Tag: theology

Fixed it For You

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A few thoughts on my latest read this warm December evening.

83. The Everlasting Righteousness by Horatius Bonar. A beautiful book on the righteousness of Christ and its implications for those who put their trust in him. I was looking for a little book on Christ that would aid my devotion and meditation on him, and this certainly fit the bill! Its subtitle is “How shall man be just with God” and most certainly this book answered the question with the answer being self-evident from the title alone. At times we can trust to our own efforts or goodness, even if we would not put it quite so boldly out loud. Yet at times we often think we have done a bit of what is necessary to give God cause to love us, true? This book is a wonderful corrective to such thinking, driving one to the cross. Only in Christ can man be just with God. Only through Christ and his righteousness, for we have naught to bring! We are blind indeed and those who know such and cry out to the great Healer will surely find their eyes opened and eternal life in the bargain. The majority of this book deals with the subject of Christ’s righteousness and the imputation of such to the sinner who puts his trust in Christ. I probably read this a bit too quickly and I think it would well repay a slower reading. The author did add a few chapters at the end on both the significance and result of the resurrection of Christ as well as the necessary outcome of holy living for the one who is truly covered by the righteousness of Christ. These are “side issues” as it were to the main subject of the justification of the sinner through Christ’ righteousness, yet I’m still grateful that the author decided to add these chapters as they are simply magnificent and heart stirring in all their grandeur. Meditating on the resurrection of Christ was true balm for my soul!! I probably have said too many words on this one already. It’s a small book, the chapters perfectly sized for a short evening’s reading. Though this book may come across a bit dated to some (written over a hundred and fifty years ago now), I’m still most grateful I read this and shall certainly pick it up again when I am seeking to be encouraged and reminded of why I am so confident of that hope which I call my own.

Truths and Application

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I do not have an overlong time to write this morning, so instead – quick few thoughts on latest read!

39. Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray. Simply staggering in its beauty. I finished this book a bare few minutes ago and so feel still a bit caught in the wonder and love and awe that I felt as I read the last few pages (namely, focusing on the glorification of the saints and subsequent life forever with our Lord Jesus Christ). To anyone who wishes to understand and meditate more on the work of God in salvation and how that is worked out in the lives of those who are his, I would heartily recommend this one. Breathtaking in scope and wondrous in its depth of thought, I found this a most profitable read these past few weeks. When is it ever a bad thing to think and ponder more on the salvation that is ours in Christ? This book is broken up into two parts, firstly – the unilateral and sovereign work of God as it bears out on our salvation and what this means. This part was a bit more academic and at times a touch dry, yet still I appreciated and it was profitable. But the second part? I would read this book again ten times just for the second half of this book. Murray writes and expounds on how salvation is worked out in the lives of those who are the redeemed and walks through a number of chapters examining the different facets of salvation (even what most would call the “ordo salutis” or order of salvation, though some of the concepts are a bit intertwined of necessity!) and how God’s redemption of us is actually seen and born out. I do not do this part justice. It is a simply marvelous study on God’s work of salvation in the lives of sinful men and women and shows most clearly how God works in us to call us from darkness to that light of immortality which will end with us looking into the face of Christ and communing with our God forever. What a delight it was to meditate on such themes as effectual calling, regeneration, faith and repentance, justification, adoption, sanctification, perseverance, union with Christ, glorification! I will of certainty read this book again. A balm and delight to my soul to consider the marvelous truths of God’s work of salvation. Some of the truths expounded are ones that I strain to wrap my mind around and truly comprehend. Yet still I delight in meditating on God’s salvation work and thrill to think that I will be forever meditating on this divine work as I worship God now and into eternity. Never will considering these truths cease to bring delight to my soul.

Courtyard

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Outside time
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit met
and in full communion and perfect accord
they said
in covenant let us come and
for covenant let us go
and draw near to man
that he may know us
and adore us
and commune with us again

Let me be propitiated
I shall do this thing
I will send
I will go
and I will strengthen
and comfort your soul

Let him come to me and look upon my death
let him come and eat my flesh
let him drink full of my blood
as I have drunk deep of thy wrath
let him come to me and rest
let him come to me and look and in me believe
for as I have arisen so let him with me rise
for to us I have now him reconciled
and surely brought him nigh

and he cries out listen to his plea
skim off skim off
these base impurities
that i might know more
and ever treasure thee!
My Father I am thy child
and in you and you alone find true peace
My Jesus I am thy prayer
and only live through you who intercedes
My Comforter and Helper
I because of you know the words of God
I long to be with my Lord
forever
in the places where you are!
Be near me, indwell me, dear Spirit
show me how I ought to live
your heart is new, your joy is true
see now the strength I give you for each day!
Pray for me, pray for me, dear Jesus
show me the true and better way
it is done, I have done it
only through me will you see the Father’s face
Have mercy upon me my Father
i still feel so cold and full of sin
consider my love, my dear child
the work I did long ago begin
will not falter
for I who chose you and who knows you
will surely keep you to the end

what a wondrous thing it is that i should be called a child of God
as I step through the doorway and above me glance and see
the blood smeared over my head that came from a Lamb who died
and consider that this has been the plan since outside eternity
and now feel the winds of the Spirit rustle through my soul
i tremble to know that i am loved and i am held
and that by divine sympathy and mercy am made truly whole
oh i feel the pulsing of the lifeblood that spills out as these words
the blood that for me was spilled points to the divine reality of God
and now I hesitate to appropriate that treasure of eternity that is mine
but nothing do I want if it is not in actuality the reality of life in Christ
I long to obey the commandments that have been given
I long to be found in communion in the church that is my home
I long to be known by the one who’s for his Father’s glory risen
I long to be a clay temple of the Spirit who somehow fills my frame
and now and forever I lift my voice and whisper glory glory glory
to the Lord God Almighty forever and always glory to your name.

As it is written so shall it always be,
glory to the Father, Son, and Spirit
glory to the Holy Trinity
peace to mankind through the cross of Jesus
and may all who come to him know the bliss
of delighting in our God for eternity.

It is good for us to be here.
It is good to gaze upon the face of God.

La bohème

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A few thoughts on books this fine cold Friday evening!

7. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. This book remains a classic for a reason. I re-read this one in order to have proper comparison point for James(finished right before I started this one), though honestly I didn’t really need to. I read this a few years ago and remember being delighted by it and you know what? No changes to my thoughts on it, except to be surprised anew by the power and sparkle of Twain’s prose. He tells a fascinating tale here, a story of a boy in a murderous and insane world. Twain – as he always does – loves to highlight the absurdity of people and he does that all over the place in this one. Books could be written about all the different types of people Twain lampoons. Books could be written about all the different manifestations of barbarism that Twain details. I’m sure they have. Is this book a bit old-fashioned? Perhaps it is. Perhaps it’s not quite as fit for the modern taste and sensibilities of modern days. Perhaps it’s a bit too rambling and a bit too unfocused. I still greatly enjoyed this one. I’ve read books written more recently that read far more alien than this one! Twain has a great ear for dialogue and great insight into the human psyche. Grateful that books such as this have been written. And yes, it is known, but Twain does write some truly hilarious dialogue. I will never not laugh at the conversation about mumps.

8. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie. A fine collection of Christie short stories to read this Christmas season. I haven’t read Christie in a while and this book reminded me how much I love her writing! Some of the short stories are a bit weaker than others, but there are definitely at least a few top notch tales here, worthy of the price of admission. I felt the Marple adventure at the end (“Greenshaw’s Folly”) was weakest of the lot. But seeing Poirot back in action again was very fun indeed. “The Mystery of the Spanish Chest” was great fun and I found myself rolling my eyes at all the tropes pulled out in “The Under Dog” yet somehow still found it a great rollicking read. And not in any of the stories did I quite crack them until the end! I got close a few times, but never quite there. Alas. This was a fun light read and I’m glad I picked this one up. Christie is a master for a reason.

9. The City of God by Augustine. Well, that was a book. I have been reading this one for probably far too long and I feel a bit dazed to realise I have actually finished it. This book is an interesting one to think about and perhaps I will revisit these words in a few weeks once I have more time to let this one simmer (yet Augustine’s words have been simmering around in my brain for the past eight months or so, so maybe that is long enough!). I am glad I read this book, yet I’m not sure I’ll ever re-visit. For this book, more than any I’ve read in recent memory, is a chore. Augustine goes here and there and everywhere. Yes the book is structured. Yes there is a progression. But I find myself slightly baffled at times by the topics that Augustine chooses to spend fifty pages on, and then the topics I would consider slightly more important get barely a page. Editors today would have a field day with this one. I don’t generally consider abridged versions of old books a good idea, but I would not argue with someone who chose to read a (good) abridged copy of this book.

Am I really being so harsh on Augustine, one of the prominent theologians of the Christian world? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike this one. I simply find it a bit unfocused and probably not entirely worth the time and effort it takes to read. In a way though, I think I understand why I feel as I do. In some ways, this book has far more value as a historical work than as a theological one. Yes, there are many solid and brilliant theological insights contained therein. Yes, Augustine’s devotion to the faith and high view of Scripture cannot be denied. Yes, Augustine’s clinging to Christ as the only way of salvation and his understanding of being eternally with God as the prime good of mankind was encouraging, and thrilling to meditate on! Yet, I also realise that this book was (as all books are) a product of its time. This is actually quite a polemical work. Augustine is responding to the philosophies of his day and speaking to the world in which he lived. So this book is enlightening and fascinating as we consider the topics that were of supreme and dire importance to the great minds of the late 4th century. In this day we do not perhaps need pages and pages detailing the natures and deficiencies of the pagan gods who were so quickly fading into irrelevance. But still? This book is important because it shows a great man of God (and indeed a great intellect, though that is of lesser importance) defending the faith and boldly speaking forth the gospel of God to a world that was so lost in its own pride and ignorance. Maybe the pride and ignorance of that long-ago world seems odd to us now, yet we cannot smirk too much. In this present world we are just as proud of our ignorance, though we would not put it in such terms. Anyway! I go off the topic. This book is important and it is quite fascinating to see Augustine discussing the Christian faith in a world that had just known the name Jesus Christ for barely four centuries. And I am exceedingly encouraged to see the faith Augustine has in both the nature and work of God, as well as his utter confidence in the Scriptures. Yes, sometimes Augustine says things with absolute confidence that I would…question. Augustine is not perfect and this book is not perfect. Yet still, there are many times where Augustine humbly confesses that he does not quite know the answer and simply puts forth his thoughts in the wisdom that he knows God has given him. Would that we all in this day exhibit more of Augustine’s humility.

This book is an odd one. I think I’m glad I read it? Would I recommend it? Unsure. At least, if you’re going to read Augustine, read Confessions first. I am grateful to ponder the truths that Augustine expounded, though the journey was messy at times. It is good to think that God indeed has a people that He has called into communion with Himself. We are now truly part of the city of God and someday we shall fully and intimately know God in a way we do not know Him now. For that day we long. We do not know exactly the future or how God shall accomplish His will. Yet we do know that God’s will shall be accomplished and that He shall not abandon the people He has called to Himself. There always has been a remnant. And someday this remnant shall weep and rejoice as the bride beams to welcome her bridegroom. Oh come quickly Lord Jesus. This is a desire that burned just as hot in Augustine’s own soul. Someday I wish to talk theology with this dear brother and rejoice as we look on the face of our Lord, even if now we cannot quite imagine what that will be like. We do know it shall be far better than we can think now. Oh Lord Jesus, come quickly.

Interlude

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Hello, my friends! A quick few thoughts on latest read…

64. Why God Makes Sense in a World that Doesn’t by Gavin Ortlund. Many thoughts from this book that are still rolling around in my brain. This book is not written to “prove God” or construct a fool-proof argument for Christianity and I think it was important that the author stated that at the outset. Rather, the author uses an abductive approach to show the reasonableness of holding to theism, ending up by holding forth the attractiveness and sheer loveliness of the Christian faith as centered in the person of Christ. This is a book that spirals from the grand and cosmic to the intensely personal. The mind, heart and conscience are engaged from various perspectives before the author moves into a concise and winsome defense for historic Christianity. And no, the author is not presenting an airtight case that will convince the antagonistic skeptic. Rather, the author seeks to show that holding to theism (and more specifically Christianity) is not inherently unreasonable. Instead, there is a beauty, grandeur and pathos to believing in a God who is also a person, in a person who also walked this earth and died to reconcile us to Himself. There are parts of this book that hurt my brain and I daresay I probably need to read it again at some point to more fully understand all of Ortlund’s points. There are many books that the author referenced and quoted that I now very much want to read (this is a good thing!). And the plethora of movie and book references may be a bad thing for some, but I kind of loved them, as they very much spoke to the current moment in which we now live. This is a book that is a product of its time, speaking to the current ethos in which we live. But more than that, this book is an appeal to the humanity in all of us, asking if this humanity as such is simply a cold by-product of undirected physical processes or if in fact that which resonates within us points to a common story that has an Author. Yes, any book that talks about the origins of the universe, math, music, poetry, conscience and moral objectivity will have my attention. But more than any of that? This book calls us to consider the message of the gospel – and to ask the question of last things and what lingers beyond the veil. At the end, the author calls us to make a choice. This is a book that speaks to the seeker, the one who is seeking to grasp the infinite if in fact the infinite can be grasped. Is it possible?

There are many perspectives and views the author grapples with and at times it seems the author cannot quite do justice to the plethora of philosophical and metaphysical views that swirl in the minds of men. Yet he does try, and I appreciate that he does not shy away from the hard questions and that he attempts to honestly dialogue with those whom he disagrees. This is a beautiful primer to understanding how theism fits in and against the current trendy topics du jour, and if anything, it convinced me that most of modern popular thought is spending most of its time in the shallow end, unaware of the vast complexity of philosophy throughout the ages. This opens my eyes a bit, and reminds me how good it is to continue to read old books and old authors, to seek to avoid the biases that are confirmed when we only read authors who write in our own age. Of course I love the constant references and quoting of Tolkien and Lewis, and of course I love the firm devotion to Christ that the author cannot avoid from letting seep through. Yes, the author firmly holds to the task of speaking to the various philosophical schools of thought on many things, but he cannot help but let his wonder and love at the message of Christianity shine forth.

moments counting

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Many stanzas unrelated yet not perhaps entirely

We walk down those faded corridors
marked with water stains
and faded ink
and broken promises
hand in hand we go
with light steps
and broken hearts

the light shines down on your face
and your eyes tell the story
that your lips never would
as they move to count down
i raise a finger to shush
i already know the time
yet you move closer

She stands upon the doorstep
tilting her head curiously
and as i raise my hand
and start to pretend
i change my mind and say
let’s have a nice long talk
as we go for a walk alongside
the sea

hello my darling let’s not pay the toll today
for it’s been paid so many times before
surely it counts for something
the frequency of our visits
maybe a loyalty program of sorts
instead spread some jam and butter upon that scone
and i’ll pour you a cup of tea
and let’s open the book and dive deep into what we’ve read
and talk lit and art and most of all what it means
to be immersed in this systematic theology

Reading upon a sofa sprawled out all comfy in my way
and upon the table burns a candle marking the time since
and she walks in and stares at me and says
really have you moved at all?
and of course not i say although that’s not entirely true
for i may have gotten up to change the music once or twice
but in sentiment she understands and smiles and rolls her eyes
and leans over and pats my leg and tells me to relax
i wish i could fall into a book like that

how does theology affect our lives i wonder
and though some may say it really doesn’t
i would argue then what’s the point
for then your theology’s bereft
and all your thinking has no merit
true true they answer back and so why bother?
i turn to them and say consider this
if God’s real and true and all that?
and if furthermore he’s written to us of himself?
well i’d like to understand
at least in such feeble way as this mind dares to grasp
understanding they say is futile for how can what is finite
comprehend the infinite
it can’t
truly
for only when the infinite and finite has somehow married
can there be a listening to the radio that is now tuned
but how – there can be no such
and yes i also wondered until i considered that this question
has been answered
hence why i’m reading theology
and seeing the poetry of God
this strange, wonderful symmetry that is god made man
and sent down from eternity to walk this earth
and then die upon a tree
this sweetest simplest theology
of God who made a way to be known by feeble, finite, little ol me

she tenderly caresses the cover of the book before her
wondering if she dares to open the cover
will the writing match the gorgeousness of the artwork?
she hears a whisper
yes
taste and see

One more girl hangs out the 3rd floor window
and shouts down to me of what she’s found
what is that i say
cry louder!
and she says i won’t but i’ll do you one better
i’ll come down

the sunset ripples through the sky
and i breathe in deep the last remnants
and wait for my God to draw me nigh

Once Upon a Time Whispers Whispers in the Dark

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A few books this Monday afternoon!

59. Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. Still one of the best books Sanderson has written. It stands next to Way of Kings as the best the Stormlight Archive has to offer, and I almost considered placing it first! But I shall not be rash. This book does start out a little bit slow and it’s not perfect by any means, but oh boy the story it tells is a fun one. And once it gets going? It moves. All my favourite characters are at the top of their game here. Dalinar is fantastic, Adolin comes into his own, Kaladin has all his requisite ups and downs and I still love him…and this is probably Shallan’s best book. Which makes sense, since this is her book after all. I love seeing her grow here, even though sometimes she drives me crazy with her recklessness. But she is fantastic. The interludes are fun and worthwhile (always so many good nuggets to unpack!) and though parts of this story confuse me here and there as I don’t always remember all the Stormlight lore, I still love seeing how everything gradually starts to come together. This book is definitely one of the best books Sanderson has ever written and I’ll always be happy to return to it for my fantasy fix.

60. Rejoicing in Christ by Michael Reeves. Sometimes one just must meditate more upon the person and work of Christ, you know? Recently a dear friend recommended this one to me and it has been a joy to read it – slowly! – over the past few months. A book like this is almost devotional in nature, really. Don’t gulp it quickly. Enjoy, savour, meditate upon the truths unpacked about Christ in this really rather small work. At times the prose in this one can be rather purple and I winced a few times at the florid phrasings…but I am almost certainly the last that should accuse others of such. Grateful for those who write such works as aids to necessary and encouraging meditation upon Christ. Reading a book such is this is far more profitable than most things we tend to fill our time with in this day and age.

61. Five Points – Towards a Deeper Experience of God’s Grace by John Piper. A slim volume extolling the truths and virtues of God’s sovereign grace. At first blush, it may appear this book is simply a defense of what is commonly called “Calvinism” – a system of soteriology commonly tied to reformed theology. And perhaps in a way it is, but it is certainly not attempting or trying to mount a comprehensive defense of the doctrines of grace. Instead, Piper here seeks to illuminate and introduce the reformed understanding of salvation to those who may not fully understand it. I would recommend this book heartily to any – Christians or non-Christians alike – who seek to understand more what the Bible teaches about the way of salvation. Piper seeks to increase our devotion to God and joy in our knowledge of Him as we more fully understand what God has done for us and the salvation that He calls us to. Understanding these truths should not result in a dour and combative Christian – oh no! – but rather a deeper understanding of God’s way of salvation should bring overwhelming thanksgiving and joy to those who know themselves to be a child of God! I will not summarize this book – yes it talks about the infamous “Five Points” of Calvinism, and yes, it gets slightly technical at times. Even so, sometimes I wished for a more intense and deeper dive into what the Word says about salvation. That’s not what this book is. This book is an introduction into the beliefs of reformed soteriology and attempts to kindle our love for God afresh as we learn more about Him. This is not merely an academic pamphlet. This is a work written to increase our devotion and faith in the love of our Lord, encouraging us as we walk this path our God has placed before us. Grateful for works such as this, am definitely eager to read this one again at some point soon.

It is written

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Quick thought while I’m making dinner.

Just reading Matthew 21…what does Jesus do as soon as he is acclaimed the King? Does he bask in the adulation of the crowds? No, he goes straight to the temple and drives the money-changers and merchants from the house of God,

“It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

Tragic. Heartbreaking. The house of worship of the living God had been desecrated by the greed of men. And just makes me think of what Jesus would say of much of the ‘Christian’ world today. Are we so wrapped up in the world of Christianity that we forget we live in a world of fallen people? Are we more excited about momentary worldly gain than we are about being indwelt by the Holy Spirit? Are we satisfied more by the praise of our peers than by the praise of our God? Would we forget the words of Paul that Christ did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped? If Christ could so do, then how could we not lay aside our pride and be servants of all?

How could we place the temporal above the eternal?

How could we place the temporal pleasures of this world above the eternal souls of men?

How could we place the temporal riches of this world above the eternal Christ?

Worship the King.

Seven Pillars

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The fear of the LORD is
the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of
the Holy One is understanding.
-Proverbs 9:10

If I could only always remember this!! There is a foolishness that masquerades as cleverness and there is a grave that masks itself with the ever sweeter perfume of piety and there is a well-paved path that leads to the gates of hell. And there is a wisdom that looks as folly and there is a grave that is empty and there is a little-trod path that leads to the presence of God Himself.

Oh, for the love of Jesus, who found us when we could not see! Oh for the love of Jesus, who knew us when we did not know Him! Oh for the love of Jesus, who saved us when we could not live! Oh for the love of Jesus, who lifted us when we could not move! Oh for the love of Jesus, who loved us when we could not love! Oh for the love of Jesus!!