Quote

I got this off Tim Challies' blog from one of his newest posts. It's from the book "The Religious Affections" by Jonathan Edwards. You can read the post here.

“A true saint, when in the enjoyment of true discoveries of the sweet glory of God and Christ, has his mind too much captivated and engaged by what he views without himself, to stand at that time to view himself, and his own attainments. It would be a diversion and loss which he could not bear, to take his eye off from the ravishing object of his contemplation, to survey his own experience, and to spend time in thinking with himself. What a high attainment this is, and what a good story I now have to tell others!”

New Theism

We are not called upon to make God plausible to the modern mind or the postmodern age. The God of the Bible cannot be accommodated to the secularist assumptions of so many modern people. The "God of our friends" fits easily into this modern secular framework and is easily received by a postmodern culture. The God of our friends neither wills nor acts.

In other words, only "the God of our fathers" can save.

Al Mohler has an excellent article, reflecting on Mitchell Silver's book, A Plausible God. Read the whole article here. It's a good reminder that we are called to communicate the truth in its entirety. As Mark Dever once said, where God has been clear and certain, we cannot choose to be uncertain. I pray that as we head out onto the campus this fall, God will give us all grace to speak of Him boldly, compassionately, and humbly.

Naturalism

I enjoyed reading this article. I found it in Justin Taylor's blog. If you want to understand the progression and some history on the rise of Naturalism then read ahead. It's pretty long but worth the time.

Birkett writes,

"The problem with an argument for God's existence based on the intricacy of the natural world is that it depends on the human's evaluation of how good the secondary cause are. If a human viewer decides that, actually, the secondary cause look pretty convincing on their own, then that person may well decide that there is no need for a first cause. The 'first cause' becomes not a cause at all, but an unnecessary speculation.

With William Paley, scientific theism was alive and well. It might seem that
God was firmly part of the understanding of the natural world. Paley's
argument, however, effectively restricted and reduced the role that the
creator was understood to have. What is a true statement of the Bible
(God has created a world in which parts work together ingeniously)
was turned around into an argument (we know God exists because we can
observe a world in which parts work together ingeniously)." Her later statement

which Birkett mentions paved the way for the naturalistic view point held today by many.

At the Clash we learned that God needs to be the foundation which you build the rest of your "house of knowledge". This articles helps to reaffirm this. We begin with God when trying to understand the world, not the other way around or else our foundation will crumble.

Click here to read the rest.

Thabiti and NA

"We’re all theologians. We’re either good or bad, hungry or lazy, grudging or joyful, accurate or sloppy theologians. But we are theologians. And I hope Healthy Member encourages the average Christian to not be afraid of the word “theologian,” to embrace it as their new birthright, and to take some practical steps in deepening their knowledge of God. For it’s as we know God more deeply, that our daily lives are changed more radically."

Read the whole thing here.

Frozen in Grand Central

This looks fun.

Awareness Test

Fun test, check it out. Click here

Reflections from Don't Waste Your Life

The normal Christian life is one that boasts only in the cross—the blazing center of God’s glory—and does it while bearing the cross. “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). Bearing the cross is the means by which we are increasingly liberated to boast in the cross. Suffering is God’s design in this sin-soaked world (Romans 8:20). It portrays sin’s horror for the world to see. It punishes sin’s guilt for those who do not believe in Christ. It breaks sin’s power for those who take up their cross and follow Jesus. And because sin in the belittling of the all-satisfying glory of God, the suffering that breaks its power is a severe mercy. Whatever makes us more and more able to enjoy making much of God is mercy. For there is no greater joy than joy in the greatness of God. And if we must suffer to see this and savor it most deeply, then suffering is a mercy. And Christ’s call to take up our cross and join him on the Calvary road is love (Piper, 62).

Do you see suffering as mercy? Too often, I don’t. I pursue the hassle free, comfortable, and easy path. In John Piper’s words, I adopt the avoidance ethic. “One of the marks of this peacetime mind-set is what I call an avoidance ethic…In peacetime we tend to ask, What can I do to be more comfortable? To have more fun? To avoid trouble and, possibly, avoid sin? If we are going to pay the price and take the risks it will cost to make people glad in God, we move beyond the avoidance ethic. This way of life is utterly inadequate to waken people to the beauty of Christ. Avoiding fearful trouble and forbidden behaviors impresses almost no one. The avoidance ethic by itself is not Christ-commending or God-glorifying. There are many discipline unbelievers who avoid the same behaviors Christians do. Jesus calls us to something far more radical than that” (Piper, 118).

Jeff Purswell also spoke about this at the Clash. Living for Christ is not just about avoiding sin. It’s about devoting our lives for the cause of the Kingdom. It’s about boasting only in the cross. It’s about risking everything for Christ. It’s about suffering for God’s glory. It’s about glorifying God by enjoying Him forever.

A friend of mine recently told me of an encounter she had with a 70-year-old woman. After sharing her life story, which involved devoting much of her life to a Christian school overseas, this woman said the following: “I have no regrets.”

What does it mean to live a life that is not wasted? What does it look like to finish the race well and be as the 70-year-old who can say that she has no regrets? Really, what does it mean to say with Paul, to live is Christ and to die is gain?

“We waste our lives when we do not pray and think and dream and plan and work toward magnifying God in all spheres of life” (Piper, 32). As I step into another academic year, I want to be aware of what it looks like practically to take up my cross, to boast only in the cross, and to live for Christ in all areas of my life.

CLASH 08!

During this past week, a few of us from Cov. Fellowship attended the Clash 08, a world view conference put on by Sovereign Grace Ministries. It included lectures from Dr. D.A. Carson, Dr. Iain Duguid, Jeff Purswell, and Nathan Sasser which laid a biblical foundation for reflections on philosophy, science, political theory, art, music, culture, vocation, apologetics, and more.

Getting to spend a week learning, thinking, and fellowshipping about God's word and the implications it has on us as Christians was well worth the time. Also, pastors were readily available to answer questions including the conference speakers. Here's a fun picture (that's Jeff Purswell in the middle).