The Good Portion

As I believe I've mentioned before, I've decided to take a break from teaching in our church setting while I seek to grow for a while in my understanding of God's grace. I'm hoping for these truths to be more deeply established before I lead a group again. I had been scheduled to begin a new series this spring. The timing proved to be perfect for me to step back as there is another woman in our body who is gifted to teach whose time has come to step forward. Seeing God arranging all this is a great relief and comfort. It looks as if I won't be doing a study for six months or more. After that, if the Lord wills it, I intend to lead a study through Jonathan Edwards' Charity and It's Fruits. So, my point in bringing all this up is that my husband insists that during this interim I do some kind of study on my blog. He says he profits when I'm working on a study and would like for that to continue. So, my friends, do you have any suggestions? Is there a...

I feel like sharing a little more hope for sinners from C.H. Spurgeon "The way of loving trust in the Savior is illustrated by a lady who is the wife of the most eminent physician of the day. She is seized with a dangerous illness and is smitten down by its power. Yet, she is wonderfully calm and quiet because her husband has made this disease his special study and has healed thousands who were similarly afflicted. She is not in the least troubled, for she feels perfectly safe in the hands of one so dear to her and in whom skill and love are blended in their highest forms. Her faith is reasonable and natural; her husband, from every point of view, deserves it from her. This is the kind of faith which the happiest of believers exercise toward Christ. There is no physician like Him; none can save as He can. We love Him and He loves us. Therefore, we put ourselves into His hands, accept whatever He prescribes, and do whatever He bids. We feel that nothing can be wrongly ordere...

As much as I love my life - precious gift from God that it is - and my way of life, the truth is my lifestyle is my own, unique to me and my own family situation. You can't live the way I do, nor should you want to, nor should you try. You have your own dwelling place, likely very different than mine; your own husband (or wife - or lack thereof), in any case very different from mine; your own children (or none), your own parents, your own income level, your own degree of education, your own set of skills, your own manner of employment, your own besetting sins, your own history of suffering, your own shame, your own weakness, your own inability. I cannot ask you to do things my way, nor do I expect you to, nor do I encourage you to. Honestly, I can't see why you would want to. You've got your own life to live, and you answer to God for how you live it, not me. This is, in part, why I don't write much here about my lifestyle. I assure you that's not because I...

"There will be general lamentation, tearing of garments, and wailing, at the following statement, but it must be made. Spurgeon was not infallible. I will pause so that those currently experiencing shock, dismay and hopelessness, may recover their senses. Second amazing statement coming up. You can actually gain great edification from someone with whom you have disagreements. Again, a brief pause. It is a sign of maturity, in my opinion, to be able to analyze a writer of the past, thank God for his insights and testimony, while at the same time, recognizing differences of viewpoint and even belief. No one could turn a phrase like Spurgeon. The term "wordsmith" does not do him justice. The prince of preachers indeed. But I risk much to add that quite often the prince of preachers' exegesis of a particular text suffered in the service of over-all sermonic excellence. We all know that there are some great sermons out there that are exegetically atrocious. They seem t...

Dear Mr. Ehrman, I've lived the last four years as a Christian, with Christ as my hope and the Scriptures my guide. They have been the source of all hope, joy, and meaning in my life. They have instructed my thoughts and attitudes. My faith has made me the person I am today. I listened to your interview on NPR on Wednesday morning with great interest, and a degree of distress. I am a person devoted to truth. I can think of no fate worse than to learn I've based my entire life on a lie; and that appeared to be just what you were trying to tell me. You are a textual scholar. I am not; but am also not entirely ignorant of Biblical textual criticism. The rudiments of it were explained to me two decades ago in Bible college (back when, much like your younger self I was a professing fundamentalist who'd had a teenage so-called "born again" experience and wanted to become a Bible scholar). And I read on the subject here and there even now. So I listened to hea...

Here's a nice bit of satire for a Thursday. Lord willing I'll be posting a bit of my own tomorrow. Friends, I've missed you all, but have been too busy making ends meet the last couple of weeks to spend much time visiting. (Denise - if you haven't given up on me by now - I'm back to my old cell phone #. Hope you still have it. I'm hoping to get to talk to you tomorrow, Friday.) HT goes to Tim at www.challies.com

It seems appropriate that during this time which I've devoted to growing in my understanding of the love and grace of God for His people (and me), that I should be "interrupted" in my studies by the wedding of two of my dearest and most favorite people - Bryan and Rachel. Friday, during the time I would usually be blogging, I was working on their gift. Saturday, yesterday, was the long and much anticipated event. It was quite a day! Every once in a while, you meet a couple so perfectly suited to each other that you can't imagine an unsuccessful marriage. This is one of those couples. Another reason I think these two strike such a chord with me is that they remind me so much of me and Paul. Only in our case the husband is the free-spirit and the wife the straight-laced one. We've both benefited so much from each other, and learned so much from each other. I'm so excited to see these two do the same. Fortunately for the happy couple, my brother-in-law (our pasto...