grieving our sin

Samuel Zwemer, poet, scholar, missionary to Islam carried The Private Devotions of Lancelot Andrewes from country to country as he traveled.   It was his favorite devotional.   Lancelot Andrewes had both a deep sense of his sin and a deep love for Christ and his sacrifice.   These two go together and are the perfect antidote to the Muslims' excusing of sin and dismissing the need for a blood sacrifice. I want a deeper repentance too.  Here is a quote from one of the prayers of Lancelot Andrewes:

To Thee, O Lord, I confess, because, if I would, I cannot conceal: to Thee my very many, my very great, my very heinous sins. I profess also to grieve, as Thou knowest. But I need more grief: I plainly need it. I am far from that which I ought to have. I can sin much; I cannot repent much. Woe is me for my dryness, my dryness; I cannot much: I would much. I know that even much is not enough. Would that I had such grief, or even more; but of myself I cannot obtain it: I am dried up, I am dried up like a potsherd: woe is me. Thou, O Lord, increase the fountain of tears that I have; supply that I have not; give me a molten heart, unutterable groans. Meanwhile, since my mind is willing, accept me according to that I have, not according to that I have not.

Warts and Sin

I am inching my way through Overcoming Sin and Temptation by John Owen (eds. Kapic and Taylor), enjoying each bite the way I would a Godiva chocolate.   One thing that the book is doing for me is making me more suspicious of the deceitfulness of my own heart.  Jesus calls us to "Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation."  This watchfulness must be continual,  for our deceitful heart remains with us meddling in every resolve and desire to be obedient.
Indwelling sin is like a wart between the toes.  The roots are deep, and wider inside than on the surface.  It grows.  You can trim it back so that it doesn't press so painfully, but it lives on and will grow again.
Warts sometimes die but our deceitful heart will be with us until we die.  Only then will we be free of the battle.  Until then, press in for the fight.  John Owen's book is a manual for the hand-to-hand combat.

Zwemer, poetry and a call to open our eyes

Here is a poem Zwemer wrote in his book A World of Muslim Childhood:   

The great world's heart is aching, aching fiercely in the night, 

And God alone can heal it, and God alone give light;

And the men to bear that message and to  speak the living word,

Are you and I , my brothers , and the millions that have heard.

Can we close our eyes to duty?  Can we fold our hands at ease,

While the gates of night stand open to the pathways of the seas?

Can we shut up our Compassions?  Can we leave our prayers unsaid

Til and lands which sin has blasted have been quickened from the dead? 

 

 

 

From Hand to Mouth.

Who said,that a missionary "often lives from hand to mouth"?

Samuel Zwemer,On various occasions in later life he made the remark, "I have always lived from hand to mouth, but it has been the Lord's hand and my mouth."

Zwemer gets a wife and a good one.

Bachelors Zwemer and Cantine were in Basrah when two Christian nurses came through on their way to Baghdad.  One, Amy Wilkes, was very attractive and was asked to pour tea.   Zwemer called her to see a passing caravan.  As she arose her foot caught on the shawl that was covering the packing case used as a table.  Most of the dishes came crashing down and she fled to the balcony in tears.  The report is that Zwemer "suggested it would be fine should she stay on and break the remainder of the dishes at her convenience."  In resolved pursuit, he arranged to be the Arabic teacher for the young ladies and you can guess the rest.
Amy was an amazingly suitable wife for Zwemer.  He said of her: ...she worked under "circumstances and in an environment of untold discomforts and physical hardships.  Naturally strong and self-reliant, she triumphed over everything bravely and hopefully.  Our small, uncomfortable, three-room leaky house, without screens in the midst of the town became a center of hospitality for Arab women and children....Looking back on those early years, what she patiently endured now seems incredible."

This is a poem he wrote about her:

"Her love was like an island
In life's ocean, vast and wide,
A peaceful, quiet shelter
From the wind and rain and tide.
'Twas bound on the north by Hope,
By Patience on the west,
By tender Counsel on the south
And on the east by Rest.
Above it, like a beacon light,
Shone faith and truth and prayer;
And through the changing scenes of life
I found a haven there."

Zwemer zinger

Samuel Zwemer was a Dutch American who poured out his life in love for his Savior and for Muslims.  I am  thrilled to the bone to be reading his biography Apostle to Islam.  Higher criticism of Scripture, especially in Europe, wrecked havoc on the church and weakened the stream of missionaries going out. Zwemer hated that higher criticism and likened it to "ants in Africa who would bite the life-germ out of a seed before they took it underground in their anthill, so it could not sprout."

Three Cheers for Reading Aloud.

Reading aloud is inexpensive. It is highly portable. It teaches language skills. It makes history come alive and gives hope. It can build character and implant faith. It gives us laughs. What’s not to love about it?
Recently I expanded on the benefits of reading aloud at 
http://www.visionarywomanhood.com/the-joy-of-reading-aloud/

Why my father was right about Harlequin Romances

When I was a teenager, I read many, many Harlequin Romances.  I am not bragging.  I am confessing.
My father never liked it, and I wish I had been more into pleasing my father and less into pleasing myself.

Robert E. Lee did not like his children reading fiction.  He wrote to his wife:

Let him [his son Rooney] never touch a novel.  They print beauty more charming than nature, and describe happiness that never exists. They will teach him to sigh after that which has no reality, to despise the little good that is granted us in this world and to expect more than is given.

H.W. Crocker III says that Lee enjoyed many of the simple pleasures of life precisely because he forsook wallowing in "unattainable fantasies."  He understood that original sin was a reality to live with for the redeemed.
Though we may not adopt Lee's strict position on fiction, we should be wise as to the temptations that may accompany it.

The Love of Christ in his Intercession

"It is impossible fully to set forth the interest he takes in his people, or the concern he manifests for their welfare....May I expect every blessing to flow to me through this medium, and may I rejoice in this privilege when I can rejoice in nothing beside."     The Love of Christ by James Smith

Some of our Favorite Books to Read Aloud

Favorite Authors from Inheritance Publications. This is one of our favorite publishers and the only one I will cover today. The list is not exhaustive of our favorites. Grace  of Truth has a wonderful little selection available.

Piet Prins

Anak The Eskimo Boy

Wambu Series (3 books)

Struggle for freedom Series (4 books)

The Shadow Series (5 books)

Scout Series (7 books)

Stefan Derksen’s Polar Adventure

The Sheltie Series (2 books)

Hesba Stretton

Jessica’s First Prayer and Jessica’s Mother

Amy Le Feuvre

Probable Sons

Legend Led

Teddy’s Button

Harebell’s Friend

Andy Man

Deborah Alcock

The Romance of Protestantism

Crushed yet Conquering

Under Calvin’s Spell

The Spanish Brothers

Doctor Adrian

Done and Dared in Old France

By Far Euphrates

 We have carefully selected  historical fiction to make church history come alive.   Deborah Alcock (though not writing for young children, her books can be read aloud when they are quite young) is one of our favorite authors of historical fiction. She takes you to France to weep with the persecuted but persevering Huguenots, to Bohemia to walk alongside the godly John Huss, to Spain to cringe as the reformation is crushed under the heels of the inquisition, to Turkey to witness the pain and triumphs of the Armenian Christians under the Turks,  to Holland as she fights to be free from the domination and oppression of Spain. Alcock understands the theological issues involved and you will get some theological education to boot.  

Some additional historical fiction to teach church history are:

The Farrier of Buda by P. De Zeeuw

The Carpenter of Zerbst by De Zeeuw

Quintus by R. Weerstand

Church history for children  (biography)

Against the World - The Odyssey of Athanasius by Henry W. Coray

Augustine by J. Gzn and De Zeeuw   

 William of Orange The Silent Prince  by W. G. Van de Hulst

Inheritance Publication also has a series on the Huguenots:

The Escape/The Secret Mission by A. Van der Jagt (this series is for children)

How They Kept The Faith by Grace Raymond

The Young Huguenots by Edith S. Floyer 

Driven into Exile by Charlotte Maria Tucker

                   Some books on WW II

It Began With a Parachute by William R. Rang
Journey Through the Night by Anne De Vries

The Puritans on Sin

 The Puritans took sin seriously.   They knew it was worse than Satan: the devil cannot keep us from heaven but sin can.  They wanted people to see it, mourn it and fight it as sinners saved by grace.

If you click on the titles you can link to a great deal on the book from Reformation Heritage Books.

The Sinfulness of Sin by Ralph Venning

Overcoming Sin and Temptation by John Owen (edited by Kapic and Taylor).  This is rich but takes some work.  If you want a simplified (yet excellent) reworking of it see the next book.   One of our daughters read the one below and was deeply convicted.

The Enemy Within by Kris Lundgaard (this is the reworked one.)

Also available is a little book on dealing with sin in our children: 

Dealing with Sin in Our Children by Arthur Hildersham

For those that want to go really study this, the following book (which I have not read) looks superb.  Because it is sermons, we know it was written for a general audience.  

A Treatise of Sin: The Deceitfulness of the Heart Unmasked by Anthony Burgess is probably one of the greatest books ever written on the deceitfulness of the human heart. It was first written in 1654 and published as A Treatise of Sin. The book is a masterpiece on the heart’s deceitfulness in sin, and formality and hypocrisy in religion. Anthony Burgess’ work contains 42 sermons that pierce to the depths of the soul in exposing false religion and the worthless props men lean on to justify themselves before God.  

I do not know if The Mischief of Sin or The Evil of Evils are still in print.  I could not find them at RHB.   Feel free to google for it.

Another invaluable guide to tracking the devices of the devil is called Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices by Thomas Brooks.

Let me assure you that this does not need to be a huge time commitment. Some days I only read a page or a few paragraphs and it helps for me to write out some of the great quotes and some thoughts if I feel moved so to do.

 

Blessings.   May God make us all more grieved for our sin so that we may love the Savior and our neighbor more.

Still learning from the Puritans...

 Since God calls us to glorify him in everything we do, how does that look in our everyday conversation?
One of my recent Puritan favorites is Godly Conversation by Joanne J. Jung.  I wrote a review at the Visionary Womanhood blog.

Suspicions of cynicism confirmed.

 Slowly reading through A Praying Life by Paul Miller, I came across one of the best descriptions of cynicism ever.  Miller describes how it creeps in and how the opposite is trusting, feisty prayer.
I wrote about it here on the Visionary Womanhood blog.

"He visits in trials...." and proves his wisdom.

He visits in trials, reproves for folly, smites for sin, and withholds the light of his countenance to testify his disapprobation of our ways; and yet all this is in love.....Was he less wise, we might have more comfort, but it would injure us; was he less holy, we might have fewer trials, but we should assuredly be losers....He is no fond parent, no foolish friend, no unholy companion; he will not tempt us to evil, nor with evil, neither will he indulge us to our injury.  He would rather close his ears to our cries, than his heart to our interests; and the day is coming when we shall see that all was needful, and not a trial could have been omitted consistently with the wisdom and holiness of his love.

The Love of Christ by James Smith

Education on the frontier.

 How is it possible that Americans had a higher literacy rate in the frontier days than it does now?   Stephen Mansfield explains in his intriguing book Lincoln's Battle With God.

We should remember that the early English settlers in the New World left England accompanied by fears that they would pursue their "errand into the wilderness" and became barbarians in the process. Loved ones at home wondered how a people could cross and ocean and live in the wilderness without losing the literacy, the learning, and the faith that defined them. The early colonists came determined to defy these fears. They brought books, printing presses, and teachers with them and made the founding of schools a priority. Puritans founded Boston in 1630 and established Harvard College within six years. After ten years they had already printed the first book in the colonies, the Bay Psalm Book. many more would follow. The American colonists were so devoted to education--inspired as they were by their Protestant insistence upon biblical literacy and by their hope of converting and educating the native--that they created a near-miraculous culture of learning.
        This was achieved through an educational free market. Colonial society offered "Dame schools, " Latin grammar schools, tutors for hire, what would today be called "home schools," church schools, schools for the poor, and colleges for the gifted and well-to-do.
We should remember that the early English settlers in the New World left England accompanied by fears that they would pursue their "errand into the wilderness" and became barbarians in the process. Loved ones at home wondered how a people could cross and ocean and live in the wilderness without losing the literacy, the learning, and the faith that defined them. The early colonists came determined to defy these fears. They brought books, printing presses, and teachers with them and made the founding of schools a priority. Puritans founded Boston in 1630 and established Harvard College within six years. After ten years they had already printed the first book in the colonies, the Bay Psalm Book. many more would follow. The American colonists were so devoted to education--inspired as they were by their Protestant insistence upon biblical literacy and by their hope of converting and educating the native--that they created a near-miraculous culture of learning.
        This was achieved through an educational free market. Colonial society offered "Dame schools, " Latin grammar schools, tutors for hire, what would today be called "home schools," church schools, schools for the poor, and colleges for the gifted and well-to-do. Enveloping these institutions of learning was a wider culture that prized knowledge as an aid to godliness. Books were cherished and well-read. A respected minister might have thousands of them. Sermons were long and learned. Newspapers were devoured, and elevated discussion of ideas filled taverns and parlors. Citizens formed gatherings for the "improvement of the mind"--debate societies and reading clubs and even sewing circles at which the latest books from England were read.
   The intellectual achievements of colonial America were astonishing. Lawrence Cremin, dean of American education historians, estimated the literacy rate of the period at between 80 and 90 percent. Benjamin Franklin taught himself five languages and was not thought exceptional. Jefferson taught himself half a dozen, including Arabic. George Washington was unceasingly embarrassed by his lack of formal education, and yet readers of his journal today marvel at his intellect and wonder why he ever felt insecure..It was nothing for a man--or in some cases a woman-- the learn algebra, geometry, navigation, science, logic, grammar, and history entirely through self-education. A seminarian was usually required to know Greek, Hebrew Latin, French, and German just to begin his studies , instruction which might take place in a log classroom and on a dirt floor.
        This culture of learning spilled over onto the American frontier. Through pioneers routinely moved beyond the reach of even basic education, as soon as the first buildings of a town were erected, so,too.were voluntary societies to foster intellectual life. Aside from schools for the young, there were debate  societies, discussion groups, lyceums, lecture associations, political clubs, and always, Bible societies. The level of learning these groups encouraged was astounding. the language of Shakespeare and classical literature--at the least Virgil, Plutarch, Cicero, and Homer-- so permeated the letters and journals of frontier Americans that modern readers have difficulty understanding that generation's literary metaphors. this meant that even a rustic Western settlement could serve as a kind of informal frontier university for the aspiring.
Enveloping these institutions of learning was a wider culture that prized knowledge as an aid to godliness. Books were cherished and well-read. A respected minister might have thousands of them. Sermons were long and learned. Newspapers were devoured, and elevated discussion of ideas filled taverns and parlors. Citizens formed gatherings for the "improvement of the mind"--debate societies and reading clubs and even sewing circles at which the latest books from England were read.
   The intellectual achievements of colonial America were astonishing. Lawrence Cremin, dean of American education historians, estimated the literacy rate of the period at between 80 and 90 percent. Benjamin Franklin taught himself five languages and was not thought exceptional. Jefferson taught himself half a dozen, including Arabic. George Washington was unceasingly embarrassed by his lack of formal education, and yet readers of his journal today marvel at his intellect and wonder why he ever felt insecure..It was nothing for a man--or in some cases a woman-- the learn algebra, geometry, navigation, science, logic, grammar, and history entirely through self-education. A seminarian was usually required to know Greek, Hebrew Latin, French, and German just to begin his studies , instruction which might take place in a log classroom and on a dirt floor.
        This culture of learning spilled over onto the American frontier. Through pioneers routinely moved beyond the reach of even basic education, as soon as the first buildings of a town were erected, so,too.were voluntary societies to foster intellectual life. Aside from schools for the young, there were debate  societies, discussion groups, lyceums, lecture associations, political clubs, and always, Bible societies. The level of learning these groups encouraged was astounding. the language of Shakespeare and classical literature--at the least Virgil, Plutarch, Cicero, and Homer-- so permeated the letters and journals of frontier Americans that modern readers have difficulty understanding that generation's literary metaphors. this meant that even a rustic Western settlement could serve as a kind of informal frontier university for the aspiring.

Dredging the River

When we lived out in Washington state we were told that in the past the Nooksack River was dredged so that it would hold more water and not keep overflowing it's banks.
Spurgeon used this picture as a wonderful metaphor for suffering:

 "He is digging you out; you are like an old ditch, you cannot hold anymore, and God is digging you out to make more room for more grace....The spade will cut sharply, and dig up sod after sod, and throw it on one side.  the very thing you would like to keep shall be cast away."