Martin Luther's 10 Sickest Burns

In  honor of Reformation Day (which was yesterday), I think we all need to pause and remember Martin Luther as not just the great Protestant Reformer that he was but also as the master of the hard-core insult.

For your viewing pleasure, RELEVANT Magazine collected ten of Luther's sickest burns. These I point you toward.

Happy November 1st!

"Martin Luther: Church reformer. Prolific theologian. Craft beer enthusiast. World-class insult artist.

That’s right, if you ideologically crossed this church father, you might have found yourself on the wrong side of a carefully worded barb involving donkey farts or cobweb trousers. (It’s probably a good thing they didn’t have Twitter back then, because Luther doesn’t strike us as the type who would have much patience for trolls.)

Thanks to this insult generator meme—which randomly spits out one of hundreds of stinging quips found in Luther’s writings—the reformer’s sickest burns recently went viral. We’ve parsed through the list to find 10 of the best (or, rather, worst) insults Martin Luther ever penned."

Read them here.

Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons and thlerry ehrmann.

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Martyn Lloyd-Jones: A Review

John Piper once said of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

"He has been a constant reminder: you don't have to be cool, hip, or clever to be powerful. In fact, the sacred anointing is simply in another world from those communication techniques. His is the world I want to live in when I step into the pulpit."

Christopher Catherwood, grandson of Lloyd-Jones and author of Martyn Lloyd-Jones: His Life and Relevance for the 21st Century, begins his book by sharing this quote. He then goes on to say,

"Is that the world you would want to live in? If so, this book is for you as it describes not just the life but also the thought of a man whose regular preaching profoundly affected his hearers. As John Piper and others attest, becoming familiar with Dr. Lloyd-Jones could transform your life."

That is an awfully bold claim. But in this new biography, Catherwood is on to something. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was special - and he was special because he was stringently and spectacularly devoted to the Bible. And so getting to know "the Doctor," as he was affectionately called, through Catherwood's biography is less about discovering what Lloyd-Jones' favorite jam was and more about finding how his passion for Scripture is relevant to us today in all spheres of life.

Not that Catherwood doesn't provide us with details about the Doctor as a man but his "aim, however, is to show how profoundly relevant his life and thinking are to us as evangelicals in the twenty-first century. As the saying goes, if one is biblical, one is always relevant. Of few people is that more true than with Dr. Lloyd-Jones."

Catherwood's biography walks us through ten chapters of the Doctor and his theology. The first and last chapter stand as bookends that emphasize the relevance of this biblical British preacher who died in 1981. Then Catherwood traces Lloyd-Jones' life and global influence through two chapters before getting into individual chapters on his theology and how it applies to us today.

There is a chapter on the centrality of Scripture, a chapter on preaching, a chapter on life in the Spirit, and a chapter on community. There are also chapters on two of Lloyd-Jones more controversial views and issues.

I thought Catherwood did an excellent job achieving his aim. Because he focused more on Lloyd-Jones' theology, there was less of an obvious bias (not that Catherwood ever tried to hide that - he was pretty open about the fact that the Doctor was his grandfather). He tried to provide balance to some of Lloyd-Jones' controversy and always tried to draw the Doctor's beliefs back to Scripture. Even some of his odder beliefs were always based on his interpretation of the Bible, Catherwood faithfully argued. And I greatly admired that.

If you want to dig into the beliefs of this man who wrote such seminal Christian classics as Spiritual Depression and preached to millions of people in his life, check out Catherwood's biography.

And then do just what Catherwood would want you to do - go read some Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

Buy Martyn Lloyd-Jones here.

*I received this book through Crossway's Beyond the Page review system. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Photo courtesy of The Gospel Coalition.

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Dear Dr. King

John Piper wrote this short and powerful letter to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It's a fitting tribute for this, Martin Luther King Day.

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You were right. You prophesied, “If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will . . . be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the 20th century.”

But we have lost more than a sacrificial spirit. One of your prophetic heirs, Carl Ellis, has made clear that many black and white churches have become “irrelevant social clubs” because they have lost the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated gospel. God has been sold for good agendas.

There are times I wished you had made the biblical gospel clearer. But I am sure you would agree that the power you wielded was rooted in God.

Today, as I look at the gospel-weak white and black churches, I would say that both need a transcendent reference point in the sovereignty, supremacy, and centrality of God, expressed supremely in the gospel of Jesus Christ. God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated churches where the gospel is cherished — these are the birthplace of the kind of racial harmony that give long-term glory to God and long-term gospel-good to the world.

Again you were right about the folly of passive waiting. Biblical waiting is not passive. It does not compromise. 

Nothing that needs changing changes without effort.

Read the rest here.

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Photo courtesy of Scott Ableman and Flickr Creative Commons

My Top 10 Books of 2015

I read many good books in 2015. In 2016, I've made a goal of reading 104 - that's two books a week.

But for this year I have managed to pare my favorites down to ten, all the way from the Almost-Best to the Best. As you will see, my reading tastes vary widely.

10. Nine Writers to Read by Douglas Wilson - Wilson just plain knows how to write and so it's a delight to read him. In this book, he suggests nine writers of the last century or so (both Christians and non-Christians) who were masters of their craft. As a writer, I found this book profoundly helpful.

9. Is Anybody Out There? by Mez McConnell (my review here) - Here's what I said of Mez's memoir, "Is Anybody Out There? is a fast-paced, hard-to-put-down, heartbreaking, grace-saturated, powerful read. Mez has an incredible testimony to share - not of his greatness, though, but of God's glory."

8. The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes - This is a fairly short Puritan work that is wonderfully encouraging. Whoever says Puritans are dour, joyless downers needs to pick up Sibbes. 

7. On Writing Well by William Zinnser - This is the most transformative book for me as a writer I've ever read. The first section especially honed in on some deeply wise and practical advice while inspiring me with fresh insights on the craft of writing well.

6. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - Gone With the Wind is an epic. It's a book not for the faint of heart - my copy rang in at over a thousand pages. But it encapsulates some of the basest and most fundamental themes of humanity - sin, heartache, mercy, redemption, jealousy, love, forgiveness, and frustration. 

5. The Little Prince by Antoine de-Saint Exupery - This was a gorgeous book, beautifully illustrated, marvelously written. I cannot wait for the movie to come out in March. 

4. Heaven by Randy Alcorn - Heaven is one of the few books I can confidently say changed my life. This is what the cover says, "We all have questions about what heaven will be like and after twenty-five years of extensive research, Dr. Randy Alcorn provides the answers. In the most definitive book on heaven to date, Randy invites you to picture heaven the way the Scriptures describes it -- a vibrant and psysical New Earth. Free from sin, suffering and death and brimming with Christ's presence, wondrous natural beauty, and the richness of human culture as God intended it. This is a book about real people with real bodies enjoying close relationships with God and each other, eating, drinking, working, playing, traveling, worshiping, and discovering on a New Earth. Earth as God created it. Earth as He intended it to be."

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - This one was a wow. It was easily the best fiction book I read this year - maybe ever. The incredible story, the vivid characters, the themes of race and reconciliation, they all weave together to make for an unforgettable read.

2. The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield - I would love to meet Dr. Butterfield one day. I would love to sit down with her and just talk about life. Her memoir made me feel like she's my friend already. This is her story - her story of tenured professorship at Syracuse, her lesbian lifestyle, her hostility to Christianity, and the beautiful story of God's irresistible grace in drawing her to Himself and changing her forever. It is wondrous.

1. Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin - This one definitely changed my life. I didn't agree with everything he wrote and sometimes I felt the harsh sting of his words, but there's no denying it - John Calvin was a genius, and he loved God. This was his mangum opus, and I am a better Christian for reading it.

What were the best books you read this year?

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Free E-Book: Taking God At His Word

For only a few more days you can snap up Kevin DeYoung's excellent book, Taking God At His Word, for free! You definitely want to take advantage of this offer.

I reviewed Taking God At His Word back in April and you can read the entire review here. This is what I said about this book:

"Taking God At His Word is short. It's readable. It's accessible.

It's broken down into eight chapters on things like the sufficiency of Scripture, its surety, its clarity, its authority, its necessity, and its unbreakableness. DeYoung want us to trust the Bible and see its importance in the practical grind of our daily lives. But he also wants us to love the Bible, just like the psalmist in Psalm 119. 

And I came away from this book feeling just like DeYoung had hoped, and just like another pastor named David Platt. 

In his endorsement of this book, Platt wrote,

'My trust in God's Word is greater, my submission to God's Word is deeper, and my love for God's Word is sweeter as a result of reading this book.'"

You can download a free e-book version of DeYoung's Taking God At His Word here at Crossway until July 14. Don't wait!

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Photo courtesy of discipletimothy.

Martin Luther, the Loving Father

Matt Tully adapted this post from an excerpt from Carl Trueman's book, Luther on the Christian Life, a book I'm very much looking forward to reading. In honor of amazing, godly fathers everywhere, here is a glimpse at a loving father from church history.

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Martin Luther loved children.

Indeed, one might say that he himself retained a somewhat childlike quality, as demonstrated in his sense of humor. Certainly, he regarded being childlike as an extremely important characteristic in the Christian when it came to matters of faith. He spoke of the basic catechetical faith as something he never fully mastered, of being like a little child in terms of his need of instruction, and of learning with his own children when he prayed with them each day. This was a point he made in the introduction to his Large Catechism: “I must still read and study the Catechism daily, yet I cannot master it as I wish, but must remain a child and pupil of the Catechism, and I do it gladly.”

When it came to the rearing of actual children, Luther had plenty of advice. Childbearing is a deeply honorable task and one to be understood within the context of a loving home. Indeed, Luther actually criticized the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 2:14–15 for using the impersonal term “woman” rather than the familial “mother.”

Children are part of families, and families are grounded in the love of man and wife. Thus, the context for childrearing is one of familial love. Indeed, when it came to discipline, even in the rather brutal times in which Luther lived, this was to be tempered by loving restraint: he thought that parents must not whip their children too severely, lest the children come to resent them. That may seem hard by our standards, but one can still appreciate the underlying sentiment.

On the spiritual side, Luther appears to have had devotions every day with his children, focused, as we might expect, on the basic elements of catechetical Christianity: the Ten Commandments, the creed, and the Lord’s Prayer. Again, typical of Luther, he saw this exercise not so much as a hierarchical one where he, the adult, taught the children, but as one where they all learned together, for he was in as much need of understanding what he prayed through with them as they themselves were.

Indeed, the spiritual education and health of the family was so important that, if the emperor himself were to try to inhibit or prevent it, the Christian would have an absolute duty to resist him— which, given Luther’s respect for the office of magistrate, speaks eloquently of his passion in this matter.

Read the rest here.

A Pilgrim Answers Some Questions

I am reading a new edition of The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan right now. It's edited by C.J. Lovik and beautifully illustrated by Mike Wimmer. You are probably familiar with the basics of the story - a pilgrim named Christian leaves his home, the City of Destruction, because he is afraid of the coming wrath and sets off for the Celestial City.

He bears a great burden on his back until he passes through the narrow gate and is able to lay his burden at the cross. There he is given new clothes and a scroll to read on the journey. But many dangers and joys still await him.

At one point in his journey he comes to the House Beautiful, guarded by chained lions and cared for by three women named Prudence, Piety, and Charity. As Christian is resting with them, Prudence asks Christian some pointed questions.

May his answers be true of every pilgrim in this life who calls himself Christian.

     Then Prudence began to ask Christian some questions.
     "Do you ever think of the country you came from?"
     "Yes," Christian replied, "but with much shame and detestation. 'Honestly, if I had pleasant thoughts about the country from which I have come, I might have taken the opportunity to return; but I desire a better country, one that is heavenly.'"
     Prudence asked further, "Do you still not carry some of the baggage from the place you escaped?"
     "Yes, but against my will. I still have within me some of the carnal thoughts that all my countrymen, as well as myself, were delighted with. Now all those things cause me to grieve. If I could master my own heart, I would choose never to think of those things again, but when I try only to think about those things that are best, those things that are the worst creep back into my mind and behavior."
     "Don't you find that sometimes you can defeat those evil things that at other times seem to defeat you?" Prudence suggested.
     Christian answered, "Yes, it happens occasionally. They are golden hours that I treasure."
     "Can you remember the means by which you're able occasionally to defeat the evil desires and thoughts that assail you?"
     Christian said, "Yes. When I think about what I experienced at the cross, that will do it. When I look at the embroidered coat, that will do it. When I read the scroll that I carry in my coat, that will do it. And when my thoughts turn to the place to which I am going, that will do it."
     Prudence inquired, "And what is it that makes you desirous to go to Mount Zion?"
     Christian replied, "Why, it is there that I hope to see alive my Savior who hung dead on the cross. It is there that I hope to be rid of all those things that to this day are an annoyance to me. They say that in that place there is no death, and I will dwell there with the company that I like best. For, to tell you the truth, I love Him because He eased me of my burden. I am weary of my inward sickness. I desire to be where I will die no more, with a company that will continually cry, 'Holy, holy, holy!'"

-- The Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan, ed. C.J. Lovik, p. 76-77

The Life and Mission of St. Patrick

You may have packed away your green for another year, but don't put St. Patrick out of your mind quite yet. Who was he really? This brief article adapted from Michael Haykin's book, Rediscovering the Church Fathers, answers that question.

Patrick was raised in a nominally Christian home in Britain during the collapse of the Roman Empire. At 16 he was captured by Irish pirates and taken to the west coast of Ireland. The trauma of slavery turned him to the Lord, and he strove to spend each day in communion with God. Six years later he escaped and returned to Britain. After a time of theological study, Patrick felt the Lord's call to return to Ireland as a missionary to his captors. 

Despite strong opposition from both the Irish and his Christian contemporaries back home, Patrick speaks of “thousands” converted through his ministry, including sons and daughters of Irish kings, from the worship of “idols and filthy things.” This success came from Patrick's deep understanding of what Scripture teaches regarding missions and a steadfast dedication to his work. 

Patrick's work firmly planted the Christian faith in Irish soil and left a deep imprint on the Celtic church that would grow up from this soil.

Read the rest here.

Don't Follow Your Heart

Jon Bloom:

“Follow your heart” is a creed embraced by billions of people. It’s a statement of faith in one of the great pop cultural myths of the Western world; a gospel proclaimed in many of our stories, movies, and songs. 

 

Essentially, it’s a belief that your heart is a compass inside of you that will direct you to your own true north if you just have the courage to follow it. It says that your heart is a true guide that will lead you to true happiness if you just have the courage to listen to it. The creed says that you are lost and your heart will save you. 

 

This creed can sound so simple and beautiful and liberating. For lost people it’s a tempting gospel to believe. 

 

Is This the Leader You Want to Follow?

Until you consider that your heart has sociopathic tendencies. Think about it for a moment. What does your heart tell you? 

 

Please don’t answer. Your heart has likely said things today that you would not wish to repeat. I know mine has. My heart tells me that all of reality ought to serve my desires. My heart likes to think the best of me and worst of others — unless those others happen to think well of me, then they are wonderful people. But if they don’t think well of me, or even if they just disagree with me, well then, something is wrong with them. And while my heart is pondering my virtues and others’ errors, it can suddenly find some immoral or horribly angry thought very attractive.

Read the rest of this excellent article here at Desiring God.

Meet an Unlikely Convert

Take a look at the testimony of Rosaria Butterfield:

We’re all unlikely converts. Nobody who is dead in sin and full of contempt for their Creator has the pedigree that heaven requires. But Jesus came to save sinners. He busts open coffins and gives God-haters new, beating hearts full of love for him. Every conversion is miraculous, and every conversion is unlikely. 

 

But, on the surface at least, some appear less likely than others. Such is the testimony of Rosaria Butterfield. From lesbian to pastor’s wife, from anti-Christian researcher to Christ-exalting author, Butterfield’s Saul-to-Paul transformation is no more costly (or likely) than yours or mine . . . but it may be more obvious.

 Watch the videos here of Rosaria's testimony.

Reading and Recently Read

With new books for Christmas, I have quite a few books I've read (or am reading) and enjoyed (or am currently enjoying).

Amazing Grace by Eric Metaxas - I've only just begun this one, but Metaxas (author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy) continues his masterful tradition of the biography in Amazing Grace, the story of famed British abolitionist, William Wilberforce. I have enjoyed Metaxas' rich writing and the insight into Wilberforce's life and am sure to enjoy the rest.

The Christian World of The Hobbit by Devin Brown - I want to finish reading this one before I go see the last Hobbit movie. I've enjoyed Brown's thoughts so far and the themes he distinguishes in The Hobbit, though I have been less than captivated by his writing style. It is somewhat dry and I find him quoting others so heavily that it is occasionally difficult to discern his own thoughts. Nevertheless, it's an interesting read for those who have read and enjoyed The Hobbit.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - I had wanted to read this one for quite a bit and finally bought the 60th Anniversary Edition with some Christmas money. What a startling, emotional, deep, and clever book this was. Set in a futuristic earth, books are banned and now firefighters start fires (to burn down houses with illegal books) instead of putting them out. Fahrenheit 451 (the degree at which the books burn) follows the story of one firefighter who discovers the reason that the government is so afraid of books and decides to stand against it.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville - Theologian R.C Sproul calls this the one novel that every Christian should consider reading. When our family when on vacation last autumn, I actually picked up a beautiful blue bound copy of it and now have embarked upon reading this American epic. I am so glad I did. Rife with theological undertones and allusions and rich with literary merit, I have been captivated by Moby Dick.

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt - I am a major children't lit lover and Schmidt is hands down my favourite children's novelist. His book, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy is one of the best books I've ever read, and The Wednesday Wars one of my all-time favourite children's novels. Okay for Now is a sort-of sequel to The Wednesday Wars, headlining a minor character from the prequel. Set in the sixties about a boy with an abusive father and a bully for one brother and a battered Vietnam vet for another brother and art for a dream, Okay for Now is a superb insight into the era, and the perspective is both funny and enlightening.

Institutes on the Christian Religion by John Calvin, translated by Henry Beveridge - Dad and I started this in September and are reading through it in a year. I can easily say that this is one of the most formative theological works that I have ever read. Calvin is a master wordsmith and a brilliant teacher. He is surprisingly readable (while a part of this may be due to Beveridge's excellent translation, Calvin himself is not an "above the head" writer). It's a lengthy book but worth it all.

What are you reading?

Do You Have the Christmas Spirit?

When we think of the carelessly-used phrase, "Christmas spirit," I imagine that most of us think of a reformed Scrooge. We think of someone who loves the holidays, someone who is cheery, full of Christmas carols, smiles, and candy canes. But that's not exactly an appropriate definition for a Christian. For a Christian, the Christmas spirit is something different. See how J.I. Packer explains it:

We talk glibly of the "Christmas spirit," rarely meaning more by this than sentimental jollity on a family basis. But what we have said makes it clear the phrase should in fact carry a tremendous weight of meaning. It ought to mean the reproducing in human lives of the temper of him who for our sakes became poor at the first Christmas And the Christmas spirit itself ought to be the mark of every Christian all the year round. ...

The Christmas spirit does not shine out in the Christian snob. For the Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor - spending and being spent - to enrich their fellow men, giving time, trouble, care, and concern, to do good to others - and not just their own friends - in whatever way there seems need. There are not as many who show this spirit as there should be. If God in mercy revives us, one of the things he will do will be to work of this spirit in our hearts and lives.

-- J.I. Packer, "For Your Sakes He Became Poor" in Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus ed. by Nancy Guthrie, pp. 71-72

Happy Reformation Day

"[Today] much of the culture will be focused on candy and things that go bump in the night. Protestants, however, have something far more significant to celebrate on October 31." - Robert Rothwell

Indeed we do. It's Reformation Day, a time that we remember an October 31 almost five hundred years ago, in 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the church door and began the world-shaking Protestant Reformation. Below are some articles, free resources, quotes, and encouragement about Reformation Day. 

What is Reformation Day All About? - "(W)hat is the significance of Reformation Day, and how should we consider the events it commemorates?"

A Quote from Calvin on Why God Raised up Luther - John Calvin wrote this a mere twenty-six years after the first Reformation Day had happened and its already massive effects had started to play out. 

The Light Shines on All-Hallows' Eve - Even if we went to the television stations, the radios, the malls, and the schools and told them it was Reformation Day, culture isn't going to let us forget that today is Halloween. Jon Bloom writes about modern Halloween and our celebration of Reformation Day. 

Reformation Then and Now, Here and There - How is the Protestant Reformation commemorated in other cultures? Are the ideas of the Reformation dying out of our western culture? Here's a look at the Reformation's influences over different cultures today.

Is the Reformation Over? - But perhaps you're simply wondering, what is the big deal? Don't Catholics and Protestants pretty much believe the same thing? In several concise categories, Kevin DeYoung explains exactly what we disagree on, from salvation and the sacraments to Scripture and Mary.

Free Reformation Day Resources - Until midnight tonight, Ligonier Ministries is offering two online studies, three e-books, and an audiobook free. All of these resources pertain to the Protestant Reformation. Don't miss out!

Fly Beyond the Stars: Christians and Imagination

Imagination is of central importance to the thinking, believing, growing Christian. Francis Schaeffer said, "The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars," as if saying Christians should have stronger, brighter imaginations than non-Christians. C.S Lewis too saw its importance, emphasizing its necessity in the process of understanding meaning behind truth. “For me, reason is the natural organ of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning. Imagination, producing new metaphors or revivifying old, is not the cause of truth, but its condition.”

Imagination is a mental practice of creativity, creating something that is not wholly present in reality (i.e., a story world like Middle Earth or Narnia) or creating images or solutions or new things in your mind. Imagination is how you use your mind to internalize wonder and perceive reality in a more powerful way through creativity.

Christians don't talk a lot about imagination and wonder. We talk about rules and leave the "i-word" to the kids and the English professors. But the Christian life is one of immense, unlimited imagination and wonder.

God has created each human with the capacity for creativity, in His likeness, but as Christians, the blinders have been taken off the glasses through which we view the world. Though non-Christians can create good art and use their imaginations, they have a flawed perception of reality. Only Christians can see the whole story of the world - the dark, dark brokenness and the beauty of redemption and the anticipation of restoration. Only they can see the world and all its dirtiness and goodness through the lens of the work of Christ. Only they can see good and evil for what they are and the bold black lines that divide them.

Furthermore, the gospel itself inspires our awe and our wonder. We can marvel at the glories of the cross and our secured redemption. The Bible also inspires our imagination, though with this we must be very careful to not violate Scripture.  Yet there are distinct portions of Scripture that God actually gives to "fire up our imagination," as Randy Alcorn says; for example, heaven.

"We cannot anticipate or desire what we cannot imagine. That’s why, I believe, God has given us glimpses of Heaven in the Bible—to fire up our imagination and kindle a desire for Heaven in our hearts. And that’s why Satan will always discourage our imagination—or misdirect it to ethereal notions that violate Scripture. ... I believe that God expects us to use our imagination, even as we recognize its limitations and flaws. If God didn’t want us to imagine what Heaven will be like, he wouldn’t have told us as much about it as he has." (Randy Acorn, Heaven, Ch.II)

We can use our imaginations when we read of the glorious depictions of the New Heaven and New Earth in Revelation and stretch our imaginations as far as we can by thinking about how good and better it will be there. When God gives us rich descriptions in the Bible, like the banquet in Esther or some of the prophets' visions, we are meant to imagine the mental picture the words were written to conjure. When Ezekiel stands in the valley of dry bones, don't yawn. Thrust yourself in that valley of bones with him! See the horror and the death and then realize the wonder of new life.

Our imagination is not a distraction to our Christian walk but a tool that God has equipped us with to create and to fuel wonder. Read good books, look at good art, make shapes in the clouds, appreciate the stars, love beauty, immerse yourself in studying the Scriptures, and stretch your imagination. Wonder at God's creation, be creative, use imagination to add meaning to truth, and stretch it beyond the stars - for the glory of God.

Live While We're Young: Why One Direction and Jonathan Edwards Disagree

Clearly One Direction and Jonathan Edwards have very different ideas of what it means to "live while we're young." One Direction sang a song about it back in 2012, laying out in pretty gritty detail their own definition. To truly live, they sang, involves lots of partying, lots of all-nighters, lots of girls, lots of independence, few responsibilities, and lots and lots of fun.

Hey girl, I'm waitin' on ya, I'm waitin' on ya
Come on and let me sneak you out
And have a celebration, a celebration
The music up, the windows down 

Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the sun
I know we only met but let's pretend it's love
And never, never, never stop for anyone
Tonight let's get some
And live while we're young

These band members sang these lyrics as they partied and toured Europe while they were the same age as Jonathan Edwards was when he was penning out 70 Resolutions in a quiet New England town. Edwards too desired to live while he was young. One of his resolutions was this:

I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age.

Edwards knew that youth is an exciting and important time to do things and go places that you can't when you get older. He knew that youth have many opportunities to really live. But he and 1D have two starkly different definitions of what "to live" means. Edwards' first resolution explained his meaning - and it included neither partying, nor lots of girls.

Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad’s of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.

Edwards said that living while we're young means pursuing God's glory and others' good. This was a man who thought deeply and, realizing the futility of earthly pleasures, sought after eternal things. He refused to throw away his youth in useless pursuits. Comparing he and One Direction, there is no question in my mind who really lived while they were young.

One Direction was proud to sing:

Hey girl, it's now or never, it's now or never
Don't over-think, just let it go
And if we get together, yeah, get together
Yeah, we'll be doing what we do
Just pretending that we're cool

One day, they will look back and see what they spent their youth on. Meanwhile, Jonathan Edwards passionately pursued Christ and the glory of God throughout his youth. In eternity, he will be bountifully rewarded for that.

"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." (1 Tim. 4:12)

Learning Contentment in the Saviour's School

This poem by William Cowper both convicts and encourages me. May we look to Christ for contentment every day.

Fierce passions discompose the mind,
As tempests vex the sea,
But calm, content and peace we find,
When, Lord, we turn to Thee.

In vain by reason and by rule
We try to bend the will;
For none but in the Saviour's school
Can learn the heavenly skill.

Since at His feet my soul has sate,
His gracious words to hear,
Contented with my present state,
I cast on Him my care.

"Art thou a sinner, soul?" He said,
"Then how canst thou complain?
How light thy troubles here, if weigh'd
With everlasting pain!

"If thou of murmuring wouldst be cured,
Compare thy griefs with mine!
Think what my love for thee endured,
And thou wilt not repine.

"'Tis I appoint thy daily lot,
And I do all things well;
Thou soon shalt leave this wretched spot,
And rise with me to dwell.

"In life my grace shall strength supply,
Proportion'd to thy day;
At death thou still shalt find me nigh,
To wipe thy tears away."

Thus I, who once my wretched days
In vain repinings spent,
Taught in my Saviour's school of grace,
Have learnt to be content.

-- "Contentment" by William Cowper (1731-1800)

Image Credit: http://professional-tutors.org.uk/images/demo/classroom.jpg 

Everything is Theological

In Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin referred to the world as "a theatre for the display of the divine goodness, wisdom, justice, and power" of God. If the world is God's stage, then we, those who live and work and sleep on the stage, operate within the framework of the theatre. So we live in a theatre that displays and works for the glory, greatness, and power of God. As Maltbie D. Babcock wrote,

This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget/
That though the wrong seems oft so strong/
God is the ruler yet.

And so we live in a theological playhouse, a world of God. Therefore, there is no option for the Christian to not be a theologian. We, in the likeness of our Creator, are theological beings. We were made to know God. For through him, we know ourselves and the rest of the world. And so not only is everyone a theologian, but everything suddenly becomes theological. Where we choose to go for supper becomes theological. The walk to the park is theological. Life and all of its facets, down to the seemingly inconsequential, become theological.

But perhaps Adam4d can explain it better:

Growing in Grace: March 2014

When God Says Wait - "The life of faith involves the miracle of seeing above your circumstances. It means we grasp the unseen that’s been promised, that we orient our lives in the time at hand, on the yet to come."

God Gives Me More Than I Can Handle - Yes. That's all I can say.

George Whitefield's Love for Christ and Sinners - "George Whitefield’s intense passion was kindled by his own deepening love for God and Jesus Christ, which in turn ignited his compassion for lost sinners. Biographer Joseph Belcher described Whitefield as being 'fired with love, from being in habitual contact with the cross.'"

Who Was St. Patrick? - Well, he wasn't Irish, he didn't cast out snakes, and he probably didn't use the shamrock to illustrate the Trinity. Who was he then?

10 Reasons Joy Brings Christ to Our Culture - "How can Christians help their neighbors live more like God wants and resist the decay of our culture? One of the most important ways is by helping them encounter the joy of God."

Dear Future Mom - This Friday is World Down Syndrome Day. This little video crushes the idea that kids with Down Syndrome can't have happy lives.

The Emperor's New Prayer Robe - Have you ever wondered why so many books promising a revolutionized prayer life end up on Christian best-seller lists? Perhaps the answer is not as nice as we would like.

Can God Really Be Happy? - "Do you think of God as mainly happy or mad? How you think about God will effect how you relate to him. If he’s mainly disappointed, you’ll avoid him because of shame and insecurity. If he’s too busy, you won’t want to bother him. If he’s angry, you’ll stay away because of fear. But what would happen in your life if you knew that God was happy?"

17 Famous Literary Characters Almost Named Something Else - These are hilarious! Who knew Tiny Tim could have been Little Larry, or that Sherlock Holmes could have been Sherringford Holmes?

Want to Know What it Feels Like to Have Autism? - I never before understood exactly what autistic people have to go through. This video gives you just a glimpse. And on a much lighter note from the same source, check out this Infographic of Past Winning Oscar Dresses.

Cowper, God, and Poetry: Part 4

Afflictions Sanctified by the Word is the final poem in this short series on William Cowper's gospel-centred poetry. Like God Moves in a Mysterious Way, it speaks of suffering, but a different kind. It speaks of the suffering that God uses through His Word to bring correction and salvation. It's a heavy poem, but for the Christian, one of great encouragement! 

Oh how I love Thy holy Word,
Thy gracious covenant, O Lord!
It guides me in the peaceful way;
I think upon it all the day.

What are the mines of shining wealth,
The strength of youth, the bloom of health!
What are all joys compared with those
Thine everlasting Word bestows! 

Cowper begins with a declaration of where he is now. He loves the goodness of the Word of God, the grace it gives him, and the peace it guides him in. The way that it consumes his mind echoes David's cry in Psalm 119:97, "Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day." Then Cowper goes on to contrast the worldly joys that people put their hope in, material things like wealth, or the fast-fading "strength of youth, [or] the bloom of health!" None of those seemingly great things even come close to the everlasting joy the Word of God gives. It's here where Cowper moves from where he is now to where he once was ...

Long unafflicted, undismay'd,
In pleasure's path secure I stray'd;
Thou mad'st me feel thy chast'ning rod,
And straight I turned unto my God.

What though it pierced my fainting heart,
I bless'd Thine hand that caused the smart:
It taught my tears awhile to flow,
But saved me from eternal woe. 

This could be argued about whether Cowper's referring to God's one-time saving conviction, or the multiple chastisements over the believer's life. I tend to lean toward the latter. This is written almost like a mini-testimony. Cowper was pursuing the pleasures of the world, and God "mad'st [him] feel thy chast'ning rod/and straight [he] turned unto [his] God." So Cowper rejoiced! For the pain that he felt at the punishment was nothing compared to the "eternal woe" or damnation that would have occurred if God had left him in sin. Cowper still had to make the decision, but when faced with a sovereign God, there was only one decision Cowper could make.

Oh! hadst Thou left me unchastised,
Thy precepts I had still despised;
And still the snare in secret laid
Had my unwary feet betray'd.

I love Thee, therefore, O my God,
And breathe towards Thy dear abode;
Where, in Thy presence fully blest,
Thy chosen saints for ever rest.

Again Cowper springs into praise to God for conviction of sin and changing his heart to love the Word. But it is how Cowper ends the poem that I really love. He's touched on topics of God's wrath and love, His punishment and peace, the Word of God and worldly pursuits, but now he says Wait. Stop and don't dwell on past sin anymore. Look to eternity. If you get blinded by the joys of the world, if you get tired and restless and careworn, "breathe towards [God's] dear abode" where one day all of His saints will "for ever rest." Don't live a life bent by the material and temporal. Live a life of joy found in the hope to come. 

Revelation 21:3-4:

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Cowper, God, and Poetry: Part 3

Apparently Cowper saw a desperate problem in his time that still pervades our society today - an abuse of the gospel and the grace that it gives. People claim to love the Word of God, sing it, read it, and even preach it, but their hearts are far from it. Their hypocrisy struck Cowper and out of his musings came his poem, Abuse of the Gospel.

Too many, Lord, abuse Thy grace
In this licentious day,
And while they boast they see Thy face,
They turn their own away.

Thy book displays a gracious light
That can the blind restore;
But these are dazzled by the sight,
And blinded still the more. 

The format of the poem is a prayer, a mourning cry to God. Cowper begins with highlighting the hypocrisy of the day and the licentiousness, or lawlessness, that abounds. People claim to love the law of God but are not constrained by it. They say that they see God's face, but they're really turning "their own away." The second stanza is a picture of the work of the Word of God, using this metaphor of light. The Word displays a light that can both transform and blind, and you can see Cowper's literary skill come out. It is a light that transforms the blind but blinds those who think they're transformed. The power is not in the interpretation of the Word, insists Cowper, but the Word itself.

The pardon such presume upon,
They do not beg but steal;
And when they plead it at Thy throne,
Oh! where's the Spirit's seal?

Was it for this, ye lawless tribe,
The dear Redeemer bled?
Is this the grace the saints imbibe
From Christ the living head? 

Next Cowper paints a picture of the hypocrites approaching God with their stolen grace, a badly disfigured replica. You get a taste of Matthew 7:23 here, when the self-deceived try to shoulder their way into the Kingdom with good deeds, and Jesus says to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." What perhaps may seem cold is really just justice, though a painful justice, the result of a life wasted on selfish pursuits.

But then in Stanza 4, you get a beautiful picture of grace. The truly saved are the "lawless tribe" but have been saved by the Redeemer's blood. And we absorb "grace/From Christ the living head." Left to our own vanity and pride, we will deceive ourselves by our hypocrisy, but when Christ redeems a soul, grace is imbibed.

Ah, Lord, we know Thy chosen few
Are fed with heavenly fare;
But these, -- the wretched husks they chew,
Proclaim them what they are.

The liberty our hearts implore
Is not to live in sin;
But still to wait at Wisdom's door,
Till Mercy calls us in.

Now Cowper appears to take a spin on another well-known passage, the "you will know a tree by its fruit" from Matthew 12:33, except he uses what they eat instead of what they bloom. Their heart's loyalty is shown pretty evidently from what overflows out of their heart, he says. Do they feast on the "heavenly fare" or are they content to chew "the wretched husks"? Do their deeds bear good fruit or rotten fruit?

Cowper ends the poem with a call to holy living, to forsake sin, to embrace wisdom, and to wait eagerly for the final call of mercy. At the beginning of the stanza, Cowper highlights what the power is that gives us strength to do those things - "the liberty of our hearts," or the freedom in Christ.

This poem may seem tough and offensive and cold and loveless, but I plead with you to read it again and see that it's not. This is Cowper's prayer, and my guess is that it hurt him just as much to write it as it does us to read it. For it's a dark commentary on the times we live in and the sin that abounds. Let this be our wake-up call to never forsake preaching the gospel, loving, telling, showing, doing, being - in everything. Let no one say to us, "You left me deceived," so that Christ will say to them, "I never knew you."