The power of Words

Officially, the journey begins!

Yesterday, Jeff and Brooke officially began a journey which, in actuality began years ago.

Yesterday they sealed their commitment to one another in the presence of God and before their friends and family.

Jeff and Brooke took Vows.

For far too many folk today, Vows are words without meaning; without an associated commitment.

It is my distinct pleasure to recognize and know, in the case of these two individuals, words have meaning and power. They have Vowed before God and their friends and family to love and honor one another “…til death they do part…”.

There is something in the marrow of my being which tells me, in the case of these two, their“yes” will; be “yes”, regardless.

Some words do have power.

Sigh

Another holiday catches me off guard!

Father's Day.

Since when do we need to be rewarded with a Day for simply doing what one is supposed to do?

Give me a break!

I was taught from my earliest days that living up to one's responsibilities was to be expected, not rewarded.

We reward/acknowledge the unusual demonstrations of personal responsibility.

Sigh.

Finally

For months I have been plagued with locating a John Stott citation on a March 18 blog.

A few moments ago, Eureka! Or, in the phrase of CCC back in the 70s, "I Found It"!

Christian Mission In The Modern World. Page 17 in the 1974 edition.

Now my mind can rest easy!

Good Advice To Readers

“We need intimate knowledge of the past… something to set against the present, to remind us that the basic assumptions have been quite different in different periods. A man who has lived in many places is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village… and is in some degree immune from the great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press.”  C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, seventh edition, 1977), pp. 50-51.

 “It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between,” he noted. “The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of history blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books.”  http://www.doggieheadtilt.com/immunization-shots/

 

An unholy hole!

The Hole In Our Gospel, Richard Stearns, Thomas Nelson.

 The President of World Vision has written a mind-gripping, heart-engaging story of the staggering need among the poor of the world.  He has also reminded us of God’s sovereign preparation of a servant to lead an organization raised up to address such needs.  

God delights in taking the least of these to confound the mighty, while at the same time enlisting the mighty to minister to the least.

It was refreshing to read this book without being subjected to manipulation via the use of guilt and pity.   The facts speak for themselves.

 Oft times we are simply staggered by the magnitude of the challenge in comparison of what little we might be able to do!   The stories relating the impact of “…a cup of water in Jesus’ name…” immediately illustrate what can be done with even the widow’s mite.

I especially appreciated the absence of a Utopian scheme.  This is not to diminish the imperative to serve, but to enable us to maintain our balance.  The poor will always be with us…to serve as a thorn in our flesh!

As I neared the end of the book I thought, “Lord, we need a Lazarus laid at the feet of each of us!”

Ministries like World Vision are far more effective than governmental programs and surely deserve our support.

 

Valuable Tool

Christianity In Crisis-21st Century.

Much needed tool for the believer.  I give it five stars.

Not having read the earlier edition, I did not find this current volume too large.  The bibliography, chapter notes, scripture index, and numerous mnemonic devices make it a terrific resource for personal use along as well as assisting others subjected to this sort of theologically dangerous pap.

Hanegraaff is to be commended for his perseverance in documenting in reasonable detail this material.  For over forty years now, I haven’t had the stomach to endure listening to these supposed teachers for more than a few minutes without experiencing a driving need to regurgitate.  Yet their tribe continues to increase!  Might this not be a commentary on the state of Bible teaching in our churches, along with the absence of equipping the saint to study their Bible?

For those grounded in the word of God correctly handled, the patent foolishness of these teachers is readily apparent.  Sad to say, far too many are not adequately grounded nor handling the text correctly; hence they are susceptible to the “spin” and twisting of these false teachers.  It is here the Acronyms Hanegraaff presents are so helpful.

Eliphaz the Temanite condemned Job on the basis of what Job had said: surely Hanegraaff has demonstrated a similar indictment of these false teachers.

Kudos to Hanegraaff and his team.  May their tribe increase!

Love Worth The Wait

Sometime in the near future a book will appear with the above title.

The Author will be Sandy Weyeneth.

When it does, snatch it up.

It will be a terrific resource for singles trusting God for their future partner!

It is the personal chronicle of some friends of mine who believed God for their future and were willing to trust Him and His word!

By no stretcgh of the imagination am I a romantic, but this tale gripped me.  It even brought tears to my eyes!

As an FYI, it will be a terrific, pragmatic resource.