Is He precious?

We all have our pet peeves and could bleat and scream and and snarl other people into listening. But I don't think the kingdom of Heaven is about my pet peeve. Or yours. Church history is full of Christians persecuting and being persecuted over peeves. Peripherals.

Baptism is not insignificant. Or the spiritual gifts. Or the regulative principle. Clothes, family, humanitarian efforts, social justice--all important.

But meaningless by themselves.

"Unto you that believe, he is precious." If you make doctrine the main thing, you are very likely to grow narrow-minded; if you make your own experience the main thing, you will become gloomy and censorious of others; if you make ordinance the main thing, you will be apt enough to grow merely formal; but you can never make too much of the living Christ Jesus. Remember that all things else are for his sake. Doctrines and ordinances are the planets, but Christ is the Sun; the stars of doctrine revolve around him as their great primal light. Get to love him best of all. Yea, I know you do, if ye are believing in him. You love the doctrines, and would not like to give one of them up, but still the incarnate God is the sum and substance of your confidence; Christ Jesus himself is precious to you.

Charles Spurgeon, A Sermon and a Reminiscence

I would like to stop talking about issues. Instead, may we talk about

-What is the Gospel?
-What did Jesus accomplish on the cross?
-Why did Jesus have to die?
-What is the work of the Holy Spirit?
-How may I be saved?
-How shall others be saved?
-How can I glorify God by my life?

This other stuff, this hugely important stuff, must be dealt with, but in its place. These other doctrines are means to knowing Him, to glorifying Him, to obeying Him, to telling others about Him, to living for His kingdom.

I don't want to waste my theology.

vulnerable

1. capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt, as by a weapon: a vulnerable part of the body.
2. open to moral attack, criticism, temptation, etc

Feeling vulnerable, in both senses, and calling my spirit to rest in Jesus' strength and sympathy, not in my own ability to overcome all obstacles. There is only one shield, which is the Lord's salvation, but maybe the puny walls of my fort have been sacked, like the forts of leaves that we built as kids. Leaves don't stand up to any kind of force, but once you've arranged them just so, it's cozy inside. And with some mud and then snow, and some sticks, leaf forts aren't so frail anymore, until you give them a good kick. And the snow melts, and the mud dries and crumbles, the sticks fall over, and the leaves disintegrate into the wind.

But the Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God and my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I AM saved from my enemies.

gold und silber

The Olympics are fascinating.

They are full of instruction on moral issues, to name a few: modesty, diligence, integrity, humility--and all their negatives. It's almost a shock to see where figure skating costumes have come since I was a little girl cuddling with my mom and sister, rooting for Victor Petrenko and Kristi Yamaguchi. Pairs skating and ice dancing are almost obscene. It's embarrassing to watch ice skating events in mixed company.

Diligence isn't always rewarded. Athletes work nonstop for their entire lives for Olympic medals--but someone always finishes last. Or fourth. And someone less talented than you or lazier than you could swoop in and easily win the gold. Just because you work hard doesn't mean you have earned or deserve a medal.

Integrity is required and mandated. Cheaters are not allowed to win...in theory. It would be interesting to see behind the scenes where no one knows to poke and see what sort of cheating, deceiving, and manipulating goes into Olympic preparations.

Humility is often feigned, but rarely practiced. How many athletes are brazen in their claims of self-determinism? Over and over come the claims that nothing can stop me, I can do anything, I'm in charge of my destiny. There's a heavy Invvictusly arrogant spirit that dwells in the heart of fallen man. We want to rebel against God and claim our independence. If we fail, it will be on our terms and in our way, whereas the truth is that our days have been ordained by God, and our talents and abilities are given to us by God. Athletes are athletes because of God's grace, when they could just as easily be paraplegics or klutzes or impoverished and without resources. The arrogance and self-credit with which most participants pat themselves on the back in either appreciation or sympathy is revolting to the Christian worldview.

The Olympics are helpful to me. Don't imitate.

theology matters

I'm supposed to blog here tomorrow about theology and why it is important.

And it is. I could wax eloquent for hours.

Except it's not coming. Feeling a little inadequate, a tendency to be a bit preachy and imperative. I'm a harsh writer and tend to be a little aggressive with absolute statements.

Tony Reinke blogged this quote this morning:

From Marilynne Robinson’s The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought (Picador, 2005), page 117:

“Good theology is always a kind of giant and intricate poetry, like epic or saga. It is written for those who know the tale already, the urgent messages and the dying words, and who attend to its retelling with a special alertness, because the story has a claim on them and they on it. … Theology is written for the small community of those who would think of reading it. So it need not define freighted words like ‘faith’ or ‘grace’ but may instead reveal what they contain. To the degree that it does them any justice, its community of readers will say yes, enjoying the insight as their own and affirming it in that way.”

That's just beautiful. What more could I say?

[edit]And there it is.[/edit]

good mothers intuit good theology

"I think one of the biggest fears is we want to able to protect our children and do everything for them, and we can't. We can't. We will never be able to protect them fully. We can't change their hearts. We can train them, and we can discipline them, and we can do the best we can to point them toward God, but we can't change their hearts. That's God's job, and we have to trust Him for that. And it's hard to admit that to ourselves that we are frail and we can't do it. But if we're honest before God and pray and pray, He is faithful. He is a God who honors those who love Him and fear Him.

Do you think Miriam had a problem trusting God, seeing her mother trust God? Jochabed's faith was reproduced in her children, and that's because they saw it in action. And we have to be willing to be honest before them and say, "Hey guys, listen, I'm just petrified, but we're going to trust God." They respect that so much, our kids, when we do that. And they learn. We're discipling them that way. We're training them how to go to God when they're scared. And that's our goal, to reproduce our faith in them so that they would love God and serve Him with their whole heart. And if we're trusting Him, and we're in the word, and we're reverencing Him, and honoring Him, and praying, then we will be women of courage."

mommy
"Jochabed: dealing with fear"
not sure the setting
05/04/1994 --> pre-cancer

as long as we needed her

Listening to Mom cry, sorrowful that she probably would not see us grown--yet confident that God loves us more than she ever could and that we would have her as long as we needed her.

Dear relatives that have been separated, you will meet again in heaven. One of you has lost a mother—she is gone above; and if you follow the track of Jesus, you shall meet her there. Methinks I see yet another coming to meet you at the door of Paradise; and though the ties of natural affection may be in a measure forgotten,—I may be allowed to use a figure—how blessed would she be as she turned to God, and said, "Here am I, and the children that thou hast given me."

"Children of the kingdom!" do not think that a pious mother can save you. ...And the angel came, and said, "I must take the mother, she is a sheep: she must go to the right hand. The children are goats: they must go on the left." She thought as she went, her children clutched her, and said, "Mother, can we part? Must we be separated?" She then put her arms around them, and seemed to say, "My children, I would, if possible, take you with me." But in a moment the angel touched her; her cheeks were dried, and now, overcoming natural affection, being rendered supernatural and sublime, resigned to God's will, she said, "My children, I taught you well, I trained you up, and you forsook the ways of God; and now all I have to say is, Amen to you condemnation."

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Heaven and Hell 

diving in the ocean of Your grace

I'm not sure when or where it happened, but my love for the debate has vanished, and the thought of engaging someone in verbal battle makes me want to vomit. Is this an "evidence of grace," as we would phrase it in care group? One hopes, because I was intolerable. I'm sure there are those who would say I still am intolerable. A little grace seen--much grace still needed.

Of course, were the situation to present itself, and I were in such a state of mind, or such a state of digestion, or such a state of fatigue, or such a state of rebellion, I imagine I could gallop away in debate and trample and surge over whoever stood in my path.

Yet that, too, He will forgive because He is faithful and righteous. Overwhelming grace.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus--
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!--
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me--
Underneath me, all around me,
Is the current of Thy love,
Leading onward, leading homeward
To Thy glorious rest above.

never swayed

Robin promises to never let me be swayed by a charming, blue-eyed fellow, and she tells me that I must trust her to always care first and foremost about my spiritual well being.

That's my girl. She's bedrock.

Every overly-emotional, sappy, sentimental fool of a girl should make it a priority to get a sister like Robbie.