could not enjoy an eternity in His service in the world to come. Happy are those who walk in the steps of her of whom we read today! They shall find Christ and a blessing while they live, and Christ and glory when they die.

~ J.C. Ryle

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 2 , [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 120. {Luke 13:10-17}

Preach on Hell...Because it is Scriptural

2011-08-23T08:28:00.000-05:00

If you would ever be a healthy and scriptural Christian, I entreat you to beware of any ministry which does not plainly teach the reality and eternity of hell. Such a ministry may be soothing and pleasant, but it is far more likely to lull you to sleep than to lead you to Christ or build you up in the faith. It is impossible to leave out any portion of God’s truth without spoiling the whole. That preaching is sadly defective which dwells exclusively on the mercies of God and the joys of heaven and never sets forth the terrors of the Lord and the miseries of hell. It may be popular, but it is not scriptural; it may amuse and gratify, but it will not save. Give me the preaching which keeps back nothing that God has revealed.

~ J.C. Ryle

Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots, “A Woman To Be Remembered”, [Moscow, ID: Charles Nolan Publishing, 2001], 212.

Source

Thankful Thursday - Psalm 40

2011-08-18T14:42:00.001-05:00

Psalm 40

1I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

3And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

4Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

5Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

6Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

7Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,

8I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

*****

Thank you, Lord, for lifting me out of the miry clay.

Thank you to Laurie at Women Taking a Stand for hosting Thankful Thursday this month.

We Shall Thank God For Every Storm

2011-08-15T09:02:00.000-05:00

“If we are true Christians, we must not expect everything smooth in our journey to heaven. We must count it no strange thing, if we have to endure sicknesses, losses, bereavements, and disappointments, just like other men. Free pardon and full forgiveness, grace by the way and glory to the end – all this our Savior has promised to give. But He has never promised that we shall have no afflictions. He loves us too well to promise that.

By affliction He teaches us many precious lessons, which without it we should never learn. By affliction He shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections, weans us from the world, makes us long for heaven. In the resurrection morning we shall all say, ‘it is good for me that I was afflicted.’ We shall thank God for every storm.”

~ J.C. Ryle

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1985], 83. {Mark 4:35-41}

Source

Thankful Thursday - Bear Cubs Big Announcement!

2011-08-11T14:14:00.001-05:00

...and we are very thankful!

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

-Psalm 127:3

Thank you to Laurie at Women Taking a Stand for hosting Thankful Thursday this month.

Sunday Scriptures

2011-08-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

It is better to take refuge in the LORD

than to trust in man.

-Psalm 118:8

Image Source

Prayer for a Sister in Christ

2011-08-06T07:21:00.000-05:00

Ali who blogs at http://www.anordinarymom.com/ is the originator and host of Saturday Snapshots, which I regularly participate in.

Over the past week her families lives have been turned upside down with her oldest son having brain surgery to remove a tumor that has turned out to be cancerous.

Would you please take a moment to pray for them, and perhaps stop by her blog to show your support?

James 5:16

16Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Saturday Snapshots 7.23.2011

2011-07-23T14:31:00.000-05:00

The cutest little turtle I ever have seen!

Laboring for the Good of Our Soul

2011-07-20T12:03:00.001-05:00

How are we to labor? There is but one answer. We must labor in the use of all appointed means.

We must read our Bibles, like men digging for hidden treasure.

We must wrestle earnestly in prayer, like men contending with a deadly enemy for life.

We must take our whole heart to the house of God, and worship and hear like those who listen to the reading of a benefactor's will.

We must fight daily against sin, the world, and the devil, like those who fight for liberty, and must conquer, or be slaves.

These are the ways we must walk in if we would find Christ, and be found of Him. This is laboring. This is the secret of getting on about our souls.

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John, volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1987], 349, 350. {John 6:22-27}

****

Source

Healthy Preaching = Healthy Churches

2011-07-08T10:48:00.000-05:00

The importance of preaching is God's chosen instrument for doing good to souls. By it sinners are converted, inquirers led on, and saints built up. A preaching ministry is absolutely essential to the health and prosperity of a visible church. The pulpit is the place where the chief victories of the Gospel have always been won, and no Church has ever done much for the advancement of true religion in which the pulpit has been neglected. Would we know whether a minister is a truly apostolical man? If he is, he will give the best of his attention to his sermons. He will labor and pray to make his preaching effective, and he will tell his congregation that he looks to preaching for the chief results on souls.
~ J.C. Ryle

Source

The Glorious End To Which Sin Is Appointed And Ordained

2011-06-26T09:00:00.009-05:00

There is a glorious end whereunto sin is appointed and ordained,
and discovered in Christ, that others are unacquainted withal.
Sin in its own nature tends merely to the dishonour of God,
the debasement of his majesty, and the ruin of the creature in whom it is;
hell itself is but the filling of wretched creatures with the fruit of their own devices.
The comminations and threats of God in the law do manifest one other end of it,
even the demonstration of the vindictive justice of God,
in measuring out unto it a meet recompense of reward.
But here the law stays (and with it all other light)
and discovers no other use or end of it at all.
In the Lord Jesus there is the manifestation of another and more glorious end; to wit, the praise of God's glorious grace in the pardon and forgiveness of it;
—God having taken order in Christ that that thing
which tended merely to his dishonour should be managed to his infinite glory,
and that which of all things he desireth to exalt,—even that he may be known and believed to be a "God pardoning iniquity, transgression and sin."

- John Owen -

from Of Communion With God, volume 2 of Works, pages 100-101

*****

Check out http://theessentialowen.com/2011/06/24/the-glorious-end-to-which-sin-is-appointed-and-ordained/ for more great Owen quotes.

Saturday Snapshots 6.25.11

2011-06-25T08:00:00.003-05:00

Jojo was very helpful on Sunday -

Da-da might not have been able to handle that Fathers Day card on his own!

We also had a fun time at the zoo!

This was a couple of weeks ago. He LOVES his pool.

Blessed are They that Mourn

2011-06-24T20:09:00.000-05:00

Matthew 5:4

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Would you please join me in praying for a couple of blogging friends?

Trisha's father passed away on June 14th.

Jules' mother passed away earlier today.

I've been so blessed to get to know these two ladies through the blogosphere. Please take a moment to pray for them and their families.

Hell Is A Real Place Where Enemies Of God Will Be Judged

2011-06-20T15:30:00.002-05:00

Sunday Scriptures

2011-06-19T07:27:00.001-05:00

Source

Romans 3:21-31

God's Righteousness through Faith

21 But now, apart from the law, God's righteousness has been revealed —attested by the Law and the Prophets 22 —that is, God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24 They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 He presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.

Boasting Excluded

27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith. 28 For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law. 29 Or is God for Jews only? Is He not also for Gentiles? Yes, for Gentiles too, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then cancel the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Saturday Snapshots 6.18.11

2011-06-18T12:08:00.000-05:00

We had a busy but fun weekend last week.

We had grad parties where we were able to visit with family.

We went to Shula's first birthday party.

Jojo and Shula played "bumper walkers" in the barn.

Open Eye Theater did a puppetshow in our neighborhood that we really enjoyed.

Link up your Saturday Snapshots over at an ordinary mom.

Thankful Thursday

2011-06-09T12:34:00.000-05:00

About a week ago I downloaded the free Kindle version of the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Since doing that, I've taken a bit of a break from my normal Bible Study and have enjoyed just reading it.

I came across Jesus' prayer in John 17, and I just keep going back to it.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

²⁰ I pray not only for these,

but also for those who believe in Me

through their message.

²¹ May they all be one,

as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.

May they also be one in Us,

so the world may believe You sent Me.

²² I have given them the glory You have given Me.

May they be one as We are one.

²³ I am in them and You are in Me.

May they be made completely one,

so the world may know You have sent Me

and have loved them as You have loved Me.

²⁴ Father,

I desire those You have given Me

to be with Me where I am.

Then they will see My glory,

which You have given Me

because You loved Me before the world's foundation.

²⁵ Righteous Father!

The world has not known You.

However, I have known You,

and these have known that You sent Me.

²⁶ I made Your name known to them

and will make it known,

so the love You have loved Me with

may be in them and I may be in them.

The more I read that, the more amazed/humbled/convicted I am.

Nearly 2000 years ago, just before Calvary, Jesus prayed for me. What a good and mighty God we serve.

Thank you to Iris for hosting Thankful Thursday this week.

Saturday Snapshots 6.4.11

2011-06-04T15:47:00.000-05:00

We've been busy, busy, busy this week - but there's always time for a little cuteness.

Book Review and Giveaway- Great Graduation Gift

2011-05-28T11:54:00.001-05:00

******

Congratulations to Alicia, the winner of the giveaway!

*******

I recently had the opportunity to review Crafting a Successful Career by R.A. Kuffel. I'm posting my review here because I think it will make a great college graduation gift and its a great book for anyone wanting to advance their career.

********

In Crafting a Successful Career: Eight Principles for Winning in a Challenging World RA Kuffel provides the framework on which anyone can build a successful career.

With sound advice and a casual and humorous, yet to-the-point style, it’s like having a mentor beside you, guiding you through the minefield of the corporate world. At a time when many college graduates are discovering that jobs are hard to find and even harder to keep, the advice in this book may be what they need to succeed. The step-by-step approach is easy to follow and the insights that come from years of experience are invaluable. I wish I would have read this book fifteen years ago.

The principles in the book are timeless, and though it’s written from the perspective of a “corporate” employee, most of the principles apply to those in other situations as well. Starting a small business? You still need a mentor. Work independently? A network is still essential. The broad scope of the principles make this is a book that you can benefit from regardless of your particular occupation. I found that many of the situations he described were ones I could relate to both in the corporate world and now in a small ministry job.

No matter where you are in life, just starting out, mid career, or looking for something new, this is a book you need to read.

ORDER THE BOOK

Enter to win a copy below.

I'll make this one easy, if you would like to enter simply leave a comment saying so. Please be sure to leave an email address if one isn't available in your profile. The giveaway will close on Saturday June 4th at 6PM and a winner will be drawn via Random.org.

God's Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

2011-05-27T10:23:00.000-05:00

View the full sermon HERE.

The Wrath of the Lamb

2011-05-26T13:43:00.002-05:00

Let no person deceive us with vain words upon this dreadful subject. People have arisen in these latter days, who profess to deny the eternity of future punishment, and repeat the devil's old argument, that we "shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:4). Let none of their reasonings move us, however plausible they may sound. Let us stand fast in the old paths. The God of love and mercy, is also a God of justice. He will surely requite. The flood in Noah's day, and the burning of Sodom, were meant to show us what He will one day do. No lips have ever spoken so clearly about hell as those of Christ Himself. Hardened sinners will find out, to their cost, that there is such a thing as the "wrath of the Lamb" (Rev. 6:16-17).

~ J.C. Ryle

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 222. {Matthew 18:1-14}

Saturday Snapshots 5.21.11

2011-05-21T10:00:00.004-05:00

We saw these while we are out for our walk Tuesday morning.

Yes, wild turkeys.

For you rural folks its probably no big deal, but that's not something we see often in The Big City.

Thankful Thursday

2011-05-18T21:18:00.001-05:00

Psalm 116:7

Return to your rest, my soul,

for the LORD has been good to you.

**********

We had a big adventure last week.

Around 2:30 on Tuesday afternoon a loud sound rattled our house. Having seen a road crew working up the street earlier in the day, I assumed it was just them doing whatever they were doing.

But the sound didn't quit. And it was loud.

So about 20 minutes later I put Bear Cub in his exersaucer in front of the window and stepped out to see what was going on.

I didn't see the road crew, but there were 3 firemen and 2 police officers yelling at me to get back in the house. A couple of minutes later several firemen came to the door, ushered Bear Cub and me to the back out the house and had us sit in the middle of the room away from windows while they checked our house for gas. Apparently the road crew pierced the gas main in front of our house.

I texted my husband while waiting for the firemen to finish up and let me know what to do. By the time my husband got home (he only works a few minutes away) they had already issued the evacuation order so he had to park a ways away to come get us.

I grabbed the diaper bag and we headed out.

We grabbed a sandwich and did a little shopping and then stopped back to see how long we would be out of the house, and the very loud noise was still going on. At the time they told us probably between 9PM and midnight and to call dispatch at 9 to verify.

We headed up north to spend the evening at my in laws, only to be chased into the basement by a tornado warning. Yes, we sat at their house and watched on the radar as a large storm that produced a tornado, golf ball to tennis ball size hail, and lots of lightening passed over our house - where the gas was leaking and our dog was outside. Lightening and gas - not a good combination.

We called at 9 and they said that they would let residents in at midnight. So, concerned about our dog and my husbands truck, we decided not to spend that night with my in laws but to head back home.

When we arrived the street was still closed off, firemen were everywhere, and the loud noise (which we then learned was the gas shooting out of the pipe) was still going. They hadn't even been able to stop the leak yet. And they wouldn't let us in the house for diapers, toothbrushes, etc. So, we made a stop at Cub for a few essentials and ended up spending the night at the fire station, where they were kind enough to allow us to sleep in one of their dorms rooms. The three of us piled into a twin bed and tried to get some rest.

At 5 AM they finally let us go home.

This was the view from our bedroom window when we arrived. Our house was fine, the truck was fine, and our dog was frightened, but fine.

I am so thankful for God's hand of protection on our family and our neighbors. The slightest spark from the lightening on that gas leak could have been devastating, but everyone was safe.

Head on over to Women Taking a Stand for more Thankful Thursday posts.

Saturday Snapshots 5.14.11

2011-05-14T12:10:00.000-05:00

Feeding Puffs to the dog -

Who me? Couldn't be!

There's just something about a boy and his dog...

Romantic Panentheism, a review of One Thousand Gifts

2011-05-09T18:52:00.005-05:00

Romantic Panentheism,

a Review of One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

By Bob DeWaay

Printer Friendly PDF

We live in a theological age (postmodern) where the rational and cognitive are questioned and replaced by the sensual and mysterious. Many churches promote the idea of worshipping God with all five senses. Feelings trump clear Biblical exegesis, systematic theology, statements of faith, and any other rational approach to Christian theology. Into this milieu comes a book that takes romanticism to a new level, using sensuality to invoke religious feelings and ostensibly true devotion. The book is One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, a Canadian farmer's wife.

Written entirely in the present tense, using an approach to the English language that takes numerous liberties for the sake of creating poetic feeling (like using adjectives when the rules of grammar demand an adverb and consistently having adjectives follow rather than precede the nouns they modify), Voskamp weaves a tale of discovering devotion to God through encounters with nature and art. In her experience, Voskamp found the secret to joy through what she calls eucharisteo ("giving thanks" transliterated from the Greek).

My purpose is not to begrudge Voskamp her religious feelings, nor to disagree with the basic thesis that Christians ought to give thanks to God in all things, but to object to the panentheistic worldview revealed in the book and the romanticism that accompanies it. First we will explore those two ideas.

Panentheism

Panentheism is the belief that God is in everything. It is to be distinguished from pantheism that teaches that God is everything. The very popular Emergent movement is panentheistic as is New Age theology. Since God is in everything, then God can be discovered and understood through encounters with nature. Voskamp shows that she knows what is wrong with pantheism, but unwittingly (or perhaps not so unwittingly) replaces it with panentheism:

Pantheism, seeing the natural world as divine, is a very different thing than seeing divine God present in all things. I know it here kneeling, the twilight so still: nature is not God but God revealing the weight of Himself, all His glory, through the looking glass of nature.¹

Her statement is not a valid implication from passages such as Psalm 19 and Romans 1 that speak of general revelation. For one thing, nature is fallen and does not reveal "all His glory" (Christ does that) and what can be discerned about God through nature is not saving knowledge, but condemning knowledge. Romans makes that clear:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. (Romans 1:20-23)

Pagan nature religions do not provide messianic salvation. Paul claims that salvation comes only through the gospel (which comes to us through special, not general revelation). The confusion between these two categories is shown throughout Voskamp's book. For example: "And every moment is a message from the Word-God who can't stop writing His heart" (Voskamp: 86). The pagans live in the same time-space world that we do and do not thereby have infallible, inerrant, and binding revelation from God. They live in darkness. Seeking messages from God through the moments in this world will lead to pagan mysticism and not anything that is clearly and bindingly revealed by God. Voskamp claims that the ability to see God in everything is the key to getting such messages.

Voskamp would likely recoil from the notion that she is promoting pagan nature religion or mysticism. But she does put Christians on the same footing as the pagans by taking them on a journey with her to find God in nature and art. The concepts about God that are distinctively Christian in her book are borrowed from special revelation (the Bible) and brought with her on her journey of discovery. But she never makes a distinction between general revelation and special revelation and by integrating the two so seamlessly, elevates nature to the status of saving revelation. Since God is supposedly in everything, then God can be found in everything.

Panentheism is found throughout One Thousand Gifts. Since so much of the current evangelical world is being seduced by panentheism, we need to understand what is unbiblical about it. Many are confused and think that panentheism is logical implication from the Christian concept of omnipresence (that God is everywhere). This confusion has left the door open for the New Age to enter the church. That God is not limited spatially (there is nowhere where He is not – Psalm 139:7-10) is a valid, Biblical concept. But panentheism describes an ontological, not spatial category. Ontology is the study of being. It is the study of what something is in its essential nature. Panentheism teaches that God's essence or being is in everything. This is not the doctrine of omnipresence (though it would affirm it). If God in His essence and essential being is found in everything, then there is nothing unique about Christ (which is precisely the New Age claim). Biblically, nature does not reveal God and His glory in the same way Christ does. Nature reveals God obliquely and only in a condemning, not saving, way. Christ reveals God in His divine nature and speaks God's inerrant words. Jesus spoke inerrant, binding words that will be our judge on the last day (John 12:48). The moon does no such thing.

As an example of her panentheism, Voskamp describes an experience where she finds salvation by gazing at a full moon in a harvested wheat field:

Has His love lured me out here to really save me? I sit up in the wheat stubble, drawn. That He would care to save. Moon face glows. We are head to head. I am bare; He is bare. All Eye sees me (Voskamp: 115).

Her experience is described in salvific terms: "It's dawning, my full moon rising. I was lost but know I am found again" (Voskamp: 118). She claims an "inner eye" that sees God in a panentheistic way: "If my inner eye has God seeping up through all things, then can't I give thanks for anything? . . . The art of deep seeing makes gratitude possible" (Voskamp: 118). In Romans 1, "seeing" God through general revelation in a way that makes all humans culpable is true for all, not just special enlightened ones like Voskamp.

There are other troubling things about the claim that salvation can be found in seeing God in the harvest moon. One is that Voskamp implies that for her, "salvation" is being saved from an unhappy life filled with ingratitude. She never mentions God's wrath against sin (she does mention sin but not in the context of substitutionary atonement). Another is that she completely confuses and merges general and special revelation. General revelation does not offer saving knowledge, whatever the meaning of her experience "chasing the moon" (her terminology). Yet another is that panentheism is implied here and throughout the book.

In theology we have the concepts of immanence (God is close at hand) and transcendence (God is exalted above and beyond us and the creation). Both are important in Christian teaching. These are relational and ontological categories and not spatial ones as I mentioned before. Voskamp is very confused in this regard and her confusion will likely be imparted to most of her readers. As in liberal and Emergent theology, immanence is promoted at the expense of God's transcendence.

Consider this passage that reveals both immanence and transcendence: "For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite'" (Isaiah 57:15). That God is "high and exalted" means that the Creator is separate from His creation, is above and beyond it, and thus transcendent. God is not one of the many nature gods of the pagans. "Above and beyond" when used in this way denote God's essence and being (ontology) not His spatial relationship to the universe.

But God is also "with the contrite." Here we see the key to understanding immanence. It does not say that God is universally "with" all people if they only had the right "inner eye." The Bible says "The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous" (Proverb 15:29). "Far from" and "near" in such contexts are relational and not spatial. God hears prayers and personally relates to those who seek Him and are willing to come to Him on His terms. This relationship is available through Jesus Christ who is to be believed and trusted and is not available through the moon. God is near to all sinners spatially, because in Him they live and move and have existence (Acts 17:27). But if they refuse to repent and believe God as He has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ whom He raised from the dead, they will remain far from Him in a relational sense (see Acts 17:30-32). The moon cannot resolve the problem of the sinner's lost condition, but the Son will if they seek him (Acts 17:27).

Voskamp's panentheism is not compatible with Christian theism. This worldview is very popular in today's culture, inside and outside the church, but it is not from God. It is a departure from the faith once for all delivered to the saints. My notes taken as I read Voskamp reveal panentheism on many pages (16, 31, 54, 89, 109, 110, 112, 118, 119, 124, 137, 138, 185, and 195). It is no exaggeration to say that the entire book is written from a panentheistic perspective. She even finds Christ in everyone, including the lost encountered in the inner city: "A long night doing what we've come to do, to bless Christ in the other" (Voskamp: 185). The Bible claims that only believers are indwelt by Christ through the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9). Voskamp's panentheism spills into universalism as it does in Emergent and the New Age. It colors everything she teaches.

Romanticism

Romanticism arose in the early 19th Century as a reaction against the Enlightenment and rationalism. The idea was that truth could be found in feelings, art, and the intuitive rather than through empirical investigation and the rational. At the conclusion of my book on the Emergent Church, I suggested that Emergent was a new Romanticism.² I was able to express that idea to Doug Paggit personally, and he did not offer disagreement, but silence. I am quite sure that the assessment is accurate. Romanticism, old and new, has a common enemy which is the Enlightenment.

Voskamp is not so concerned about the Enlightenment or other philosophical considerations, but displays Romanticism throughout her book. In fact it could be mistaken for a romance novel with God the desired lover. Here is an example:

I long to merge with Beauty, breathe it into lungs, feel it heavy on skin (she also eschews personal, possessive pronouns). To beat on the door of the universe, pound the chest of God . . . No matter how manifested, beauty is what sparks the romance and we are the Bride pursued, the Lover pursuing, and known or unbeknownst, He woos us in the romance of all time, beyond time. I ache for oneness (Voskamp: 119).

The Bible speaks of the Bride of Christ (the church) but does not describe the universal call of the gospel in sensual terms of a lover pursuing His love interest (who may have no interest in return). God is commanding sinners to repent. The gospel calls for repentance and faith, not romantic feelings looking for satisfaction.

Voskamp's romanticism is enhanced by her skill at describing things in a most sensual manner. The sensual terminology is designed to create a mood, a feeling, a sense of romantic mystery that longs for discovery and fulfillment. Those like me, who relish theological concepts clearly described to be understood and discerned, will be horribly frustrated by the book. The point is not ideas to be judged true or false, but feelings to be relished. For example:

The full life, the one spilling joy and peace, happens only as I come to trust the caress of the Lover, Lover who never burdens His children with shame or self-condemnation but keeps stroking the fears with gentle grace (Voskamp: 146).

This sensuality finds its apex in the last chapter of the book which begins with this sentence: "I fly to Paris and discover how to make love to God" (Voskamp: 201). As a true Romantic, she finds the ultimate intimacy (her term) through various experiences in Paris. I will deal with that in a section about mysticism. For now I will point out that the term "intimacy" is not found in the Bible. It is a sensual term that enhances the romantic appeal of Voskamp's book.

The sensual terminology of One Thousand Gifts permeates the book. There is a whole chapter inspired by a soap bubble in a sink, one about driving across a bridge, and the aforementioned one on gazing at the moon. For those who have not read the book, I offer an example of over-wrought sensual (in the broad sense of appealing to one's senses) terminology:

April sun pools into a dishwater sink, liquid daylight on hands. The water is hot. I wash dishes. On my arms, just below the hiked sleeves, suds leave delicate water marks. Suds glisten. And over the soaking pots, the soap bubbles stack. This fragile tension arched in spheres of slick elastic sheets. Light impinges on slippery film. And I only notice because I'm looking for this and it's the rays falling, reflecting off the outer surface of a bubble . . . off the rim of the bubble's inner skin . . . and where they meet, this interference of light, iridescence on the bubble's arch, violet, magenta, blue-green, yellow-gold. Like the glimmer on raven wing, the angles, the hues, the brilliant fluid, light on the waves (Voskamp: 62).

This is indicative of how the entire book reads. Sensuality pervades throughout. Romanticism values feelings and experience over truth and concrete data. If washing dishes can be turned into a romantic experience, the job becomes something special, as does life. Voskamp offers her readers an escape from the mundane through seeing beauty in all things.

God and Time

Voskamp's point in the soap bubble chapter is to teach the theological error that time is the essence and nature of God. She gains that idea through wrongly interpreting the self-designation of God as I AM to be proof that time is of the essence of God so therefore God is to be found in the present (Voskamp: 69, 70). Her ideas are remarkably similar to Echkart Tolle's (New Age pantheist) ideas taught in his books The Power of Now and The New Earth.³ Tolle speaks of "Presence, and I AM" as realities to be discovered by enlightened ones. Voskamp writes: "Time is where God is. In the present. I AM – His very name" (69). God's point in revealing Himself to Moses was not that God is in the present. God is the eternal existent One whose being is not contingent on anything outside of Himself. Finding God is the present is the point driven home by Eckhart Tolle and is not a Biblical idea.

Voskamp makes other statements that at are in serious theological error: "I hardly breathe . . . time is only of the essence, because time is the essence of God, I AM" (Voskamp: 69, 70).⁴ The theological debate about God's relationship to time is very complex. There is a common teaching that God is timeless (based on the idea of God's changelessness and the fact that time involves change). But that time is God's essence is not an implication of I AM terminology and is theologically false. Tolle teaches a concept called "being present" which to him is linked to consciousness of deity. Voskamp has a similar idea: "When I'm present, I meet I AM, the very presence of a present God" (Voskamp: 70). What would it mean to be "not present"? Evidently "being present" for Voskamp has to do with some sort of consciousness that is not always true.

God's relationship to time is a worthy topic, howbeit a very difficult and complex one. But Voskamp is not really interested in theology understood cognitively, but rather in romantic feelings about God. Her chapter on time, based as it is on the soap bubble, is about feelings and discovery, not theological conceptions:

I am a hunter of beauty and I move slow [sic] and I keep the eyes wide, every fiber of every muscle sensing all wonder and this is the thrill of the hunt and I could be an expert on life full, the beauty meat that lurks in every moment. I hunger to taste life. God. (Voskamp: 71)

This is about seeing (an art for the spiritually enlightened) God in the moment and in all things (panentheism). It is not really about God's relationship to time, but about our attentiveness and awareness that will cause use to see God (Voskamp: 77). God's relationship to time is a romantic notion for Voskamp, not so much a theological one. This should be pleasing to postmodern readers who despise systematic theology.

New Age Sensibilities

New Age ideas are found throughout One Thousand Gifts. For example she cites Pierre Teilhard de Chardin who is a darling with New Age writers: "Nothing here below is profane for those who know how to see" (Chardin as cited by Voskamp: 122). It is possible that a false teacher like Chardin could have some true ideas; but Voskamp cites him (as part of the heading of a chapter) precisely at his point of error (and hers). The idea that everything is holy and nothing profane is popular but fully unbiblical. It comports with the idea of panentheism. If indeed God is in everything, then nothing is profane. Rob Bell makes the same error in Velvet Elvis when he claims everything is holy.⁵ The Bible tells us to separate the holy from the profane: "Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean" (Ezekiel 44:23). The concept of the profane and unclean is also found in the New Testament.

What is holy and what is unholy are revealed by God. That certain enlightened ones with an elevated ability to see can see everything as holy is unbiblical. Being able to have a romanticist notion that heightened feelings and sensibilities will cause everything to be holy and beautiful is Voskamp's point, but it leads her readers astray. She cites Chardin because she shares his ideas.

New Age panentheist Matthew Fox also approves of Chardin:

Teilhard de Chardin calls the Cosmic Christ the "third nature" of Christ, meaning that it takes us beyond the fourth-century conciliar definitions of Christ's human and divine natures into a third realm, "neither human nor divine, but cosmic." He comments that this has "not noticeably attracted the explicit attention of the faithful or of theologians." Clearly Chardin saw the paradigm shift that was implicit in powerful celebration of the Cosmic Christ.⁶

Fox describes himself as a panentheist who sees God in all things.⁷ Ironically I was reading Fox when I was asked to review Voskamp. The similarity of their ideas is easy to see, though Voskamp may not have gotten her ideas from Fox. But why are Christian authors like Voskamp teaching panentheism and promoting New Age ideas?

Emergent writers speak of the "rhythm of God in the world," an idea promoted by Doug Pagitt. In their thinking this rhythm is to be found and tuned into through man-invented practices.⁸ What is important to understand is that the idea that nothing is profane and that God's rhythm can be found in all things is panentheistic and not Christian. The Christian view is that the created order, because of sin and rebellion, contains good and evil, the holy and the profane. Satan deceives people into thinking that they can tap into something good by using the right techniques rather than listening to what God has said in the Bible.

Voskamp promotes a means of "seeing" that reminds me of Pagitt and other Emergent teachers:

I speak the unseen into seeing and I can feel it, this steady breathing in the rhythm of grace—give thanks (in), give thanks (out). The eyes focus, apertures capturing Beauty in ugliness. There's a doxology of praise that splits the domestic dark. (Voskamp: 128).

What she means is that seeing God (holiness) in all things is a special spiritual ability by those who learn how: "Contemplative simplicity isn't a matter of circumstances; it's a matter of focus" (Voskamp: 127). Voskamp cites postmodern mystic Annie Dillard favorably in regard to "seeing" in the contemplative sense (Voskamp: 127). Voskamp tells her son about "seeing" as she understands it—which is so very New Age:

"The practice of giving thanks . . . eucharisteo . . . this is the way we practice the presence of God, stay present to His presence, and it is always a practice of the eyes. We don't have to change what we see. Only the way we see." (Voskamp: 135).

Seeing God in all things becomes the mechanism for transcending the sorrows of the mundane and finding good feelings to overcome the bad ones. She continues to teach: "The only way to fight a feeling is with a feeling" (Voskamp: 136). Perhaps Biblical truth would be an alternative. Like all postmodern panentheists, for her the subjective rules over the objective. This is also the essence of romanticism.

The real problem is not our failure to see God in everything, but our failure to believe what God has said, and by grace obey. The grand claim of the Bible is that "God has spoken" (Hebrews 1:1, 2). The question is whether we will listen to what God has said or not. Those who are totally alienated from God and teach pagan ideas claim to see God in everything (like Echart Tolle). Voskamp offers what is also offered by the New Age panentheists. The reality is that feeling close to God is not the same as drawing near to God as discussed in the Bible. Voskamp offers romantic feelings.

A Romantic Encounter with God

Voskamp's romanticism reaches its pinnacle in chapter 11. There she describes a trip to Paris where she has an intimate encounter with God through art and architecture. God "woos" her through this encounter and she falls in love. She writes, "I am falling in love. . . . I'm accompanied by this Voice whispering to me new words, new love—urging me, Respond, respond" (Voskamp: 206). The entire chapter is laced with sensual terminology.

At Notre Dame Cathedral, carried away by the experience, she claims to have found the holy: "This air is old, the ground, holy" (Voskamp: 207). On the contrary, the New Testament does not describe holy places, especially not Roman Catholic cathedrals filled with pagan icons and grotesque gargoyles such as at Notre Dame (which means "our lady" referring to the virgin Mary). What exactly, from a Biblical perspective, makes Notre Dame "holy"? What exactly, from a Biblical perspective, makes Notre Dame Cathedral "holy"? Are Roman Catholic buildings and statuary inherently holy? Evidently Voskamp thinks so. But then again, a romantic will see that which is good and desirable in any and all things.

There, in a Catholic cathedral which ought to invoke our objection, Voskamp, as do her role models, the mystics of the Middle Ages, finds "intimate union" with God. She describes her experience in this way:

My eyes follow the stone arches rising over us, granite hands clasped in prayer over souls. I think of all who have gone before, the hands of medieval peasants who chiseled the stone under which I now stand. I think of those long-ago believers who had a way of entering into the full life, of finding a passage into God, a historical model of intimacy with God. I lean back to see the spires. (Voskamp: 208).

As I mentioned before, the Bible never uses the term "intimacy." We take a huge leap of faith to assume that medieval mystics found a secret to intimacy with God through means other than the gospel itself. Medieval mystical practices are not prescribed in the Bible. Yet Voskamp favorably cites Catholic mystic, Henri Nouwen (Voskamp: 205). Mystical teachers and a pagan religious site inspire Voskamp's journey to find romantic intimacy with God.

Purgation, Illumination, Union: Mystical Union with God

Amazingly, Voskamp unabashedly teaches the path to mystical union that has its roots in ancient, pagan, Rome. This path is taught in the Catholic Encyclopedia.⁹ This threefold path is "common to all forms of mysticism, Christian or otherwise" writes Pastor Gary Gilley who rightly warns the church about it.¹⁰ Voskamp extols the medieval mystics who were instrumental in the building of Notre Dame (Voskamp: 208). She writes about them:

I think how lives, whole generations, were laid down to built this edifice, to find a way in. But they thought the steps to God-consummation were but three: purgation, illumination, union. (Voskamp: 208)

She then describes these steps in glowing terms as she experienced them (Voskamp: 209).

New Age teacher Matthew Fox also endorses these steps and others as the means of a paradigm shift from the Christ of the Bible to the cosmic Christ:

In terms of the history of spirituality, this paradigm shift is from the three stages of purification, illumination, and union that mysticism inherited from Proclus and Plotinus (not from Jesus or the Hebrew Bible since neither of these thinkers was either Jewish or Christian) to the four paths of delight (via positive), letting go (via negative), creativity (via creativa), compassion, i.e., celebration and justicemaking (via transformative). Today "to enter the mysteries" means to enter the mysteries of the four paths of creation spirituality—mysteries of delight, darkness, birthing, compassion. In this section we will explore more fully how the paradigm shift can also be named as moving from the quest for the historical Jesus to the quest for the Cosmic Christ.¹¹

Mysticism and the practices Voskamp endorses that promote it, do lead to a Cosmic Christ, that is a creation centered one rather that the Christ who bodily ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God. The mystical Christ is immanent only, not transcendent. He is contacted by unbiblical, mystical means rather than through the gospel that saves us from God's wrath against sin.

Voskamp admits that union with Christ is true for all who have repented and believed (Voskamp: 209, 210). She thereby has an understanding that was lacking for the Catholic mystics she extols. So to keep the experience and practice, she posits the union of the threefold path as a higher order experience for Christians: "An ever deepening union, one we experience on the skin and in the vein, feel in the deep pit of the being, an ever-fuller realization of the Christ communion" (Voskamp: 210). So, ordinary Christians have union, but not the deep union that mystics enjoy. This union is what she has as a sister to Brother Lawrence (Voskamp:210). She describes the experience of union:

I remember this feeling. The way my apron billowed in the running, the light, the air. The harvest moon. I remember. The yearning. To merge with Beauty Him Himself. But here . . . Now? Really? . . . I am not at all certain that I want consummation. (Voskamp: 211)

She then describes this consummation in yet more sensual terms, as being "courted by God" (Voskamp: 211).

Sensuality

Since this idea of consummation (union) is obviously a higher order experience she seeks and finds in Paris, it is therefore something beyond what ordinary Christians have. Voskamp is a mystical pietist.¹² She ponders: "I am not at all certain that I want consummation . . . And who wouldn't cower at the invitation to communion with limitless Holiness Himself?" (Voskamp: 211). Obviously, for her "consummation" is a sensual term, that is not true for all Christians or reserved for the eschaton (and still true for all Christians). It is a higher order experience for certain Christians to be had now if they have the ability to see and experience. This experience is mediated, for Voskamp, by the romantic feelings of Paris.

The sensuality of her terminology is so very inappropriate. She cites 1Corinthians 6:17 which is a warning against fornication and is about all Christians being "joined to the Lord" and applies it to the sensual, higher order experience she is wooed to in Paris (Voskamp: 211). Since 1Corithians 6:17 is about what is already true for all Christians, how does it apply to her invitation to some sort of sensual consummation for Christians? It does not. So she is abusing the passage to promote her pietistic, unbiblical experience. Here is her description of what happens (found in the same paragraph with the citation from 1Corinthians 6:17):

I run my hand along the beams over my loft bed, wood hewn by a hand several hundred years ago. I can hear Him. He's calling for a response; He's calling for oneness. Communion (Voskamp: 211).

This sensually described invitation to oneness and consummation is presented as a union that is a higher order experience, otherwise she would not need it and would frankly have nothing special to offer her readers. She is being "wooed" into "mystical union" (Voskamp: 212, 213). She calls this a romance (Voskamp: 213).

The sensual terms she applies are piled one upon another, painting a picture that is quite graphic and I think horribly inappropriate. Terms found just on two pages include: "wooing, intimate pursuit, passionate love, caressed, making love, embrace, union, intimate, burning of the heart, intercourse disrobed, and etc." (Voskamp: 216, 217). She makes explicit what she is speaking of: "To know Him the way Adam knew Eve" (Voskamp: 217). This terminology goes on, page after page: "intercourse, climax, cohabit, delight wildly, union experientially, leap into Arms" (Voskamp: 218, 219).

She offers a higher order experience for Christians, described in most sensual and provocative terms. This experience is to be had now, and is not the eschatological consummation all Christians await. It helps to go to Paris and a Roman Catholic cathedral to find this experience. There is nothing in this that is Biblical. There are not two types of Christians—ordinary ones and others who have achieved the ultimate, mystical union. This sort of false thinking is what lead people into monasteries to waste their lives looking for something that evidently the gospel itself does not offer. Do we need to mimic the error of the monastic mystics?

Conclusion

As fraught with theological error that this book is, its basic premise is true: as Christians we ought to be thankful people who give thanks in all things. The Bible teaches us that. But do we need to jettison Christian theism in favor of panentheism and objective truth in favor of romantic feelings and higher order experiences to become thankful? No! God has already provided everything that pertains to life and godliness (2Peter 1:3). When Peter urged Christians to grow in their faith and in Christian virtues, he did not point to a higher order experience based on romantic feelings—he called them to remember:

Therefore, I shall always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. And I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, (2Peter 1:12, 13)

Peter also mentions sensuality and it is not good: "For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error," (2Peter 2:18).

There is enough sensuality in the world without us having sensual desires stirred up under the guise of a higher order religious experience in the context of a panentheistic worldview. Voskamp's book feeds into the romantic sensibilities of its postmodern readers. But it does nothing to promote the faith once for all delivered to the saints. It pushes the church even further down the unbiblical road of mysticism that so many are already on. We need to reject this and instead return to objective, Biblical truth.

End Notes

Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts; (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010) 110. All further references from this book will be in brackets within this article.
Bob DeWaay, The Emergent Church – Undefining Christianity; (Minneapolis: DeWaay, 2009), 204.
http://www.eckharttolle.com/ see my review of Tolle’s The New Earth: http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue114.htm
The ellipses are in the original and used to create a pause.
See CIC Issue 104 for a discussion of Bell’s misuse of the term “holy
Matthew Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, (New York: HarperCollins, 1988), 83.
Ibid. 70.
I discuss Doug Pagitt’s idea of God’s “rhythm” here: CIC Issue 99
www.newadvent.org/cathen/14254a.htm
http://www.svchapel.org/resources/book-reviews/4-christian-living/121-finding-our-way-again-the-return-to-the-ancient-practices-by-brian-mclaren
Op. Cit.; Fox, 82.
See my article on pietism: http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue101.htm

Irish Soda Bread

2011-05-09T15:55:00.004-05:00

I just love making fresh bread on a cool rainy day like today.

Here is one of my super-easy favorites.

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, for brushing (or Pam)

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 ¾ cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 425. Brush a cookie sheet with oil

2. Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together into a bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in most of the buttermilk. Mix well, first with a spoon, then with your hands. The dough should be very soft but not too wet. If necessary, add the remaining buttermilk.

3. Turn of the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead lightly and briefly. Shape into an 8-inch round. Put the loaf onto the prepared cookie sheet and cut a cross in the top with a sharp knife.

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom with your knuckles. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly and serve warm.

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*Taken from “Making Fresh Bread” (Parragon Books Ltd)

Saturday Snapshots 4.30.11

2011-04-30T20:09:00.000-05:00

Easter morning - Happy Resurrection Day!

Fun time with Dad.

Don't worry Grammy, no babies were hurt in the making of this post!

A Favorite

2011-04-28T12:08:00.002-05:00

Test All Ministers By the Word of God

2011-04-19T08:57:00.000-05:00

Let us beware of attaching an excessive importance to ministers of religion because of their office. Ordination and office confer no exemption from error. The greatest heresies have been sown, and the greatest practical abuses introduced into the church by ordained men. Respect is undoubtedly due to high official position. Order and discipline ought not to be forgotten. The teaching and counsel of regularly appointed teachers ought not to be lightly refused. But there are limits beyond which we must not go. We must never allow the blind to lead us into the ditch. We must never allow modern chief priests and scribes to make us crucify Christ again. We must test all teachers by the unerring rule of the Word of God. It matters little who says a thing in religion--but it matters greatly what it is that is said. Is it scriptural? Is it true? This is the only question. "To the law and to the testimony--if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).

~ J.C. Ryle

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 2 , [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 389. {Luke 22:1-13}

Source

Saturday Snapshots 4.16.11

2011-04-16T13:29:00.000-05:00

This one is for my southern friends - this is what I woke up to this morning.

Jojo has decided that the toys at Grandma's house are great.

Great-grandparents are pretty nice too.

This is what happens when guys stay up too late watching hockey.

Thankful Thursday

2011-04-13T20:51:00.002-05:00

Enter to win An Anchor for the Soul by Ray Pritchard here.

*******

Lamentations 3:22-23 (King James Version)

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed,

because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

This has been a really calm and beautiful week. Its finally spring here in MN and I've enjoyed getting out on long walks with Jojo almost every afternoon. The grass is turning green and the first few buds are showing up on the trees.

I'm so thankful for this calm and peaceful time, its such a blessing after a very difficult year.

Thank you to Lynn for hosting Thankful Thursday this month.

*****

An Anchor for the Soul Review and Giveaway

2011-04-13T14:52:00.000-05:00

This short book by Ray Pritchard is an excellent evangelistic tool. It is a short book that covers the key elements of the Christian faith that is doctrinally sound, yet easy to read. The author does a great job of presenting the material without using Christian terms that might not be familiar to those who didn’t grow up in church. He clearly explains who Jesus is, what He did, and why we need Him. It’s page after page of the Gospel, which is so refreshing. I’m glad to say that Pritchard also understands that the good news in only good in light of the bad news. He uses the Law to show the reader their sinfulness before presenting the Gospel of Grace. His gospel presentation is powerful and thorough, yet easily understandable. It’s not the watered-down, seeker-sensitive, come to Jesus for a better life message that so many preach today – it is the true Biblical gospel.

The book is very compelling and easy to read. Each chapter ends with a truth to remember and a section for going deeper.

If you have a friend or loved one who it seems that God is drawing to Himself, I would highly recommend giving them a copy of this book.

A complimentary review copy of this book, along with a copy to give away, was provided to me by C. Grant & Company on behalf of Moody publishing for review purposes, but that in no way influenced my opinion of it.

***************************************************************************

And now for the giveaway.

To enter, simply leave a comment along with an email address so I can contact you.

Additional entries:

-follow this blog using Google Friend Connect (2 additional entries)

-follow my Book Review Blog using Google Friend Connect (2 additional entries)

-follow me on Twitter - @Ephesians2_89

-Tweet about this giveaway (one tweet per day)

-Blog about this giveaway (5 additional entries)

Please be sure to leave a comment with an email address for each entry.

Giveaway closes 4/17/11 at 8PM.

Modesty

2011-04-06T09:01:00.000-05:00

This is a powerful video about how guys view modesty.

This was originally posted at The Modest Mom blog.

Sunday Hymns

2011-04-03T12:07:00.003-05:00

Click here to view the video from email or a rss reader.

Saturday Snapshots 4.2.11

2011-04-02T19:07:00.000-05:00

Auntie Theresa and Cy came over to visit on Friday.

Trying to get a two year old and a seventh month old to both look at the

camera at the same time proved to be impossible.

Everyone had fun.

Then we got spring fever and took our first "outside walk" since last fall.

It took a little extra bundling but it was SOOO nice.

http://www.anordinarymom.com/

It's NOT Personal

2011-03-31T13:22:00.004-05:00

I love books. I love reading, and I love writing book reviews. Lately, though, I’ve found that I’m hesitant to review theological books because of the intense emotional responses they tend to generate. In truth, I have two written that I have yet to publish because of the popularity of the authors.

Yesterday I quite inadvertently started a FB debate over a link that I posted that showed an interview with Rob Bell in which he claims he’s being misunderstood and slandered in reviews of his book Love Wins. My point in posting the link was only to show that though he claims to be misunderstood and slandered, he says nothing to clear up the misunderstanding.

The main problem that conservative theologians and discernment bloggers are having with Love Wins is that in it he teaches an errant doctrine of hell known as Universal Reconciliation – the view that everyone eventually ends up in heaven. For theologians to claim that that is not a biblical view is not slander, and if that’s not what Bell taught in his book he could clear up the misunderstanding by stating, publicly, his true belief about the eternality of hell. It’s that simple.

But here’s my point:

Evaluating a book in light of Scripture to see if it is true is something that we all must do. We must practice discernment (be Bereans). Disagreeing with an author’s position is not a personal attack against the author, nor does it imply that the author had impure motives. I don’t question that Rob Bell truly loves people and wants to help them. I don’t think he sat down to write his book, let out a sinister laugh and said “Let’s see how many people I can deceive with this one.” Of course not. I believe he sincerely wants everyone to be saved and wants to demonstrate God’s love to the world. But being sincere doesn’t automatically make someone right.

In short, calling Rob Bell a universalist is only slander if he isn’t one. Writing a negative review of a book isn’t a personal attack against an author, nor does it in any way reflect the character or motives of an author, it’s simply an evaluation of the book they wrote. A negative review also does not imply that everything the author ever taught is false, nor does it imply that there are no elements of truth contained in the book. And, most importantly, pointing out false teaching that could lead people astray is not unloving, but shows genuine concern for the spiritual well-being of our brother and sisters in Christ.

Two Great Quotes

2011-03-30T10:40:00.000-05:00

1.If obeying God is all that I need to do to make God happy with me & earn His favor & blessings then I don't need a crucified and risen Savior

2.I don't need an authoritative, inerrant, inspired Word of God if all I'm looking for are life tips & principles to make my life better.

-Chris Rosebrough

Bear Fruit to Stand at the Last Day

2011-03-28T09:12:00.000-05:00

Let us always remember, that baptism, church-membership, reception of the Lord's Supper, and a diligent use of the outward forms of Christianity, are not sufficient to save our souls. They are leaves, nothing but leaves, and without fruit will add to our condemnation. Like the fig leaves of which Adam and Eve made themselves garments, they will not hide the nakedness of our souls from the eye of an all-seeing God, or give us boldness when we stand before Him at the last day. No! we must bear fruit, or be lost forever. There must be fruit in our hearts and fruit in our lives, the fruit of repentance toward God, faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and true holiness in our conversation. Without such fruits as these a profession of Christianity will only sink us lower into hell.

~ J.C. Ryle

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1985], 234. {Mark 11:12-21}

Source

Saturday Snapshots 3.26.11

2011-03-26T18:55:00.000-05:00

This is what we call teaching an old dog new tricks.

Grace got a new bed but it took her awhile to adjust.

She finally decided to try it out, but not without the old one underneath.

Jojo has been a busy boy.

Sucking on his toes is his new favorite passtime.

Thankful Thursday - The Blood that Jesus Shed

2011-03-24T15:50:00.001-05:00

(Click here to view the video if reading in an email or rss reader)

The blood that Jesus shed for me

Way back on Calvary