Peace Makes Rich

What a gift peace is -- peace with God, peace with our conscience, peace with our fellow man.
Matchless gift, this peace.    The absence robs food of flavor, robs shelter of warmth and robs labor of satisfaction.

"Charge your conscience....."

Owen takes seriously the battle against sin.   Doing so, he maintains, requires us to weigh seriously the holiness of the law:

Bring the holy law of God into your conscience, lay your corruption to it, pray that you may be affected with it.  Consider the holiness, spirituality, fiery severity, inwardness, absoluteness of the law, and see how you can stand before it.  Be much, I say, in affecting your conscience with the terror of the Lord in the law, and how righteous it is that every one of your transgressions should receive a recompense of reward.  (page 103, Overcoming Sin and Temptation edited by Justin Taylor and Kelly Kapic)

One great tool to this end is the Westminster Larger Catechism in its section on the law of God.  If you are as prone to self-righteousness as I am, this may aid in the cure.

The Power of Panting

Today I struck gold while reading Overcoming Sin and Temptation by John Owen (get the one edited by Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor, Crossway publishers).  Actually every time I read it I strike gold. One of the best veins yet.Under the heading Constantly Long and Breathe After Deliverance from the Power of Sin, Owen says:

Longing desires after anything, in things natural and civil, are of no value or consideration, any further but as they incite and stir up the person in whom they are to a diligent use of means for the bringing about the thing aimed at. [To translate, longing for an ice cream cone is of little value unless it compels you to get your wallet and drive out to the DQ.] In spiritual things it is otherwise.  Longing, breathing, and panting after deliverance is a grace in itself, that has a mighty power to conform the soul into the likeness of the thing longed after. 

Further he says:

Strong desires are the very life of that 'praying always' [Luke 21:36] which is enjoined us in all conditions, and in none is more necessary than in this; they set faith and hope on work, and are the soul's moving after the Lord.

And as a warning:

Assure yourself, unless you long for deliverance you shall not have it. 

Take comfort, then. If you are panting after  God and always feel you do not have enough, this is a great sign of grace in your life and a cause for rejoicing.

God my refuge

God, in His mercy,  exposes our sin so we see its evil.  He forgives our sin so we no longer bear its guilt.  And he purifies us from sin so we are protected from its danger.   

Cottage Cheese and the French Revolution

This week we took some cottage cheese out of the refrigerator.   My daughters told me it was not good anymore.  I skimmed off the top and set it back on the table assuring everyone.

"It is fine now.   I took the top off."

To which Ruthiey replied:

"Yeah, that's what they said during the French Revolution too."

To which we howled in laughter.

Steps in Response to Criticism

"Be slow to speak (James 1:19). 

Don’t interrupt or respond too quickly. Let them finish. If you speak too quickly you might speak rashly or in anger."

This is just one of the excellent steps Altrogge gives for responding to criticism.  Read the other 11  here:

http://www.theblazingcenter.com/2012/10/12-things-to-do-when-youre-criticized.html?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=5575&utm_campaign=0

10 Zingers

Admittedly, I nabbed this off Tim challies' blog (and he nabbed it off The Gospel Coalition blog).   Too good to ignore.  These are questions we can (humbly, calmly, and respectfully) ask prochoice people.  I'm giving you a bite here.   For the whole pie, click here:

8. You describe abortion as a “tragic choice.” If abortion is not morally objectionable, then why is it tragic? Does this mean there is something about abortion that is different than other standard surgical procedures?