The Good Portion

Be Still My Soul Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side; Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain; Leave to thy God to order and provide; In ev'ry change he faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heav'nly Friend Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end. Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake To guide the future as he has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below. Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart, And all is darkened in the vale of tears, Then shalt thou better know his love, his heart, Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears. Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay From his own fullness all he takes away. Be still, my soul: the hour is hast'ning on When we shall be for ever with the Lord, When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, Sorrow forgot, love...

The Purpose of that Baby in the Manger Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb ...

I apologize for the late timing of this announcement, but the decision was only arrived at yesterday morning, and I've been caught up in a flurry of activity since.  Yesterday morning found the hostess of our meeting sick in bed and my own mother in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.  Another of our Chico group has, within the last week, given birth to a first-born son. Under the circumstances and with Christmas just around the corner, I've decided to put our study on hold until the first Monday of the New Year.  Lord willing things will have settled a bit so that we can once again focus on our reading.  My apologies for those following along on-line, but I must consider the ladies in my own fellowship of first priority in these decisions.  Accept my thanks in advance for your patience.

As I announced last week, my dear and gifted husband is hosting a reading group on his blog   of the "10 Essential Penguin Classics"   Dutiful wife that I am, I'm doing my best to read along. This is the second and final installment of our first reading together, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck.  You may read my thoughts on the first installment here . There are two events which occur early in the story, which set the tone for and inform the events that follow - or perhaps there are three: The dead mouse in Lennie's hand in the opening scene, the putting down of Candy's loyal and beloved dog by the self-serving and uncaring Carlson, and, though this may just be an extension of hints from the dead mouse, there's Curly's crushed hand.  There's been some discussion within our group of the use of foreshadowing, that it can be abused; but the consensus among us seems to be that Steinbeck used it well. I would say, when used rightly, or in this case...

(This week we continue our reading together of the Jonathan Edwards' classic, Charity and Its Fruits. We have just concluded the reading of the "Application" portion of Lecture Two. We will continue with the "Doctrine" portion of Lecture Two in next week's reading. This is the pattern we will be using for the entirety of the reading. The notes below will follow Edwards' own outline directly, with all direct quotes from the text in italics. My goal is to make each post edifying on its own, even for those who are not reading along with us. I will welcome your questions or comments in the form below.)  Our study group in Chico is undergoing some growing pains.  One of our participants just gave birth to her first child this weekend!  Amid the flurry such an event inevitably causes among a small group of women, our study for this week was again postponed. Rather than keep our on-line participants on hold for a second consecutive week, however, I've...

Well, this is a definite deviation from the usual bent of my blog, but perhaps you won't mind.  My wonderfully ambitious husband is hosting a reading group on his blog   of the "10 Essential Penguin Classics" (Penguin, as in the publisher, not the cute tuxedoed bird, or the Batman villain). Being, as always, the dutiful wife I'll be doing my best to read along.  I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I may still have to draw the line at the Greek dramas which I've hated since, well, since they foisted them on me in my freshman year of high school. We shall see. The first we are reading in this series is Of Mice and Men , by John Steinbeck.  I should start by saying, his book East of Eden has long been among my top five favorite works of fiction. I first read it in high school, wrote a paper on it in college, and have read it at least twice since.  I've read Of Mice and Men before, at least once, but not within the last decade.  I've also read Canne...

It's been a couple of weeks since I reached the end of Through Gates of Splendor , by Elisabeth Elliot. I was tremendously moved by the story, but perhaps even more so by the second Epilogue, written in honor of the 40th anniversary of the martyrdom of Elisabeth's husband, Jim. Four decades later her reflections are helpful, her wisdom profound. Until reading this book the version of these events which I carried about in my head were along these lines: Jim and his fellow missionaries went to Ecuador with a passion for a certain tribe. They went; they landed; they were massacred; their widows bravely ventured back toward the murderous tribe and when the killers saw the forgiveness of these women they repented and turned to Christ. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church" is a maxim proven yet again. I liked that version. It was clean and it made a certain sense. But the actual events were not so neat and tidy, not in the events leading up to the massacre, ...

Today is the day I would usually post an overview of our latest reading in Charity and Its Fruits, but illness in our Chico study group (keep Rachel in your prayers as she's been in bed for days now) has led to the cancellation our study for this week.  But rather than leave this page blank, I'd like to take this opportunity to elaborate on a discussion we had during our last meeting. In the doctrine portion of Lecture Two, one of Edwards' points is that though the "extraordinary gifts" (what we would call spiritual gifts or charismata, particularly prophecy, tongues, miracles and the like) are great privileges, the ordinary influence of the Spirit (the fruit of the spirit, which are summed up in love) is far more excellent.  In explaining the reasons for this superiority, he made a point which some of us found difficult to wrap our minds around and which led to a fairly lengthy discussion:  Unlike extraordinary gifts, the "This blessing of the saving gr...

In the five years since my conversion, I've listened to countless lectures and read many articles and books rehearsing the lives of "heroes" of the faith, some of whom died martyrs, others who lived for Christ and died natural deaths. Lectures and shorter writings in particular tended to highlight great accomplishments, moments of agonized bravery, and unmistakable turns of divine providence - inspiring and motivational fare. Early on in my Christian life I would listen to such lectures one after another, amazed by great works accomplished and great influence achieved, wondering all along if such godliness and success could come out of my life, if there was anything in the lives of these notable figures that I could hope to emulate. Eventually I moved on to reading full biographies and was faced with something I seemed by-and-large to have missed before - these men were really sinners.  These great ones of the faith sometimes made horrible decisions based upon sinful a...

(This week we continue our reading together of the Jonathan Edwards' classic, Charity and Its Fruits. We have just concluded the reading of the "Doctrine" portion of Lecture Two. We will continue with the "Application" portion of Lecture Two in next week's reading. This is the pattern we will be using for the entirety of the reading. The notes below will follow Edwards' own outline directly, with all direct quotes from the text in italics. My goal is to make each post edifying on its own, even for those who are not reading along with us. I will welcome your questions or comments in the form below.)  Charity and Its Fruits Lecture II. Part One Charity More Excellent Than the Extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all fa...

Just a little something I can't get out of my head I'll share it with you before I go to bed.   Nearer My God to Thee Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me; Still all my song shall be nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! Chorus Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down, Darkness be over me, my rest a stone; Yet in my dreams I'd be nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! Chorus There let the way appear steps unto heav'n; All that Thou sendest me in mercy giv'n; Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! Chorus Then with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise, Out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise; So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! Chorus Or if on joyful wing, cleaving the sky, Sun, moon, and sta...

Perhaps you'll recall from a previous post that I'm currently reading Elisabeth Elliot's book, Through Gates of Splendor , the story of the mission and martyrdom of her husband Jim and his co-workers in Ecuador in 1956.  In that entry I shared a quote from Jim Elliot.  Today I'd like to share some thoughts from his fellow missionary, pilot Nate Saint. At the age of thirteen, during the forced inactivity of a bout of osteomyelitis, the young Christian first wondered if perhaps God was calling him to be a missionary. Upon recovery and renewed vitality, however, it appears that notion fell by the wayside as he pursued his other passion -  flight, eventually becoming an Air Force cadet.  Nate was on course to be an Air Force pilot until, on the eve of his first day of flight instruction, once again his osteomyelitis grounded him. His dream of becoming a military pilot would never be realized.  His new position was that of maintenance crew chief.  In his de...

Charity and Its Fruits (This week we continue our reading together of the Jonathan Edwards' classic, Charity and Its Fruits. We have just concluded the reading of the "Application" portion of Lecture 1. We will continue with the "Doctrine" portion of Lecture Two in next week's reading. This is the pattern we will be using for the entirety of the reading. The notes below will follow Edwards' own outline directly, with my commentary inserted in green. My goal is to make each post edifying on its own, even to those who are not reading along with us. I will welcome your questions or comments in the form below.) Application In the application of this subject , we may use it in the way of self-examination, instruction, and exhortation. And, 1. In view of it, let us examine ourselves, and see if we have the spirit which it enjoins.... "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves who...

I've recently begun reading Elisabeth Elliot's book, Through Gates of Splendor , the story of the mission and martyrdom of her husband Jim and his co-workers in Ecuador in 1956.  Less than 50 pages in, I can already say that I'm finding myself impressed and inspired.  I may find more to share here in the future, but for now I'd like to leave you with just one quote. In 1950 Jim came to the conclusion that God was calling him to Ecuador, to bring the Gospel to the Aucas, a tribe dreaded by all who knew of them, and who had murdered the last missionary who had dared approach them - 200 years prior.  Upon learning of his decision, concerned family and friends hoped to convince him that he might be of better use here in the United States, "where so many know so little of the Bible's real message." To these objections he replied: "I dare not stay home while Quichuas perish.  What if the well-filled church in the homeland need stirring?  They have the ...

Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith’s door, And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime; Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor Old hammers, worn with beating years of time. “How many anvils have you had,” said I, “To wear and batter all these hammers so?” “Just one,” said he, and then with twinkling eye, “The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.” And so, thought I, the anvil of God’s Word, For ages skeptic blows have beat upon; Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard, The anvil is unharmed – the hammers gone. Author Unknown (Thanks for sharing this, Andy. )

In my previous meditation in this series I began examining the reasons, from the perspective of Scripture, that "the testimony of creation, as overwhelming and magnificent as it is, has not proven sufficient to bring people to God," asking, "Why has creation not proven a testimony sufficient to elicit praise for God from all mankind?"  I chose to focus on what I consider to be the two over-arching reasons - the glory of God, and the sin of mankind - and began with the more obvious of the two - the sin of man. Within a day or two of publishing those thoughts this question was posed by a friend of mine on Facebook: "How would you answer a seeker's question: Why didn't God make humans perfect to start with?"  My first thought, of course, was "He did".  But it seemed fairly obvious that was not really what he was getting at. Rather what he seemed to be asking was the bigger question, "Why did God make man capable of sin?"  Hoping ...