This page tracks some of my writings on this site. Times are in PST.
2008-03-11
2008-03-10
05:28 (history) Vocation . . . . (with minor edits)[Update: Add link to Justin Taylor’s articles on vocation: part one, part two.
I’m collecting information on Christian understandings of vocation in preparation for a position paper on the subject, particularly as it relates to mathematics and computer science. I’ve long struggled over the question of how my work serves God’s purposes, and God has used many influences in my life over the last several years to help me grow in understanding and embracing this.
I’m significantly indebted to Gene Veith on this topic. Dr. Veith's blog is hosted by WORLD magazine and is a highly recommended read. His book God at Work, which I have yet to read, is regarded by many as one of the best introductions to a Christian view of vocation.
]
Articles
Various authors at Comment magazine write helpful advice and encouragement on vocation for 28-year-olds.
Gene Veith on God at work (PDF, part one)
Gene Veith on the masks of God (PDF, part two)
Gene Veith on family vocation (PDF, part three)
Gene Veith on calling (PDF, part four)
Gene Veith on citizenship (PDF, part five)
Gene Veith on the gospel and the local church (PDF, part six of six)
Gene Veith on Christians in a Dot Com world (PDF)
Gene Veith on God's double sovereignty (PDF)
Dr. Gene Chase, one of my computer science professors at Messiah College, provides an outline of a talk he delivered on how to integrate faith and scholarship.
Dr. Vern Poythress writes on a Biblical view of mathematics.
Vern Poythress on creation and mathematics.
Vern Poythress on why scientists must believe in God.
Vern Poythress on science as allegory.
Books
Veith, Gene. God at Work.
Grudem, Wayne. Business for the Glory of God.
Rykan, Leland. Worldly Saints. Dr. Ryken has an excellent chapter on the Puritans’ understanding of work (Chapter 2: Work).
Guinness, Os. The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life.
Poythress, Vern. Redeeming Science: A God-Centered Approach (or see the PDF version of Redeeming Science for personal use).
Audio
John Loftness preached on a Biblical understanding of work (free download) in 2002 as part of a sermon series entitled “Sanctifying the Ordinary.” I took abbreviated notes on a recording of this message.
One of my pastors, Phil Sasser, spoke on a Christian understanding of vocation (free download) at a men’s meeting in July 2005.
Wayne Grudem delivered a series of messages on topics related to his book Business for the Glory of God (see above) at a conference in 2004:
Private Property and Producing Goods and Services (free download)
Buying, Selling and Profit (free download)
Competition and Corporations (free download)
Lying and Truth-Telling (free download)
Q & A (free download)
Quotes
John Murray, Principles of Conduct
We know how intriguing, even to godless men, is the scientific quest (and the artistic quest!), and how untiring are their labours to discover the secrets of what they call nature (and what they call art!). How incomparably more intriguing and defeatlessly rewarding would have been the quest of sinless man when, at every step of his path and in every detail of progressive understanding, the marvels of the Creator’s wisdom, power, goodness, righteousness, and lovingkindness would have broken in upon his heart and mind, and every new discovery, every additional conquest, would have given cause afresh for the adoration, ‘O Lord, how manifold are they works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is fully of thy riches’ (Psa 104:24). We get a glimpse of the stupendous undertaking and the unspeakable glory of it all. We begin, perhaps, to understand a little of what culture should be. This is the culture that would have engaged and inspired man if he had been confirmed in his integrity. It would have been culture untiringly inspired by the apprehension of the Creator’s glory and by the passion to apprehend and exalt that glory more. That our culture is so little inspired by that ideal is but proof that man has fallen. That any of this culture is found in the earth is proof of redemptive grace. (38)
Other
See my vocation bookmarks on del.icio.us.
2008-01-04
03:57 (history) Ruth . . . .[Chapter summaries in Ruth.
]
Ruth 1 - Ruth follows Naomi back to Bethlehem after the death of their husbands, embracing Naomi’s people and God.
Ruth 2 - Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz and finds great favor with him.
Ruth 3 - Ruth seeks Boaz at his threshing floor and asks him to redeem her.
Ruth 4 - Boaz redeems Ruth, taking her as his wife. They have a son, Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David.
2007-12-23
17:49 (history) Judges . . . .[Chapter summaries in Judges
]
Judges 1 - Further conquest by Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, Manasseh and Ephraim; failure to drive all Canaanites out of Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali and Dan.
Judges 2 - God preserves some Canaanites as a thorn for Israel. After Joshua’s death Israel pursues Baals and Ashtaroth; God sends judges to defeat their enemies but Israel repeatedly forsakes him.
Judges 3 - Othniel saves Israel from slavery to Mesopotamia; Ehud saves Israel from Moab, killing Eglon; Shamgar saves Israel from the Philistines.
Judges 4 - Deborah and Barak save Israel from Jabin and Sisera; Jael kills Sisera.
Judges 5 - Deborah and Barak sing of God’s mighty deliverance; Israel has rest for 40 years.
Judges 6 - Midian oppresses Israel; God calls Gideon; Gideon tears down the altar of Baal and gathers an army; God shows Gideon the signs of the fleece.
Judges 7 - God gives Gideon and his 300 men (once 32,000) victory over Midian.
Judges 8 - Gideon completes his victory, disciplines cities that would not help, makes and worships an ephod. After his death idolatry returns.
Judges 9 - Abimelech the son of Gideon rules with treachery and evil, killing his brothers and many others. After three years God brings his death.
Judges 10 - Tola and Jair judge Israel; God gives Israel into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites.
Judges 11 - Jephthah challenges the Ammonites and defeats them, but makes a foolish vow and must offer his daughter to the Lord.
Judges 12 - Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon and Abdon judge Israel.
Judges 13 - God gives Israel into the hands of the Philistines; the Lord appears to Manoah and his wife and tells of Samson’s birth; Samson is born.
Judges 14 - Samson pursues a Philistine woman; she betrays him and he kills thirty Philistine men.
Judges 15 - Samson kills a thousand Philistine men, and judges Israel.
Judges 16 - Delilah betrays Samson; Samson kills three thousand Philistines at his death.
Judges 17 - Micah creates an idol and ordains one of his sons and a Levite as priests.
Judges 18 - The tribe of Dan captures land for themselves and takes the idol and the Levite for themselves.
Judges 19 - A Levite and his concubine are assaulted by the men of Gibeah; she is killed and the Levite sends pieces of her body to the twelve tribes.
Judges 20 - Israel defeats the tribe of Benjamin, who refuse to give up the men of Gibeah.
Judges 21 - Israel provides wives for the survivors of the tribe of Benjamin. There was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
2007-12-10
03:51 (history) Mainframe . . . .[My job involves working on portions of the IBM z/OS operating system for the IBM mainframe (z/OS is OS/390 is MVS). Out of college I had several job offers, and chose my current job more on the basis of climate than expected job satisfaction. I told myself I would put in a dutiful three years to compensate the organization for paying for my moving expenses, but then probably find something else within IBM. After all, the mainframe is antiquated, slow and boring, isn’t it?
Far from it! This job has turned out to be my dream job, for many reasons (including the people I work with, the fact that I am doing OS development, and the fact that I work on the mainframe). Far from being antiquated and slow, the mainframe has remained at the cutting edge of computer technology for decades, and it is a mature, powerful and exciting platform to work on. The common conception of the mainframe is such a far cry from the reality — and especially a far cry from its actual popularity and usage in business.
If your curiosity is piqued, here are some articles that help to deflate the myth of the mainframe’s frailty:
]
2007-12-03
02:31 (history) Joshua . . . .[Chapter summaries in Joshua.
]
Joshua 1 - God instructs Joshua and Israel to enter the land, and to be strong, courageous and faithful.
Joshua 2 - Joshua sends spies to Jericho who stay with Rahab and return with a good report.
Joshua 3 - Israel crosses the Jordan opposite Jericho on dry ground.
Joshua 4 - Israel builds a memorial of twelve stones from the Jordan to remember God’s might and fear him.
Joshua 5 - The nations fear Israel; Joshua circumcises the men and they celebrate the Passover; Joshua sees the commander of the army of the Lord.
Joshua 6 - God grants victory over Jericho.
Joshua 7 - Israel is defeated at Ai; Achan, his family and possessions are destroyed for Achan’s sin.
Joshua 8 - God grants victory over Ai; Joshua builds an altar and Israel reaffirms God’s covenant with its blessings and curses.
Joshua 9 - Gibeon deceives Israel into making them servants rather than conquering them.
Joshua 10 - The sun stands still in Israel’s battle against Gibeon’s enemies, the five Amorite kings; Israel is victorious and the kings are executed; Israel is victorious over all of southern Canaan.
Joshua 11 - Northern Canaan allies against Israel; God grants Israel victory. Joshua took the whole land and gave it for an inheritance to Israel.
Joshua 12 - A rehearsing of the kings defeated by Moses and by Joshua.
Joshua 13 - Joshua is old; the north’s Philistines and the south are unconquered. The inheritance East of the Jordan is recounted.
Joshua 14 - Caleb is given Hebron at his request.
Joshua 15 - The inheritance of Judah and of Caleb; the Jebusites are not driven out of Jerusalem.
Joshua 16 - The inheritance of Ephraim and Manasseh; Gezer is not driven out.
Joshua 17 - The inheritance of Manasseh; some Canaanites are not driven out.
Joshua 18 - Men are sent out to describe the remaining land; Benjamin’s inheritance.
Joshua 19 - The inheritance of Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan. Joshua is given a city.
Joshua 20 - The cities of refuge are established.
Joshua 21 - Cities and pasturelands are given to Levi. God fulfilled his promises of victory and gave Israel rest.
Joshua 22 - The eastern tribes return home; there is a misunderstanding over their altar of witness.
Joshua 23 - In his old age, Joshua reminds Israel of God’s goodness to them and charges them to remain faithful to God.
Joshua 24 - Israel renews their covenant, choosing to serve the Lord and forsaking other gods; Joshua dies.
2007-11-24
07:19 (history) Deuteronomy . . . .[Chapter summaries in Deuteronomy.
]
Deuteronomy 1 - Moses explains the law to Israel before they enter Canaan. He recalls his appointing leaders and Israel’s former rebellion at entering the land.
Deuteronomy 2 - Moses recalls Israel’s wandering in the wilderness and Israel’s defeat of Heshbon.
Deuteronomy 3 - Moses recalls Israel’s defeat of Bashan; Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh’s possessing the land; and Moses’ being forbidden to enter the land.
Deuteronomy 4 - Moses charges Israel to obey God’s law, warns against idolatry, proclaims God’s greatness, and establishes three cities of refuge east of the Jordan.
Deuteronomy 5 - Moses repeats the ten commandments, and urges Israel to remain faithful to God.
Deuteronomy 6 - Moses commands Israel to love God, keep his commands and teach their children God’s commands; he urges Israel not to forget or to test the Lord, and again to teach their children to fear and obey the Lord.
Deuteronomy 7 - God commands Israel to utterly destroy the Canaanites, reminding Israel that they are set apart to the Lord, that God loves Israel and that his power will go before them.
Deuteronomy 8 - Moses again urges Israel to remain faithful to God, reminding them of God’s incredible goodness to them, and warning that they will perish otherwise.
Deuteronomy 9 - Moses warns Israel to take no pride in their victories, for God’s favor is not at all upon them for their righteousness; on the contrary, he reminds them of their many sins.
Deuteronomy 10 - Moses recounts God’s sparing Israel after the golden calf; he reminds Israel of God’s greatness, his goodness to them, and instructs them to fear, obey, love and serve the Lord, and also to circumcise their hearts.
Deuteronomy 11 - Moses urges Israel to love and obey God and to teach their children continually; he reminds them of the destruction of Pharaoh and entices them with rich promises and severe warnings concerning the fruitfulness of the land.
Deuteronomy 12 - Israel is to destroy all Canaanite places of worship, not seek after Canaanite gods, and bring worship and offerings to God in only one place; they may eat meat but not blood anywhere; they may not alter God’s commands in any way.
Deuteronomy 13 - Death is commanded for all who go after other gods, even to whole cities.
Deuteronomy 14 - Laws concerning clean and unclean food; tithes are commanded.
Deuteronomy 15 - The establishment of the seventh year, the year of release; firstborn livestock are to be dedicated to the Lord.
Deuteronomy 16 - Israel is to celebrate Passover, the feast of weeks, and the feast of booths; bribery and idolatry are forbidden.
Deuteronomy 17 - Death by stoning for doing what is evil; judges and priests are to adjudicate matters of the law; Israels kings are to remain humble and faithful to the Lord and his law.
Deuteronomy 18 - Provision for the Levites through tithes; laws against child sacrifice and divination; God will send prophets, but false prophets are to be put to death.
Deuteronomy 19 - Laws concerning the cities of refuge, property boundaries, and witnesses.
Deuteronomy 20 - Laws concerning war — the victory is God’s, sending men home, offering terms of peace, devotion to destruction, and care for trees.
Deuteronomy 21 - Laws concerning unsolved murders, female captives, inheritance, rebellious children, and hanging on a tree.
Deuteronomy 22 - Laws concerning fellow Israelites’ property, separation, and marriage.
Deuteronomy 23 - Laws concerning acceptance into the assembly, excrement, prostitution, interest, vows, and produce.
Deuteronomy 24 - Laws concerning marriage; miscellaneous laws ensuring justice.
Deuteronomy 25 - Laws concerning justice.
Deuteronomy 26 - A tithe is commanded after entering the land to recount God’s deliverance; summing up of Israel’s responsibility as God’s possession.
Deuteronomy 27 - An altar is to be built on entering the land; curses are also to be proclaimed and affirmed.
Deuteronomy 28 - Numerous blessings and curses are pronounced.
Deuteronomy 29 - Moses recounts God’s power, judgments and deliverance, warning Israel not to disobey lest God judge them.
Deuteronomy 30 - If Israel rebels but then repents, God will restore them. God’s commandment is not out of reach, but life and death are in it.
Deuteronomy 31 - Moses charges Joshua and Israel; God charges Israel.
Deuteronomy 32 - Moses sings of God’s greatness, faithfulness, judgment and compassion, in spite of Israel’s sin. God orders Moses to Mt. Nebo.
Deuteronomy 33 - Moses blesses Israel and praises God.
Deuteronomy 34 - Moses sees the land from Nebo, dies, and is buried by God. Joshua takes command.
2007-10-09
06:34 (history) Numbers . . . .[Chapter summaries in Numbers.
]
Numbers 1 - Moses and Aaron take a census of Israel’s warriors, except for the tribe of Levi, which is to serve with and guard the tabernacle.
Numbers 2 - God describes the arrangement of the camp, with all tribes surrounding the tent of meeting.
Numbers 3 - The sons of Aaron. God claims the Levites instead of the firstborn, who must be redeemed; each Levite clan is assigned responsibility for part of the tabernacle.
Numbers 4 - God gives further detailed assignments for some of the clans of Levites.
Numbers 5 - God sends lepers out of the camp, establishes a pattern of confession and restitution for sin, and provides a test for adultery.
Numbers 6 - Laws concerning a Nazirite vow of separation to the Lord; “the Lord bless you and keep you...”
Numbers 7 - The leaders of Israel give offerings and sacrifices at the consecration of the tabernacle.
Numbers 8 - The Levites are cleansed for service to God; Levites are to serve from ages 25 to 50.
Numbers 9 - Israel keeps the Passover; the Passover is to be kept even by those who are unclean; God’s cloud covers the tabernacle and leads Israel.
Numbers 10 - Silver trumpets are made for signaling and celebration; Israel sets out into the wilderness for the first time.
Numbers 11 - The people complain and God provides meat, but strikes some down. God sets his Spirit on seventy men to serve Moses.
Numbers 12 - Miriam and Aaron oppose Moses, and God sends leprosy upon Miriam.
Numbers 13 - Spies are sent into the land, returning with its fruit, but inciting fear.
Numbers 14 - Israel complains, God is angered and Moses intercedes. God sends Israel into the wilderness for forty years, and those who try to enter the land lose the battle.
Numbers 15 - Reiteration of laws for offerings and unintentional sin; a sabbath-breaker is executed; God commands the wearing of tassels to remember the law.
Numbers 16 - Korah, Dathan and Abiram rebel, along with 250 other Levites; God destroys them and sends a plague on Israel. Moses and Aaron intercede.
Numbers 17 - God demonstrates his choosing Aaron by causing Aaron’s staff to bud.
Numbers 18 - The responsibilities, sacrificial portion, and inheritance of the Levites.
Numbers 19 - Laws for uncleanness and purification.
Numbers 20 - Miriam dies; God produces water from a rock, but Moses strikes the rock in unbelief; Edom refuses Israel’s passage; Aaron dies.
Numbers 21 - God sends fiery serpents to discipline impatient Israel, but provides a bronze serpent for healing; God grants victory over Arad, Ammon and Bashan, and Israel settles in Ammon and Bashan.
Numbers 22 - Israel camps in the plains of Moab; Balaam is sent to curse Israel but is diverted by God.
Numbers 23 - Balaam blesses Israel twice.
Numbers 24 - Balaam blesses Israel and prophesies against the Canaanite nations.
Numbers 25 - Israel is enticed to Baal worship by the women of Moab and Midian; God orders the Baal worshipers destroyed.
Numbers 26 - Moses and Aaron take a census of Israel’s fighting men, and the land is to be divided proportionally. All who had rebelled in the wilderness are dead except Caleb and Joshua.
Numbers 27 - The daughters of Zelophehad are to receive an inheritance; Moses commissions Joshua to lead Israel.
Numbers 28 - Instructions for daily food offerings, Sabbath offerings, monthly offerings, Passover offerings, and offerings for the feast of weeks.
Numbers 29 - Instructions for offerings for the feast of trumpets, the day of atonement, and the feast of booths.
Numbers 30 - Laws concerning the inviolability of vows, and a father’s or husband’s right to repudiate a woman’s vow.
Numbers 31 - Israel executes vengeance on Midian at God’s command.
Numbers 32 - Gad and Reuben and half of Manasseh take land east of the Jordan, but must help conquer Canaan.
Numbers 33 - A record of Israel’s wilderness journey; God commands Israel to drive out all the inhabitants of Canaan.
Numbers 34 - God establishes the borders of Israel and gives instructions for dividing the land.
Numbers 35 - Forty-eight cities apportioned to the Levites; six of these are cities of refuge.
Numbers 36 - Land is not to be inherited across tribal boundaries.
2007-09-27
03:04 (history) Leviticus . . . .[Chapter summaries in Leviticus.
]
Leviticus 1 - Laws for burnt offerings of cattle, sheep, goats or birds.
Leviticus 2 - Laws for unleavened grain offerings.
Leviticus 3 - Laws for peace offerings of cattle, sheep or goats.
Leviticus 4 - Laws for sin offerings for unintentional sin for priests and Israel — a bull — and leaders and individuals — a goat or lamb.
Leviticus 5 - Some situations and accommodations for sin offerings; laws for guilt offerings of rams.
Leviticus 6 - Some interpersonal situations for guilt offerings; laws for the priests in conducting burnt, grain and sin offerings.
Leviticus 7 - Laws for the priests in conducting guilt and peace offerings; laws against eating fat and blood.
Leviticus 8 - Moses consecrates and ordains Aaron and his sons.
Leviticus 9 - Aaron conducts offerings for himself and Israel; the glory of the Lord appears to Israel and consumes the burnt offering with fire.
Leviticus 10 - Nadab and Abihu are consumed with fire for disobedience; further instructions for priests eating portions of offerings.
Leviticus 11 - Laws of clean and unclean animals.
Leviticus 12 - Laws for purification after childbirth.
Leviticus 13 - Laws for leprosy, burns, and contamination in garments.
Leviticus 14 - Laws for cleansing lepers; laws for contamination in houses.
Leviticus 15 - Laws for bodily discharge and for cleansing.
Leviticus 16 - The Lord institutes the annual Sabbath day of atonement after the death of Nadab and Abihu, involving sin offerings and a scapegoat.
Leviticus 17 - Sacrifices must be brought to the tent of meeting; laws against eating blood.
Leviticus 18 - Laws forbidding sexual immorality and child sacrifice.
Leviticus 19 - God is holy and requires his people to be holy; laws for interpersonal justice, and miscellaneous laws.
Leviticus 20 - Laws against child sacrifice, mediums, sexual immorality; God requires his people to be holy and separate.
Leviticus 21 - God requires his priests to be holy and clean.
Leviticus 22 - Laws concerning uncleanness and the holy things of the tabernacle; sacrifices must be without blemish.
Leviticus 23 - Feasts: the Sabbath, Passover, feast of first fruits, feast of weeks, feast of trumpets, day of atonement, and feast of booths.
Leviticus 24 - Lamp oil and bread for the tabernacle; death for blasphemy; an eye for an eye.
Leviticus 25 - Sabbath year and year of jubilee; redemption of property; kindness to fellow Israelites in poverty.
Leviticus 26 - Blessings for covenant keeping and severe discipline for covenant breaking.
Leviticus 27 - Laws concerning vows and tithes, and redeeming by adding a fifth to the value.
03:04 (history) Exodus . . . .[Chapter summaries in Exodus.
]
Exodus 1 - A new Pharaoh subjugates Israel into hard labor and seeks to kill all male babies.
Exodus 2 - Moses is spared; Moses kills an Egyptian and flees to Midian; God hears Israel’s cries.
Exodus 3 - God appears to Moses and calls him to lead Israel out of Egypt into Canaan.
Exodus 4 - God encourages and rebukes Moses, appoints Aaron, foretells Pharaoh’s hardening. Return to Egypt; Israel encouraged.
Exodus 5 - Plea to Pharaoah; work is increased. Displeasure with Moses and Aaron; plea to God.
Exodus 6 - God encourages Moses; Israel despairs. Generations of Israel; Moses despairs twice.
Exodus 7 - God encourages Moses, foretells hardening and deliverance. Sign of rod, plague of blood.
Exodus 8 - Plagues of frogs, gnats, insects; Pharaoh remains hardened.
Exodus 9 - Plagues of disease on livestock, boils, hail; God purposes to proclaim his name. Pharaoh remains hardened.
Exodus 10 - Plagues of locusts and darkness; Pharaoh remains hardened.
Exodus 11 - Israel finds favor with Egyptians. God plans to kill Egypt’s firstborn, “make a distinction” between the nations, display his wonders.
Exodus 12 - Institution of the Passover. Israel is sent out of Egypt, in haste with plunder.
Exodus 13 - Firstborn sanctified to God; God leads Israel to the Red Sea.
Exodus 14 - Pharaoh pursues Israel; Israel rebels, but God delivers them through the Red Sea and they fear God.
Exodus 15 - Israel praises God for their deliverance. Israel grumbles and God makes the waters of Marah sweet.
Exodus 16 - Israel grumbles; God provides quail and manna.
Exodus 17 - Israel grumbles and God provides water from a rock. Moses raises his hands for the battle with Amalek.
Exodus 18 - Jethro returns with Moses’ wife and children, and sacrifices to God. Jethro counsels Moses to establish able leaders.
Exodus 19 - Pentecost: God, holy and merciful, charges Israel to obey and live as his people.
Exodus 20 - On the basis of their deliverance, God commands Israel to obey ten commandments, promising blessing to all who remember his name.
Exodus 21 - Laws about slaves, murder and livestock.
Exodus 22 - Laws about livestock, theft, negligence, idolatry, injustice and honoring God.
Exodus 23 - Laws about lying and injustice, Sabbath year, Sabbath, feasts, sacrifice. Promise of victory in Canaan.
Exodus 24 - Confirmation of the covenant, with sacrifices; Moses on the mountain with God.
Exodus 25 - Instructions for giving; instructions for the ark of the covenant, table for bread, and lamp stand.
Exodus 26 - Instructions for the tabernacle.
Exodus 27 - Instructions for the bronze altar, courtyard, and lamp oil.
Exodus 28 - Instructions for the clothing and ordination of Aaron and his sons as priests.
Exodus 29 - Instructions for the consecration of Aaron and his sons by anointing and sacrifice; instructions for daily sacrifices.
Exodus 30 - Instructions for the altar of incense, census tax, bronze basin, anointing oil, and incense.
Exodus 31 - Bezalel and Oholiab gifted and called to fashion the temple and its implements; command to keep the Sabbath; giving of the tablets.
Exodus 32 - The golden calf; Moses intercedes; the sons of Levi destroy 3000, and God sends a plague.
Exodus 33 - God will not go with Israel from Sinai; Moses appeals, and asks to see God’s glory.
Exodus 34 - God proclaims his name to Moses and renews the giving of the covenant; Moses’ face shone.
Exodus 35 - Moses reviews Sabbath law; Israel donates to the tabernacle.
Exodus 36 - Bezalel and Oholiab oversee the construction of the tabernacle.
Exodus 37 - Bezalel makes the ark, table, lampstand, altar of incense, anointing oil and incense.
Exodus 38 - Bezalel makes the altar of burnt offering, the bronze basin and the court. Accounting of materials used in the tabernacle.
Exodus 39 - The high priest’s garments; Moses blesses the work.
Exodus 40 - The tabernacle is erected and consecrated; Aaron and his sons are consecrated. The glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle.
03:03 (history) Genesis . . . .[Chapter summaries in Genesis.
]
Genesis 1 - God creates all from nothing, by His spoken word, and all very good; man as image-bearer; man’s mandate.
Genesis 2 - God rests; formation of Adam and Eve; Eden; covenant of life.
Genesis 3 - Man’s temptation, sin, fall, curse, judgment, banishment, and hope.
Genesis 4 - Abel’s offering accepted; Abel’s murder; Cain’s judgment; Cain’s offspring; Seth’s birth.
Genesis 5 - The line of Adam through Seth to Noah and his sons; Enoch translated.
Genesis 6 - Wickedness multiplies; God is grieved and plans to destroy and to save; Noah obeys.
Genesis 7 - The ark is entered and the earth is flooded; every living thing is blotted out.
Genesis 8 - The water subsides, the earth dries, and the ark is exited; Noah worships God; God’s promise.
Genesis 9 - God blesses Noah and establishes covenant with all living creatures; Ham’s sin and Noah’s curse on Canaan.
Genesis 10 - Genealogies of Noah’s sons.
Genesis 11 - Tower built; God confuses language; genealogy from Shem to Abram; Terah journeys from Ur to Canaan but settles in Haran.
Genesis 12 - God’s promise to Abram; journey to Canaan; deceit in Egypt over Sarai.
Genesis 13 - Abram and Lot separate; God promises land to Abram forever.
Genesis 14 - Abram recues Lot, tithes to Melchizedek, and refuses reward from Sodom.
Genesis 15 - God promises innumerable offspring; Abram believes; prophecy of captivity in Egypt; Abram sacrifices.
Genesis 16 - Offspring through Hagar, who flees but returns after God’s instruction and blessing.
Genesis 17 - Covenant to bless and multiply Abraham and Sarah; promise of land; circumcision as sign of covenant.
Genesis 18 - Three men visit; Sarah laughs at prophecy; Abraham intercedes for Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 19 - Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed; Lot rescued; Lot’s incest.
Genesis 20 - Deceit in Negev over Sarah.
Genesis 21 - Isaac is born and circumcised; Hagar is sent out; Abraham covenants with Abimelech.
Genesis 22 - God tests Abraham, provides a sacrificial ram, and promises to bless Abraham.
Genesis 23 - Sarah dies in Hebron; Abraham buys a field and buries her in a cave.
Genesis 24 - God guides Abraham’s servant to find Rebekah as a wife for Isaac.
Genesis 25 - Abraham dies; Ishmael’s offspring; Jacob and Esau born; Esau sells birthright.
Genesis 26 - God blesses and prospers Isaac; deceit over Rebekah; conflict over wells; Esau grieves parents.
Genesis 27 - Jacob steals Esau’s blessing.
Genesis 28 - Jacob journeys to Haran, is blessed by God in a dream, and builds an altar.
Genesis 29 - Jacob serves Laban for Rachel and Leah. Leah is fruitful but Rachel barren.
Genesis 30 - Jacob’s children; Rachel conceives; Jacob schemes for the best of Laban’s flocks.
Genesis 31 - Jacob flees toward Canaan; Laban pursues, searches for idols Rachel stole; Jacob and Laban covenant together.
Genesis 32 - Jacob seeks to appease Esau, and wrestles with God for a blessing; Jacob called Israel.
Genesis 33 - Jacob and Esau meet; Jacob builds an altar in Shechem.
Genesis 34 - Shechem rapes Jacob’s daughter Dinah; Simon and Levi deceive and kill every man in the city.
Genesis 35 - Jacob builds altar at Bethel; Jacob blessed and called Israel; Rachel dies in labor; Isaac dies.
Genesis 36 - The line of Esau; Esau journeys to Edom.
Genesis 37 - Joseph is favored; Joseph’s dreams; Joseph sold into Egyptian slavery.
Genesis 38 - Judah’s sons killed by God; Judah commits adultery.
Genesis 39 - Joseph finds favor with Potiphar, is tested by Potiphar’s wife, is imprisoned, and finds favor with jailer.
Genesis 40 - Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s servants’ dreams.
Genesis 41 - Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams; Joseph exalted and given authority to prepare for famine.
Genesis 42 - Joseph’s brothers visit him; he imprisons Simeon so they will bring Benjamin.
Genesis 43 - Joseph’s brothers bring Benjamin and dine with Joseph.
Genesis 44 - Joseph makes it appear Benjamin stole a cup; Judah pleads to be held as surety.
Genesis 45 - Joseph reveals himself; Pharaoh invites Jacob to Egypt.
Genesis 46 - Jacob and his family travel to Goshen.
Genesis 47 - Pharaoh greets Jacob; Pharaoh accrues money, livestock, and wealth during famine; Jacob to be buried in Canaan.
Genesis 48 - Jacob blesses Manasseh and Ephraim; Ephraim to be greater than his brother.
Genesis 49 - Jacob blesses his sons; Jacob dies and is to be buried with his fathers.
Genesis 50 - Egypt mourns; Joseph buries Jacob; Joseph’s bones to be carried to Canaan; Joseph dies.
2007-09-21
06:31 (history) Truth . . . .[Update: Added quote from John Piper.
I’m collecting occasional quotes contra postmodernism, especially postmodernism in the church.
Blaise Pascal (via Al Mohler) writes:
It is as much a crime to disturb the peace when truth prevails as it is to keep the peace when truth is violated. There is therefore a time in which peace is justified and another time when it is not justifiable. For it is written that there is a time for peace and a time for war and it is the law of truth that distinguishes the two. But at no time is there a time for truth and a time for error, for it is written that God’s truth shall abide forever. That is why Christ has said that He has come to bring peace and at the same time that He has come to bring the sword. But He does not say that He has come to bring both the truth and falsehood.
Fr Vincent Miceli writes:
The idea that unity is more important than truth is a particularly pernicious myth of our times. It leads to the disastrous conclusion that schism is a greater evil than the heresies and immoralities that penetrate and thrive within the Church. A doctor who cuts out a malignancy in time saves his patient, whereas one who leaves a malignancy untreated for fear of hurting his patient condemns that patient to certain death.
G. K. Chesterton writes in Orthodoxy (via John Piper):
What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert — himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt — the Divine Reason. . . . The new skeptic is so humble that he doubts if he can even learn. . . . There is a real humility typical of our time; but it so happens that it’s practically a more poisonous humility than the wildest prostrations of the ascetic. . . . The old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which makes him stop working altogether. . . . We are on the road to producing a race of man too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table.
Al Mohler writes:
This is our proper epistemological humility — not that it is not possible for us to know, but that the truth is not our own.
This quote is contra modernism rather than postmodernism, but it’s very good, and still relevant to truth. G. K. Chesterton writes (emphasis added):
Logic and truth, as a matter of fact, have very little to do with each other. Logic is concerned merely with the fidelity and accuracy with which a certain process is performed, a process which can be performed with any materials, with any assumption. You can be as logical about griffins and basilisks as about sheep and pigs. . . . The relations of logic to truth depend, then, not upon its perfection as logic, but upon certain pre-logical faculties and certain pre-logical discoveries, upon the possession of those faculties, upon the power of making those discoveries. If a man starts with certain assumptions, he may be a good logician and a good citizen, a wise man, a successful figure. If he starts with certain other assumptions, he may be an equally good logician and a bankrupt, a criminal, a raving lunatic. Logic, then, is not necessarily an instrument for finding truth; on the contrary, truth is necessarily an instrument for using logic — for using it, that is, for the discovery of further truth and for the profit of humanity. Briefly, you can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it.
Kurtis Smith writes, referring to postmodernism’s misplaced relativistic attack on power:
Nazism and racism aren’t horrendous because they’re violent. They’re horrendous because they’re lies.
John Piper writes on the necessary connections between friendship and truth:
Friendship hangs on believing the same gospel. The main joy of God-glorifying friendship is joy in a common vision of God.
See also Peter Kreeft’s article “Comparitive Religions: The Uniqueness of Christianity”.
]
2007-09-01
19:25 (history) Python Spikes . . . .[Update: Added choices spike.
Following are “spike” solutions (see SpikeDescribed) for several proposed problems. I’ve kept them here because I like their elegance. — Scott Moonen
In September 2007, Brian Adkins posted a simple Logo program to print all possible combinations of lists of items, and asked for alternatives in other languages. He provided a Ruby alternative which would translate fairly easily into Python. For my own Python implementation I decided to try a completely different approach:
optstr = lambda x : (type(x)==str)*str(x)+(type(x)!=str)*' '.join(x) prod1 = lambda elem, vec : map(lambda x : optstr(elem)+' '+optstr(x), vec) xprod = lambda vec1, vec2 : reduce(list.__add__, map(lambda elem : prod1(elem ,vec2), vec1)) choices = lambda x : '\n'.join(reduce(xprod, x))+'\n' q = [['small', 'medium', 'large'], ['vanilla', ['ultra', 'chocolate'], 'lychee', ['rum', 'raisin'], 'ginger'], ['cone', 'cup']] print choices(q),Brian tells me that I took Logo too literally in translating ‘ultra chocolate’ to a sublist. Removing that reduces my implementation to three lines:
prod1 = lambda elem, vec : map(lambda x : elem+' '+x, vec) xprod = lambda vec1, vec2 : reduce(list.__add__, map(lambda elem : prod1(elem ,vec2), vec1)) choices = lambda x : '\n'.join(reduce(xprod, x))+'\n' q = [['small', 'medium', 'large'], ['vanilla', 'ultra chocolate', 'lychee', 'rum raisin', 'ginger'], ['cone', 'cup']] print choices(q),I crafted this compact solution to Dijkstra’s OddWordProblem:
from sys import stdin, stdout def even(char) : stdout.write(char); return select(even, 0, ""); def odd(char) : q = select(odd, 0, ""); stdout.write(char); return q def select(fn, skipspace, prefix) : char = stdin.read(1) if char.isspace() and skipspace : return select(fn, 1, prefix) elif char.isspace() : return 0 elif char.isalpha() : stdout.write(prefix); return fn(char) elif char == "." : return 1 else : raise "Invalid input" if not select(even, 1, "") : while not select(odd, 1, " ") and not select(even, 1, " ") : pass stdout.write(".")I came up with these simple solutions to RonJeffries’ CodingProblem. The first uses Python 2.2’s generators:
def split(list, num) : for index in range(num) : yield list[index * len(list) / num:(index + 1) * len(list) / num]I prefer the second, which uses the functional idiom:
def split(list, num) : return map(lambda x: list[x * len(list) / num:(x+1) * len(list) / num], range(num))I composed this concise solution to ncm’s “coding challenge” in November 2004. I’m not entirely satisfied with its elegance, but I’m pleased with its brevity.
def dateinc(s) : def carry(list, modulus) : if len(list) == 1 : return [list[0] // modulus[0], list[0] % modulus[0]] else : q = carry(list[1:], modulus[1:]); return [(list[0] + q[0]) // modulus[0], (list[0] + q[0]) % modulus[0]] + q[1:] s = reduce(lambda x,y:x+y, map(lambda x : (x >= '0' and x <= '9') * x, s)) result = map(lambda x,y:x+y, map(int,(s[0:4],s[4:6],s[6:8],s[8:10],s[10:12],s[12:14])),(0,-1,-1,0,0,1)) modulus = [10000,12,[31,28,31,30,31,30,31,31,30,31,30,31][result[1]],24,60,60] if result[0] % 4 == 0 and (result[0] % 100 != 0 or result[0] % 400 == 0) : modulus[2] += 1 # Account for leap day. result = carry(result, modulus)[1:] # Carry the extra second. result[1:3] = map(lambda x:x+1, result[1:3]) # Readjust to 1-base. return reduce(lambda x,y:x+y, map(lambda x : (x < 10) * '0' + str(x), result))I further reduced this as follows, turning the carry function into a one-liner that computes the carry in-place (and also using builtins wherever possible). I’m much more satisfied with this solution.
]def dateinc(s) : s = reduce(lambda x,y:x.isdigit()*x+y.isdigit()*y, s) ans = map(int.__add__, map(int,(s[0:4],s[4:6],s[6:8],s[8:10],s[10:12],s[12:14])),(0,-1,-1,0,0,1)) mod = [10000,12,[31,28,31,30,31,30,31,31,30,31,30,31][ans[1]],24,60,60] if ans[0] % 4 == 0 and (ans[0] % 100 != 0 or ans[0] % 400 == 0) : mod[2] += 1 ans = map(lambda x:(ans[x] + reduce(int.__mul__, map(lambda y:ans[y]>=mod[y]-1,range(x+1,len(ans))),x!=len(ans)-1)) % mod[x], range(len(ans))) ans[1:3] = map(int.__add__,ans[1:3],[1,1]) # Readjust to 1-base. return reduce(str.__add__, map(lambda x : (x < 10) * '0' + str(x), ans))
2007-04-08
18:08 (history) Underbluebook Review . . . . (with minor edits)[Update: I’ve been contacted by another individual who indicates they have been defrauded by Ms. Towers. Update Ms. Towers’ contact information.
Following are details of our poor customer service experience with a local Raleigh car dealer. I do not write this to “get even” with this dealer. Rather, my desire is to provide an honest summary review of my experience with this dealer as a helpful caution for anyone who is considering doing business with her.
The dealer’s information is:
Name: April Towers
Dealership: Advance Automotive Sales, also Advance Auto Sales, also Raleigh Honda Auto
Showroom: 1313A Capital Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27603
Mobile Phone: 919-272-1467
Her cars and services are often seen on Craigslist, and also found in Yahoo! classifieds.
She is also selling cars on eBay Motors under the name ihaveacar4sale.
While my overall impression is very unfavorable, I am grateful that she has been quite fair at times, certainly much more so than I have been accustomed to expect for a car dealer. And I am grateful to have a very good vehicle that is finally in great working order. But overall there has been a pattern of forgetfulness, gross untruths, unanswered and unreturned phone calls, and general delays. At many steps along the way, and increasingly so as new problems continued to surface, it seemed that progress was only made as I wearied myself making appeals for fair treatment. And the fact remains as I write this that there is one promised reimbursement that she has on multiple occasions failed to provide to us in the time frame she promised. At present she is not responding to any of my appeals or reminders, though I will gladly correct this record if she makes good on her word. However, even if she does so, I would not consider purchasing another vehicle from her. Is it too much to ask for your car dealer to speak the truth and to be true to her word?
If you have had similar experiences with this dealer, or if you would like to know more details about my experience, please contact me at smoonen@andstuff.org. So far I have been contacted by two other individuals who state that they have been defrauded by Ms. Towers, as recently as March 2007.
Update: 2006-10-30: April sent an email stating she was sad for the hurt she caused me, and asking for forgiveness. But she rebuffed my patient and gracious request that she keep her word and make restitution. Words of apology where actions continue to contradict them are thus proved worthless. From several other things I observed at this time and from communication with other individuals who have had recent dealings with her, it became clear that she was insincere in her apology; evidently her email to me was a ploy to try to get me to remove this review.
Following is a complaint that I sent to the Eastern North Carolina Better Business Bureau on 2006-06-15. This provides additional detail of some of our bad experiences with Advance Auto Sales.
Vehicle: 2000 Toyota Sienna minivan
2006-04-29: The vehicle is advertised online (on Craigslist) and in person by April Towers as having new brakes, new rotors, a new timing belt. The vehicle is represented in person by April Towers as having no oil leaks, in response to a specific question we asked. The check engine light is not on.
2006-04-29: I purchase vehicle from dealer, April Towers, for $6500. Vehicle is sold “as-is”, without warranty, but keep in mind the representations that were made. April asks me to call her the following week to arrange to bring the vehicle back the next weekend to have the interior cleaned and oxygen sensors replaced, which she says is necessary and will be done free of charge.
2006-04-29: The vehicle’s check engine light comes on while driving vehicle home. This strongly suggests that the indicator had been reset some time prior to showing the car, with the obvious purpose of deceiving. I didn’t think much of this at the time, however, because I thought it might be related to the oxygen sensors.
2006-05-01: My mechanic reports that the vehicle’s brake rotors are at or close to discard, the front brake pads are at 60-70%, the valve cover gaskets are leaking oil, the timing cover is leaking oil (a strong indication that the timing belt is not new, and at very minimum was improperly replaced without regard to leaking cam/crank seals), and the rear wheel cylinders are leaking. (They reported other minor problems but I am only listing those problems that relate to false representations made by the dealer.)
2006-05-01: I call April and she asks me to bring the van to her office so that her mechanic could work on it. She asks me to provide a printed list of all the issues and indicates that her mechanic will take care of everything. I provide a printed list of each of the above issues and also email it to her.
2006-05-05: April assures me over the phone that everything on my list is resolved. I pick up the van from a Toyota dealership, where she had brought it for diagnosis of the check engine light. Unfortunately, the codes had been reset in the meantime (presumably by April’s mechanic), so the dealership was unable to diagnose the problem.
2006-05-08: My mechanic reports that the pads and rotors are new, but only one valve cover gasket was replaced; the other is still leaking. The timing cover shows no evidence it was even removed, and still evidence of leaking. The rear wheel cylinders are still leaking, although the rear brakes were cleaned and adjusted.
2006-05-08, -09: I leave four phone messages and one email indicating there were still problems, and appealing to April to pay for my mechanic to fix them. I ask her to call me back.
2006-05-09: I receive an email from April asking me to provide a quote from my mechanic.
2006-05-10: Over the phone, April reluctantly agrees to pay my mechanic to resolve these problems. She agrees to call them that morning to make arrangements to pay. Despite several reminders from me, she does not call my mechanic. I give my mechanic instructions to proceed with the repairs anyway.
2006-05-12 - Much to my surprise and gratitude, April pays my mechanic for labor and parts on the timing leak, valve cover replacement, and wheel cylinder leak. I pay the mechanic for remaining items (water pump, tie rods, alignment). I call April and thank her for her kindness and professionalism.
2006-05-14: The vehicle’s check engine light comes on again.
2006-05-14, -15: I email April twice describing the check engine problem, reminding her that she had indicated this would be fixed. In my second email I detail the diagnostic charge at my mechanic ($75; I can provide a receipt documenting this), indicate that they had found the problem to be with the catalytic converter, and provide the quote I received from R&J Exhaust in Apex ($252.50) for replacing the catalytic converter.
2006-05-15: At 12:45PM, I speak with April on the phone. She is concerned that $252.50 is too expensive and asks me to take the van to a muffler shop she knows, at a considerably greater distance from me. She says she has to arrange things with the shop in order for me to get the price she has negotiated with the shop. She indicates that I must call her in 1 hour to confirm the arrangement.
2006-05-15, -16: As requested, I called April, six times over the course of 24 hours, each time leaving a message and asking her to call back. She never returns my calls. In the final two messages, on 5/16, I indicate my intention to take the van to R&J Exhaust in Apex if she doesn’t follow through on her promise to make arrangements, because the problem needed to be resolved promptly.
2006-05-16: I take the van to R&J Exhaust, and they perform the repair. The total is $220, less than the quoted value; I can provide a receipt documenting this. I email April and leave a phone message for her, asking her to contact them to cover the cost.
2006-05-17: April emails and indicates that she is only willing to pay $85, which she states is what her shop would have charged. She writes “I will call them this morning to take care of that”.
2006-05-17: I call April and leave a message explaining why I feel she is responsible for the full amount. I ask her to call me back to discuss. She never calls back.
2006-05-17: In the afternoon, I visit R&J to pick up the van. April has not yet paid, contrary to her email. I pay in full, $220, in order to release the van. I email April again reminding her of her agreement to pay, and of my expectation she would reimburse in full.
2006-05-24: There were further delays on April’s part in providing me the permanent license plate for the van; my temporary plate was to expire on 5/29. But eventually she agrees over email to provide the plate on the afternoon of 5/24. She continues to express unwillingness to pay $220, but offers to “split the difference” and pay $152.50. We agree by email that I will pick up a reimbursement check for this amount when I pick up the tags on the afternoon of 5/24.
2006-05-24: I arrive at April’s sales office to pick up the tags and the reimbursement check. April isn’t present, but another woman is. She gives me the license plate and registration, but when I ask about the check she says she has nothing else for me, contrary to what April had agreed to over email. I immediately call April on her cell phone and she assures me that she will mail the check that very afternoon.
2006-06-15: Contrary to what April indicated in our phone conversation on 5/24, I have not received a reimbursement check from her. I have sent a few emails, indicating our address, reminding her of her responsibility to deal fairly with the check-engine light false representation, reminding her of her specific promise to mail me the reimbursement check, and indicating that we have not yet received the promised check. Despite all this, I have received no communication from her of any form since the phone conversation on 5/24.
Presently the van is in great working order; we have driven it on two long trips with no problems.
I can provide documentation for all email exchanges, and also a summarization of every telephone conversation and message. I’ve kept notes from the very beginning, taking greater care for detail as my suspicions grew.
Throughout this process, I have endeavored to show good faith. I have been careful to personally pay for all repairs that are not related to false representations made by the dealer. I have shown great patience, even in response to significant delays, failures to return phone calls, having no use of the vehicle due to its being in the shop, etc. I have shown willingness to “split the difference” even though I think any fair observer would agree that I ought to be reimbursed in full. My desire is for fair treatment, not to exact revenge.
Because April continues to demonstrate bad faith by ignoring my appeals, and because she has demonstrated a continuing pattern of deceit and delays, I believe that any fair observer would agree that she ought to reimburse me for both the check-engine diagnostic fee ($75) and the catalytic converter replacement ($220), in full. This amounts to $295.
Given that Ms. Towers has demonstrated a clear ongoing pattern of deception, delay, and general bad faith, in effect rebuffing my own attempts at showing good faith, I seek a full and fair refund of $295 ($75 for check engine diagnosis, and $220 for catalytic converter replacement). My willingness to accept her offer of $152.50, which she never made good on, was based on the assumption that she was acting in good faith.
Ms. Towers never responded to this BBB complaint. See the BBB report for Advance Auto Sales, which reflects an unsatisfactory rating as a result of her failure to respond.
]
2007-03-09
05:06 (history) Hymns . . . .[Update: added His Love Endures Forever.
Following are some hymns and songs that I particularly like. Some of the hymns I am familiar with only through alternate melodies.
A Debtor to Mercy Alone, by Augustus Toplady (original melody).
Amazing Love, by Graham Kendrick.
Arise My Soul, Arise, by Charles Wesley.
Before the Throne of God Above, by Charitie Bancroft (original melody).
Blessed Be Your Name, by Matt Redman. See also Habakkuk 3:17-19.
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, by Robert Robinson.
God Moves in A Mysterious Way, by William Cowper.
His Forever, by Pat Sczebel.
His Love Endures Forever, by Dean Clark.
How Deep the Father's Love for Us, by Stuart Townsend.
I Will Glory in My Redeemer, by Steve and Vikki Cook.
In Christ Alone, by Stuart Townsend.
Laden With Guilt, by Isaac Watts.
O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, by Charles Wesley.
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus, by Samuel Francis.
Rock of Ages, by Augustus Toplady (original melody).
Thy Mercy, by John Stocker.
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, by Isaac Watts.
Your Grace, by Andy Park.
See also Poetry, Things I Love.
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2007-01-22
08:52 (history) Sovereign Grace Blogs . . . . (with minor edits)[I am collecting a list of blogs of churches and people related to Sovereign Grace Ministries. Please let me know if you are aware of any that I have missed.
Family News
Christian doctrine and living
C. J. Mahaney of the Sovereign Grace Ministries leadership team contributes to the Together for the Gospel blog.
Bob Kauflin, worship director for Sovereign Grace Ministries, writes on “worship, music, and more.”
The New Attitude blog, seeking to cultivate humble orthodoxy
girl talk, “conversations on biblical womanhood and other fun stuff”
Solo Femininity, “Godward encouragement for Christian single women (and others who visit here)”
Mark Lauterbach’s gospel-driven life
WorshipGod 2006 blog
Paul Buckley of King of Grace Church
Covenant Life Church of Gaithersburg, Maryland
The Familiy Room ministry and blog, “Because strong families don’t just happen”
10:31, a part of the youth ministry
Married Life ministry (this blog is no longer being updated but contains a wealth of useful resources)
Joshua Harris, senior pastor
David Wilcox’s blog, God-Media. David is Covenant Life Church’s technical director.
Lakeview Christian Center of New Orleans, LA
Pivot Life Guys, Christian resources for young men
Pivot Life Girls, Christian resources for young women
The G-Force Blog, a part of the youth ministry
Joe Lechner’s On The Burner blog for Mission 28, the college ministry at CrossWay Church in Charlotte, NC
Cornerstone Church of Knoxville, TN
manspeak, a product of the Volunteers For Christ college ministry
Mike Plewniak, pastor over the college ministry
Sovereign Grace Church of Fairfax, VA
Crossroads, the blog for the singles ministry
Patriot Christian Ministries, the blog for the George Mason University campus ministry
Five15, the blog for the youth ministry
Christ Church of Newport, Wales
Kidz Klub, the blog for the children’s ministry
Christ Church Students, the blog for the college ministry
(Coming soon) Christ Church Teens, the blog for the youth ministry
(Coming soon) Phase2, the blog for the youth ministry helpers
Personal
Email me if you’d like to be listed here. For privacy reasons I will only add a personal blog upon request of its author.
My own blog, truth, adorned.
Miscellaneous
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Abundant Life Community Church of Pasadena, CA has an infrequently updated blog.
Some personal blogs are listed at Crossway Fellowship Church of Athens, GA.
The Volunteers For Christ at Cornerstone Church of Knoxville, TN list a few personal blogs.
2007-01-03
05:01 (history) Immanuel . . . .[Christ our Immanuel (God with us)
In the year 325, the first council of Nicea gathered to condemn Arius for his teaching that Jesus was not fully God. Nicholas of Myra attended this council, who you may know as Saint Nicholas, the inspiration for Santa Claus. At this council, Nicholas rebuked Arius for his heresy, growing so upset that he slapped him in the face! So there you have it — Santa Claus the valiant defender of the divinity of Christ! From this we get such Christmas classics as “Deck them all for all their folly” and “Santa Claus is coming to town.”
Like Nicholas, it is vital that we see that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. Most importantly, this is the only way that he can serve as our mediator, and bear the wrath of God in our place. But there are other ways that this brings comfort to us. Jesus is our Immanuel, God with us (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:22-23). This doesn’t simply mean that he showed up in person once, two thousand years ago. God’s word is full of encouragement that he is God-with-us here and now.
First, Jesus is our Immanuel because he is the image of God our Father. John says that “no one has ever seen God,” but that Jesus, “the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18). Jesus says that “whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Paul writes that “in [Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:19). Even though we have never seen God, when we see Jesus on display in the word—his love, his kindness, his demand of our complete loyalty — we are seeing God himself. Through his word, we see God! Jesus is God with us.
Second, Jesus is our Immanuel because he is God “become flesh” (John 1:14). He identified with us and understands us. Paul reminds us that Jesus stooped low to become a man — “though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). Hebrews encourages us that Jesus’s becoming flesh means that he can “sympathize with our weaknesses,” since “in every respect [he] has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Not only does he sympathize with us, but since he also served as a perfect substitute in our place, he is able to give us “mercy and grace to help [us] in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16). As John writes, he is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14) to us.
Third, Jesus is our Immanuel because he gave us the “Spirit of [God’s] son” (Galatians 4:6). Jesus promised that he would “send to you from the Father [the Helper], the Spirit of truth” (John 15:26). John says that Jesus “gives the Spirit without measure” (John 3:34). Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus fulfills his promise to be “with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 8:20). The Holy Spirit is the very presence and power and comfort of God in our lives. The Spirit is near to us in a much greater and better way than Israel ever experienced as God dwelled with them in the Old Testament. Through his life-giving Spirit, Jesus is God with us.
Finally, the most precious way that Jesus is near to us is that we are united to him in our salvation. This is the root of our very life. Our salvation isn’t dispensed from afar, like a mail-order pharmacy. When we are saved, we are joined to Jesus our savior. Paul declares that “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Jesus says that “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). And in a powerful passage in Romans, Paul declares this:
We were buried therefore with [Christ Jesus] by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:3-11)
From this we know that in Jesus’s own death, we died with him to sin. And in Jesus’s own resurrection, we are raised to life. His death is our death, and his life is our life. In our salvation, we are joined to him and receive his very life! What comfort and power and assurance there is in this nearness to him!
Because of this nearness that we enjoy in Jesus, we experience adoption as God’s own children (Galatians 4:4-5), and Jesus becomes our refuge and protection (Isaiah 8:10, Psalm 46:7, Zechariah 8:23). In fact, scripture says that we receive “every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3-5) in Jesus. And in turn, he uses us as his people to bring himself near to others (John 20:21-22).
Thanks be to Christ our Immanuel!
]
2006-12-10
2006-09-11
08:48 (history) Accomplishing Goals . . . .[Here are some things that have proved most helpful to me in accomplishing goals and getting things done:
]
Don’t put it off. In general, if a task won’t take too long and there’s no reason I can’t do it right now, I find it best to do it as soon as I become aware of the need, or as soon as I finish my current task. The longer I put something off the less likely I am to do it at all.
For spiritual disciplines, treat each reminder as a providential prompting by the Holy Spirit. For family and personal devotions, it can be tempting to suppress a reminder. If I haven’t been faithful recently, it is easy to think that it would be too much effort to get started again. Or I may be aware that I won’t be able to do it for the next several days — is it worth it to do it today? Or if I am tired, what’s the harm in putting it off until tomorrow, just this once?
But if I see any reminder as a prompting from God, that puts things in a different light. I have an opportunity right now to choose whether to respond in obedience and faithfulness to God’s prompting, or to suppress God’s conviction and pursue my own comfort. Framing the question as a matter of immediate obedience and faithfulness is helpful to me, and has helped me countless times to press on despite how I may feel. This then helps in cultivating a habit, and over the long haul a greater delight in pursuing God.
Take advantage of existing habits. Try to attach new goals to existing habits so that you can use that as an advantage in forming habits for your new goal. To use mundane examples, I have had success in associating my asthma medication (which at times I struggle to remember to take) with brushing my teeth (which is an ingrained habit). I have had great success in associating flossing (which I have never been able to maintain for more than a few weeks) with shaving (which I do at an interval similar to what I want for flossing). By keeping my medicine near my toothbrush and my floss with my razor, I’ve been able to achieve greater success with these new goals.
Use a helpful goal tracking system. I’ve been using Joe's Goals for some time now to track important ongoing goals such as spiritual disciplines, exercise, household maintenance and other responsibilities. Other tools might work well for you; if you have suggestions, please let me know! Joe’s goals has been helpful to me for several reasons: I have immediate feedback and reminder for how lax I have been with a particular goal; checking things off is satisfying and rewarding; and I can share my goals with others for accountability purposes.
2006-09-09
10:53 (history) Accountability . . . .[Update: link to Johnathan Dodson’s excellent article on accountability groups and Jerry Bridges’ article on gospel-driven sanctification.
Objectives
We do not want to fall into the trap of a self-righteous and self-willed obedience to a moral law, whether in our own approach to holiness or in holding each other accountable. We are freed from the oppressive and impossible burden of seeking to justify ourselves (obviously this is not license for sin, but freedom from its power; c.f. Romans 6).
Consequently, the cross must remain central. Not only our mercy and justification are grounded in the cross, but also our regeneration, sanctification and obedience:
The cross is our hope when we stumble, for it is our only hope for mercy.
The cross is our hope for changed hearts, for only there do we receive new life.
The cross is our hope for power to conquer sin and to obey, for 1) in it we have died to sin; and 2) it is assurance of and ground for God’s faithful working in us to make us Christ-like, for which he has now sent the Holy Spirit to encourage and empower us.
So while practical counsel is appropriate, we also strive to relate both our sin and our obedience to the cross. Jesus receives all the glory for our salvation because he purchased us with his blood. And he receives all the glory for our obedience, 1) because in him we are made alive, fore-ordained and equipped for obedience (Eph. 2:4-10); and 2) because we are being fashioned into his image (Rom. 8:29).
Part of relating things to the cross is seeking to address our heart as well as our actions. The cross reminds us that our problem is a “worship problem”, and so we recognize that sinful deeds are not simply problems in themselves, but also evidence of self-worship (Matt. 12:34, 15:18-19; Mark 7:21; Luke 6:45; James 4:1). So we must not simply address bad fruit, but also the root problem, our hearts — and always in light of the cross.
Lastly, the cross reminds us of God’s overwhelming grace. We do want to appropriately examine our failures, respond to God’s conviction, and repent of sin. But it is also important to encourage one another 1) on the basis of God’s faithfulness and his promise of persevering grace; and 2) for specific evidence of God’s grace that we see in each other’s lives.
See also Johnathan Dodson’s excellent article on accountability groups, and Jerry Bridges’ article on gospel-driven sanctification.
Method
The “SERD” pattern works well because it covers most of the usual suspects, though I’d like to add mutual care and work to the list. See below.
I don’t want this to become formulaic, so we might do things like focus only on particular areas for a given meeting, or maybe sometimes do a “best of / worst of”. Time constraints may force us down those roads, as well. Group size may also force us to subdivide, though I’d like us to meet as one group at least long enough to get some feel for each other’s chief weak spots. Let’s evaluate things as we go along to see whether it could be made more effective.
Sexual temptation
Evangelism
Relationship (with spouse and/or family)
Disciplines
Mutual care and hospitality
Work
Let’s also keep in mind that accountability best functions as part of the whole spectrum of biblical fellowship. We ought to be pursuing fellowship and hospitality with one another as well!
]
2006-09-06
06:17 (history) Catechisms . . . .[Update: Link to Lusk’s covenantal catechism.
Here are some catechisms that might be useful for parents:
The Westminster Shorter Catechism, with scripture proofs.
A Small Children's Catechism, by Chris Schlect.
I Belong to God: A Covenantal Catechism (PDF) by Rich Lusk.
A Trinitarian Catechism in the form of a poetic chiasm, by Douglas Jones.
I’m also working on a situational catechism for my children.
See also the incredibly funny Semi-Pelagian narrower catechism.
See also Parenting, Education.
]
06:04 (history) Parenting . . . .[Update: link to Kenneth Maresco’s excellent teaching on training younger children.
Links to pages or articles related to parenting.
Richard Baxter on the duties of parents
Kenneth Maresco taught several sessions at Covenant Life Church on training younger children.
See also Education.
]
2006-06-23
2006-06-09
06:43 (history) Resume Advice . . . .[I have my resume posted online and from time to time I receive a solicitation for job openings. Over time I’ve paid attention to my referral logs to see how folks find my resume. Almost every search includes the following keywords, and almost always they are required keywords:
+objective +education +experience
A large majority of searches also exclude the following keywords, which was a little surprising to me. I imagine that these keywords are meant to exclude job listings. If you post your resume online you should take care not to use these words!
-job -career
I have also seen the following keywords and exclusions. They are less common than the above, but it is worth considering them:
+senior +programmer
+engineer developer
engineer developer
intitle:Resume OR inurl:Resume
“application programmer” OR “application engineer”
-sample -example
-your -we
-opportunities
-apply -submit
-tips -guidelines
-interview
-service
It’s possible that I’m missing other common searches because my own resume doesn’t meet the search criteria! If you are aware of other common search terms please let me know.
]
2006-06-06
19:12 (history) Riders In The Sky . . . .[I used to listen to Riders in the Sky Radio Theatre on the radio growing up. It was a great mix of good music, humor, and fun old-school radio serial. Recently I’ve had a hankering to hear them again. I’ve found some information on when and where to listen to them:
]
Public Radio Fan lists several online stations.
KTEP airs their program.
WVXU airs their program.
2006-04-28
10:51 (history) Laminate Flooring . . . .[I’ve replaced our downstairs flooring (mostly carpet, some linoleum, and hardwood entry way, all on top of slab foundation) with laminate flooring. This was an exhausting but very satisfying project.
We bought our laminate flooring at Lumber Liquidators. I’m very pleased with both the quality and price of this flooring. Since they have a warehouse nearby, I was able to pick the materials up and avoid paying for delivery.
I’ve put together a photo album of the project.
I put in roughly 80 hours of work removing the existing flooring and putting down the laminate. A good friend helped me with this stage, putting in about 20 hours of work (thanks, Luke!). The hardest part by far was removing the hardwood floor. It was cheap, thin hardwood glued very well to the concrete subfloor. While the hardwood only covered 88 square feet, its removal took close to 20 hours of the 100 hours we spent on removal and installation.
When that was finished, it took roughly another 20 hours to attach quarter-round molding to hide the gap between the floor and the wall. We hadn’t carefully measured this gap, so there are some spots where the gap is visible even with the quarter-round. I still need to fill these gaps, fill the nail holes in the quarter-round, and paint the quarter-round, but that can be done over time.
]
2006-03-10
2006-03-07
17:49 (history) Friends . . . .[Update: Add Michael Violette.
Some friends’ websites:
]
Jim and Chrystel Dudley; see also Jim’s blog
Luke Ehresman; see also Luke and Josh’s blog
Chuck Smith; also Chuck’s blog
2006-03-04
18:09 (history) Common Grace . . . . (with minor edits)[Introduction
There is a danger when engaged in any argument, even a just one, that we become so entranced with the rightness of our position and the wrongness of others, that we lose sight of our own unique tendencies to error. I believe the doctrines of grace to be true — I am, as Piper puts it, as 7-point Calvinist. But when we approach God’s sovereignty in a purely systematic or argumentative fashion, we can be at risk of forgetting things such as God’s love and kindness, or failing to allow God’s sovereignty to produce the worship and adoration that he deserves.
Perhaps this is a problem only for me. But I see in me a tendency to understand God’s sovereignty in such a way that his personality, emotion, and love are diminished in my mind, and this is not good. This particularly shows up in how I think of unbelievers. I believe God is sovereign in both election and reprobation. But if God predestines the reprobate to disobedience and destruction, can we honestly say that he truly loves them? After all, 1 Peter 2:7-8 says that:
for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
Approaching Scripture with this kind of wooden philosophical presupposition can cause us to do damage to the text, to our understanding of God, and to our application of his word. With this in mind, I will briefly visit the topics of common grace, the love of God, and the cross; and touch on several related points in conclusion.
Common Grace
John Murray defines common grace as “every favour of whatever kind or degree, falling short of salvation, which this undeserving and sin-cursed world enjoys at the hand of God.” This is the sun and the rain that all the world enjoys in Matthew 5, which reads:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. — Matthew 5:43-48
The text commands us to love unbelievers in the same way that God does. But if we hold to the doctrines of grace in a wooden way, as a hyper-Calvinist, then we will be inclined to say that this common grace is not a mark of God’s love, since he plans to punish unbelievers in the end.
In fact, there is a frequent hyper-Calvinist argument (see, for example, [1]) that common grace, rather than being a token of God’s love and compassion, is nothing more than an entrapment by which God hardens unbeliever’s hearts and gradually builds up an overwhelming judicial case against them. Now this is true in one sense — God’s kindness is often lost on the unbeliever, and often serves to harden hearts. And certainly an unbelieving response to God’s kindness is storing up future judgment. But can we say that God has no love for the unbeliever?
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. — 2 Peter 3:9
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. — John 3:16
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. — 1 John 4:14
Now it is true that not all the world is saved. But these and other verses speak powerfully of God’s heart, not just to mankind in general, but even to individual unbelievers specifically. It can be tempting to look at all the world through the lens of God’s eternal decrees, peering into questions whose answers are not given to us — who is saved and who is not? But then we will see God’s love only as it relates to salvation and destruction. We will be forced to interpret words like “world” in stilted ways, and we will miss an important aspect of God’s loving disposition toward the lost. God’s eternal decree of reprobation does not lessen his goodness, kindness, and love in giving gifts to unbelievers, individually, and to mankind in general. God is sovereign and God is holy, but he is also love; all of his attributes and perfections are in complete harmony.
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. — 1 John 4:8
Mark Horne writes:
Did God love Adam and Eve? Were His good gifts to them a revelation of His love for them, or were they snares meant to hurt them?
The answer must be that, though God foreordains whatsoever comes to pass, and ultimately causes all things, God’s gifts and offers of future reward are all genuine expressions of a genuine love. It may be difficult to conceive of how this objective revelation in history is to be reconciled with God’s eternal decrees, yet it is perverse to use the decrees to deny that God’s gifts and promises are motivated by love. The fact is, just as without God’s love there is no ground for God’s jealousy, so without God’s good gifts there is no ground for holding ingrates accountable for how they abuse and pervert these gifts. It was Satan’s strategy, after all, to deny that God loved Adam and Eve. If our inferences from God’s decrees put us in Satan’s camp, we need to rethink our position.
The Love of God
D. A. Carson addresses God’s love in his book, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. This book is an outstanding treatment of God’s love and I highly recommend it. It is a short and accessible read. Carson distinguishes 5 major aspects of God’s love. This is certainly not an exhaustive list:
God’s intra-Trinitarian love, between the members of the Godhead.
God’s providential love for all his creation.
God’s compassionate love toward fallen mankind.
God’s particular, elective, saving, transforming love toward his people.
Finally, Carson speaks of a sort of conditional love God has for his people, being careful to distinguish this from saving love. While our salvation is secure, our disobedience nonetheless grieves God and brings his fatherly discipline.
Carson is concerned that we embrace the full counsel of God concerning God’s love. Neglecting any one of these aspects of God’s love, or emphasizing some at the expense of others, will lead us into various errors. His chief concerns for us as reformed believers are, first, that we do not deny the reality of God’s love as a genuine and personal emotion; and second, that we do not deny the reality of God’s compassion for the lost.
The Cross
Calvinists hold to limited atonement, also definite atonement or particular redemption — the idea that Jesus’s death accomplished salvation for specific, elect individuals. We hold to particular redemption for several reasons. First, the benefits of Jesus’s atonement are frequently described in definite terms, suggesting that Jesus’s death was in itself wholly sufficient to accomplish and secure forgiveness, propitiation, righteousness, redemption, salvation; therefore his death cannot have been effective for those who perish in the same way that it is savingly effective for believers. Second, Jesus is often described as having died specifically for his people or his church. While he is also described as having died for the whole world, it is clear from this that believers benefit from his death in a way that the whole world does not. Lastly, and of less importance, John Owen made a famous reductio ad absurdum argument for the doctrine of particular redemption.
But again, if this doctrine is understood woodenly, we can fall into error. While Jesus’s death secured the atonement only of the elect, it is not true that Jesus did not die for all men. Again, it is wrong in many cases to artificially read “world” to mean only those who are saved. Charles Hodge writes of Jesus's death:
In answer to this question, it may be remarked in the first place that Augustinians do not deny that Christ died for all men. What they deny is that he died equally, and with the same design, for all men. He died for all, that He might arrest the immediate execution of the penalty of the law upon the whole of our apostate race; that He might secure for men the innumnerable blessings attending their state on earth, which, in one important sense, is a state of probation; and that He might lay the foundation for the offer of pardon and reconciliation with God, on condition of faith and repentance.
These are the universally admitted consequences of his satisfaction, and therefore they all come within its design. By this dispensation it is rendered manifest to every intelligent mind in heaven and upon earth, and to the finally impenitent themselves, that the perdition of those that perish is their own fault. They will not come to Christ that they may have life. They refuse to have Him to reign over them. He calls but they will not answer. He says, “Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” Every human being who does come is saved.
This is what is meant when it is said, or implied in Scripture, that Christ gave Himself as a propitiation, not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world. He was a propitiation effectually for the sins of his people, and sufficiently for the sins of the whole world. Augustinians have no need to wrest the Scriptures. They are under no necessity of departing from their fundamental principle that it is the duty of the theologian to subordinate his theories to the Bible, and teach not what seems to him to be true or reasonable, but simply what the Bible teaches. — Charles Hodge, Systematic, vol, 2, pp. 558-9.
So while Jesus’s death does not secure reconciliation for the unbeliever, it nonetheless has a gracious effect for the unbeliever. Jesus’s death will in fact secure the redemption of creation itself. And as an expression of God’s love and grace, our holy God is able to restrain the sin of unbelievers and temporally withhold his judgment. Even in the face of sin and rebellion, he is righteously able to pour out great gifts of common grace upon unbelievers and mankind. And most importantly, Jesus’s death secures the offer of salvation to all men. He is a sure and certain savior, and no one who comes to him will be cast out (John 6:37). While the hyper-Calvinist may deny that God’s offer of salvation to the lost is “well-meant”, it is clear from scripture that God lovingly invites and commands all men to believe and be saved.
We see this clearly in passages that describe the work of the cross in expansive terms. Jesus is described as one who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29); one who brought salvation for all people (Titus 2:11); the propitiation for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2); the savior of the world (1 John 4:14); and as the savior of all people, especially those who believe (1 Timothy 4:10). Other scripture would forbid us from affirming universalism, so it is clear from this that unbelievers are beneficiaries of the cross in some sense short of true salvation.
Conclusion
So we see that the balance of Scripture requires us to affirm both the doctrines of grace, but also God’s genuine love toward the lost. Carson writes:
In recent years I have tried to read both primary and secondary sources on the doctrine of the Atonement from Calvin on. One of my most forceful impressions is that the categories of the debate gradually shift with time so as to force disjunction where a slightly different bit of question-framing would allow synthesis.
He is saying that we can come to understand the doctrines of grace in such a wooden way that God’s love for unbelievers is diminished in our minds. We ought to guard against this.
I have in mind three other concerns for us as reformed believers that I don’t have time to address at length, but I do want to mention them briefly.
The first has to do with God’s love for the lost. If God has such a loving disposition to unbelievers, as his people we are to have the same love for unbelievers! This ought to energize our evangelism and service to the lost. When we invite unbelievers to salvation, we do not invite them on the condition that they are elect. We invite them unconditionally. In Redemption Accomplished and Applied, John Murray writes that:
From whatever angle we may view [the offer of the gospel], it is full, free, and unrestricted. The appeals of the gospel cover the whole range of divine prerogative and of human interest. God entreats, he invites, he commands, he calls, he presents the overture of mercy and grace, and he does this to all without distinction or discrimination. . . .
When Christ is presented to lost men in the proclamation of the gospel, it is as Savior he is presented, as one who ever continues to be the embodiment of the salvation he has once for all accomplished. It is not the possibility of salvation that is offered to lost men but the Saviour himself and therefore salvation full and perfect. There is no imperfection in the salvation offered and there is no restriction to its overture — it is full, free, and unrestricted. And this is the warrant of faith. (107ff)
In his lectures on the Marrow controversy, Sinclair Ferguson makes the point that God does not offer salvation to sinners as some abstract and conditional transaction — we believe, and from a distance, God will deal with our sin and dispense to us the benefits of the gospel like some kind of mail-order pharmacy. Rather, Jesus himself is offered as a personal and loving savior to all men. The benefits of the gospel come only as we are united with him.
The second concern has to do with God’s immutability. God never changes, and systematic theologians describe him as impassible, or without passions. But this does not mean that God is without emotion, or that his love is impersonal and mechanical. Carson writes that God’s impassibility is best understood as “trying to avoid a picture of a God who is changeable, given over to mood swings, dependent on his creatures” (49). God is not fickle or temperamental. Carson labors to communicate that God’s impassibility does not diminish the reality and personality of his emotions, including his love. Carson talks of people who would make God’s love to be nothing more than an anthropopathism, a crude human picture of something that is not really true of God. Carson makes this memorable appeal: “Give me a break. Paul did not pray that his readers might be able to grasp the height and depth and length and breadth of an anthropopathism and know this anthropopathism that surpasses knowledge (Eph. 3:14-21)” (59). God’s love is a real and perfect love!
The third concern is that we must progress from understanding and even experiencing God’s love to gratefulness and worship. How amazing it is that a holy God would love us! And how more amazing still as we discover more and more the greatness and depth of his love!
Bibliography
D. A. Carson, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God.
Sinclair Ferguson on the Marrow controversy.
John Murray on common grace.
John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied.
Charles Hodge on the cross and common grace.
Loius Berkhof on common grace.
See also Monergism’s collection of links on grace.
]
2006-03-02
05:15 (history) Earthlink Truevoice Problems . . . . (with minor edits)[Here I document my problems with Earthlink trueVoice for the benefit of others. I have had a very poor experience with trueVoice (as a service, and also with Earthlink customer support) and at this time I strongly recommend that no one consider using trueVoice.
]
We orginally ordered trueVoice service on 2006-01-26. I had preferred to use Vonage, but at the time they were unable to transfer our home phone number, while Earthlink trueVoice was able to transfer our number. At the time of ordering, I was asked to enter a delivery address. The form already contained an address: one that we had moved from 5 years prior. I erased the address and typed our current address.
On 2006-02-06 I called Earthlink because our SPA 2002 ATA device had not yet arrived. I was informed that it had been wrongly shipped to our old address, even though I had explicitly corrected this address in the sign-up form. Moreover, the operator informed me that service would switch overnight from BellSouth to trueVoice. I was assured that a new device would be overnighted to me, after a 24-48 hour processing delay. She indicated that she would escalate the issue to see if it was possible to reduce the processing delay.
On the morning of 2006-02-07 we had no dial tone from BellSouth. We were able to check voice messages at Earthlink’s trueVoice portal, but could not make or receive calls. Since our cell phone plan includes only 60 minutes, this was very restrictive for us. We exceeded our cell phone minutes as a result of Earthlink’s mistake and have had to pay for the overrun ourselves.
On 2006-02-09, I chatted with a liveChat operator to confirm that the device had been shipped. Much to my surprise, I found that 1) the device was just in the process of being shipped (approximately 72 hours after I was assured it would be shipped in at most 48); and 2) it was not being sent overnight, but was being sent via 7-10 day ground service. Understandably, I was very upset because this represented not just an error, but outright deception on Earthlink’s part. The operator I chatted with was gracious, but was unable to change the shipping method at that time, and was unwilling to send another device overnight. I asked if it were possible to treat the device as defective and send another one; every suggestion and request that I made was rebuffed.
On 2006-02-09 and 2006-02-10, I contacted several liveChat operators to inquire about using a softphone in the interim (recall that I cannot use a phone at this time). Earthlink does not advertise softphone support, but in principle it is possible because the SPA 2002 device uses SIP to communicate with the Earthlink servers. Most of the operators I chatted with did not understand what a softphone was. Some understood that but did not understand what SIP was. One operator confidently gave me obviously false information about my SIP server, username, and password. Only one operator spoke with his supervisor, who admitted to me that they did not know what the answer was. This was the only honest answer I got for this question! He assured me that they would escalate the question to product engineering and that I would receive an answer by email within 24-48 hours. I never received an email.
In all of the liveChats, above, I was instructed to call 1-877-ELNK-VOICE. This is ironic because I had explained to each operator that I had no phone service. Even more ironic, each operator thanked me for contacting Earthlink and asked if there was anything else they could help me with. That wrongly assumes that I had been helped in the first place.
I received the ATA device on 2006-02-14, after more than one week without phone service. Upon plugging it in, there was no dial tone. I toyed with various router settings for awhile in order to get it to work; at one point I even plugged it directly into my cable modem. There was never a dial tone.
On the evening of 2006-02-14, I was able to visit a friend’s house and plug the device in while calling Earthlink technical support. Over the course of an hour, the technician walked me through various sequences of power-cycling devices. While I was certain that this would not resolve things (especially since the problem manifested itself on two separate home networks), I understood that this is standard operating procedure for problem diagnosis, so I patiently followed along. There was never a dial tone. In the end, the technician indicated that he wasn’t sure whether it was a problem with the Earthlink servers or with the device. He created a problem ticket to look into the Earthlink servers, and assured me that, if it wasn’t working in 24-48 hours, Earthlink would send me a replacement device.
On 2006-02-16 there was still no dial tone. I called to cancel my Earthlink trueVoice service and spoke, ironically, to the most sympathetic Earthlink representative I had interacted with to this point.
I returned my ATA device to Earthlink, and they willingly surrendered my phone number to Vonage; the transfer took 12 days. I haven’t had any significant trouble with the Vonage service and it is good to have a dial tone again!
This whole story is full of bitter irony, and it ends in the same way. On 2006-03-01, two days after our number was successfully transferred to Vonage, an unknowing Earthlink saleswoman called our home phone number (as an Earthlink cable internet customer) and enthusiastically pitched the trueVoice service to us. My wife answered the phone, and the saleswoman was mostly speechless as she listened to our story of Earthlink’s carelessness and mistakes. In closing she asked if there was anything else Earthlink could do for us. What an ironic platitude!
2006-02-07
07:19 (history) Global Warming . . . . (with minor edits)[Update: Link to proposed connection between solar activity and climate.
There is evidence that the earth’s climate has warmed slightly in recent history. It is uncertain whether this is part of a natural cycle, is directly attributable to the by-products of modern industry, or some combination of the two. Many individuals theorize that continued artificial production of greenhouse gases will have the direct catastrophic effect of measurable global warming, followed by melting of polar ice and a substantial rise in sea level.
There are several things that bother me with this simplistic analysis.
The atmosphere is a complex and chaotic system. A single perturbation can have drastic and far-reaching results; El Nino demonstrates this. Global warming would almost certainly have unexpected consequences. If the current climate is in a metastable state, it is possible that global warming could cause it to metastasize to an antediluvian climate. But it is equally possible it could result in a so-called ice age.
Warmer air holds more water vapor. Such water vapor could accelerate warming by acting as a greenhouse gas, or possibly moderate warming if manifested as cloud cover. Furthermore, evaporation of water would at least partially offset a rise in sea level.
A rise in ocean temperature will reduce the solubility of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, resulting in further release into the atmosphere. As with the increase in water vapor, this could result in an acceleration of warming.
Ice cap melting produces freshwater. This increases the solubility of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, at least partially offsetting the reduction in solubility due to temperature increase.
Most superficial popular analysis doesn’t address these points (although since first thinking about this, the movie The Day After Tomorrow portrayed the ice age angle). I’m sure these have been considered as part of scientific analysis, but that makes me wonder if there really is much cause for popular concern. I confess that my own grasp of this issue is only at a popular level.
Some links of interest:
]
James Schlesinger on the theology of global warming.
Gary Novak on global warming. Not sure what to think of him.
Khabibullo Abdusamatov maintains that solar activity is largely responsible for global warming, and will result in significant global cooling by the middle of this century.
2006-02-05
19:00 (history) Games . . . .[We enjoy playing games. Some of our favorite games are:
Bohnanza, a bean-trading card game.
Carcassonne, an tile-laying game, buliding cities, roads, and farms.
Settlers of Catan, a game of building and resources.
Some good online places to buy games are:
]
Funagain Games — look at their “Ding and Dent” category.
Boulder Games — also inexpensive.
2006-01-16
07:04 (history) Salsa . . . . (with minor edits)[This salsa recipe is from a friend of ours at church. It makes a mild salsa that tastes very good.
Ingredients
1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 tbl olive oil
1 tbl vinegar
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 garlic clove
1/4 c chopped onion
Mix ingredients and serve.
See also other Recipes.
]
2006-01-07
09:11 (history) Crock Pot Apple Butter . . . . (with minor edits)[This recipe is from a friend of ours at church. I love apple butter, and we have made this recipe multiple times; it tastes great. I recommend making a double batch in a large crock pot.
Ingredients
5 lbs. tart cooking apples, unpeeled, cored, cut up (enough to fill cooker).
2 c. sugar
1.25 tsp. ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp. ground cloves
0.25 tsp. ground nutmeg
0.25 tsp. ground allspice
pinch of salt
Directions
]
Coat slow cooker with non-stick spray. Fill with the apples, almost to the top; the exact amount is not critical. Sprinkle with sugar in layers while loading. Cover and let stand at room temperature all day; the apples will exude juice and collapse.
Add spices and salt and toss the apples with a large wooden spoon. Cover and cook on low for 10 to 12 hours, or overnight.
In the morning, remove the lid and let the apple butter cook an additional 2 to 8 hours on low to reach the desired thickness.
Turn off the cooker and let the butter cool to room temperature in the crock pot. Transfer to a blender or food processor, or use a handheld immersion blender in the crock pot and purée the butter until completely smooth. Scrape with a rubber spatula into spring-top glass jars (or screw tops with new lids). Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 months or transfer to small plastic containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
2005-07-26
2005-07-12
06:01 (history) Date Questions . . . . (with minor edits)[I’ve added to this list the question “What do you love?”, courtesy Gideon Strauss, q.v.
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2005-06-30
10:18 (history) Sphere Sovereignty . . . . (with minor edits)[I am learning about the idea of sphere sovereignty, which is a uniquely reformed notion of how different spheres of life function under God’s authority, through man’s responsibility, and in relation to one another. Here are some links that I’ve found . . .
]
2005-06-28
07:12 (history) Joy At The End Of The Tether . . . . (with minor edits)[A brief review of Douglas Wilson’s *Joy at the End of the Tether*. I recommend this book very highly. . .
]
2005-06-20
15:52 (history) Redemption Accomplished And Applied . . . . (with minor edits)[I am currently reading John Murray’s *Redemption Accomplished and Applied*. I may write a brief review when I am done; for now I am collecting excellent quotes. Murray has a very powerful and encouraging reminder of where our assurance of salvation lies. . .
]
2005-06-13
05:37 (history) Small Is The Trust When Love Is Green . . . .[I like this poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. . .
]
2005-06-09
07:13 (history) Functional Python . . . .[I’ve added notes on lazy evaluation of conditionals in lambda functions to this tutorial. . .
]
06:44 (history) God Moves In A Mysterious Way . . . . (with minor edits)[God Moves in a Mysterious Way, by William Cowper. Cowper is my favorite poet and this is my favorite poem. . .
]
2005-04-23
2005-04-11
16:39 (history) Holy Trinity . . . . (with minor edits)[A review of Robert Letham’s book, The Holy Trinity. This is an outstanding book. . .
]
2005-04-06
09:55 (history) Home Maps . . . . (with minor edits)[My first map story: I’ve created a history of the places I’ve lived. Some detail remains to be filled in.
]
09:55 (history) Map Stories . . . .[Google maps provides detailed maps and satellite imagery. Using their service I’d like to create some map stories.
]
2005-04-01
2005-03-25
11:01 (history) Goedel Escher Bach . . . . (with minor edits)[A review of Douglas Hofstadter’s Goedel, Escher, Bach.
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2005-03-24
13:44 (history) Biblical Theology . . . . (with minor edits)[A review of Geerhardus Vos’s Biblical Theology.
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2005-02-13
2005-02-01
05:23 (history) Love Of God . . . . (with minor edits)[Graft my review of this excellent book by Carson into its own page
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2005-01-29
19:48 (history) Sacraments . . . . (with minor edits)[Sunday school lesson plan for January 30, 2005
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2005-01-13
10:24 (history) Purpose Driven Life . . . . (with minor edits)[Link to 9 Marks Ministries’ reviews of PDL, PDC.
]
2005-01-06
2005-01-03
Chapter summaries in 1 Samuel.
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]1 Samuel 1 - Hannah prays for a son; Eli blesses her; Hannah presents Samuel to the Lord.
1 Samuel 2 - Hannah prays in praise to God; Samuel ministers to the Lord. Eli’s sons are evil; Eli rebukes them and is himself rebuked by God.
1 Samuel 3 - God calls Samuel in the night and prophesies of Eli’s punishment for not restraining his sons; Samuel grows and is established as a prophet.
1 Samuel 4 - Eli’s sons die in battle with the Philistines and the ark of the covenant is captured; Eli dies upon hearing the news.
1 Samuel 5 - God wreaks havoc on every Philistine city that keeps the ark of the covenant.
1 Samuel 6 - The Philistines return the ark of the covenant.
1 Samuel 7 - The ark remains at the house of Abinadab and his son Eleazar. Samuel judges Israel; God defeats the Philistines for Israel.
1 Samuel 8 - Samuel’s sons pervert justice; the people reject God as king and seek a king; Samuel warns Israel of the consequences of a king.
1 Samuel 9 - Saul seeks Samuel’s counsel; God chooses Saul as king.
1 Samuel 10 - Saul is anointed, prophesies, and is proclaimed as king.
1 Samuel 11 - Saul delivers Jabesh-Gilead from the Ammonites; Israel confirms Saul as king.
1 Samuel 12 - Samuel reminds Israel of God’s goodness to them in spite of their faithlessness; he warns Israel of the consequences of rebelling against God instead of fearing and serving him.
1 Samuel 13 - Saul impatiently offers an unlawful sacrifice; Israel faces the Philistines in battle.
1 Samuel 14 - Jonathan kills 20 Philistines; the Lord confuses the Philistines, and Israel rises up and defeats them. Saul curses anyone who eats food, but Jonathan is spared. Saul battles Israel’s enemies.
1 Samuel 15 - Saul disobeys the Lord by not devoting spoil to destruction. The Lord rejects Saul as king of Israel.
1 Samuel 16 - God chooses David as king; Samuel anoints David and the Spirit of the Lord rested on him; David serves Saul as armor-bearer and musician.
1 Samuel 17 - Goliath taunts Israel; David kills Goliath “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and . . . the Lord saves not with sword and spear.” Israel plunders the Philistines.
1 Samuel 18 - Jonathan loves David; David has great success in battle; Saul tries to kill David, and is in fearful awe of him; David marries Michal for a bride-price of 200 Philistine foreskins.
1 Samuel 19 - Saul seeks to kill David; David flees; Saul’s messengers, and Saul himself, seek David but prophesy before Samuel instead.
1 Samuel 20 - Jonathan warns David that Saul intends to kill him.
1 Samuel 21 - Ahimelech the priest gives David and his men holy bread; David and his men flee to Gath and David pretends to be mad.
1 Samuel 22 - David gathers 400 men to himself; Saul kills the priests at Nob for giving aid to David.
1 Samuel 23 - David saves the city of Keliah from the Philistines, and escapes Saul; Saul continues to pursue David.
1 Samuel 24 - David spares Saul when he enters a cave; Saul returns home.
1 Samuel 25 - Samuel dies; Nabal spurns David, but Abigail blesses David and averts his vengeance. God puts Nabal to death, and David takes Abigail and Ahinoam as wives.
1 Samuel 26 - David enters Saul’s camp and takes his spear and jar, sparing Saul; Saul returns home.
1 Samuel 27 - David lives among the Philistines in Ziklag, secretly making raids against other nations but pretending to have raided Israel.
1 Samuel 28 - Philistia goes to war against Israel; Saul visits a medium, who summons Samuel, who predicts Saul’s defeat and the death of Saul and his sons.
1 Samuel 29 - The lords of the Philistines send David home; the Philistine army goes up to Jezreel.
1 Samuel 30 - The Amalekites take David’s wives and property; David pursues and defeats them, restoring all his men’s family and property, even to those who were too exhausted to help. David sends gifts to the leaders in Judah.
1 Samuel 31 - The Philistines kill Saul’s sons; Saul is wounded and kills himself.