The business of putting off and on

Jay Adams, one of my favorite Christian counsellors, does an excellent job of explaining the putting off and putting on passage of Paul. Adams says that the only way to put off is to put on. For example, if you have a habit of complaining, it will not do simply to resolve to stop doing so. Instead, to gain victory, you must cultivate a deep thankfulness. Similarly, Paul says in Eph.4:28: "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need."

Now, what will putting off our culture's fear and distain of children look like? I have seen it in one of my friends who, in her 40s, had prayed fervently for another baby and, upon discovering that she was with child, began doing cartwheels. Sadly, they have since lost this little one. And I have seen it in another friend who, anticipating adding by adoption two more children to their family of eight, would weep as the adoption process stalled at times and the outcome was unclear. These prayers and tears and cartwheels give me hope. Aslan is on the move.

Lay down the name if.....

Brooks in The Privy Key to Heaven (now reprinted in paperback as The Secret Key to Heaven), gives one sweet inducement after another to get alone with God to pray. Then, without mincing words, he says "Either be frequent in closet duties, as becomes a Christian, or else lay down the name of a Christian; either unbosom yourselves in secret to Christ, as friends, favorites, children, spouses, or else lay down these names."

Love at first hearing....

One of our favorite musicians for children (and adults) is Jamie Soles. This is what his web site says about him:(http://solmusic.ca/)

"Jamie Soles is a Christian singer/songwriter from Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada with several albums to his credit. He is married to Valerie, and they have only eight children.

Jamie is the chief musician at Christ Covenant Church Grande Prairie, Alberta, ... serves on the church council, and is under the authority of the church council.

Jamie’s music is difficult to categorize. His kid’s music, for which he is best known, is serious-minded fun, and loved by all ages for it’s ability to open up Bible stories and lists and make them accessible. His adult recordings are full of the Psalms and other Scriptures. His music styles range so widely that one may be most accurate to say that he is developing his own genre. Call it Bible Music.

If you love how the whole Bible testifies of Jesus, you will love Jamie Soles’ music."

I actually think this description is an understatement. I love his music style, and love how he brings abscure Old Testament stories to life. He is theologically deep and not afraid to touch on hard subjects such as the judgement of God. For example here are the lyrics to one of many excellent songs from the CD The Way My Story Goes:

Korah Dathan and Abiram

Our there in the wilderness
Korah, Dathan and Abiram
Never name your children this
if you want people to admire 'em
They were the rebellious kind
Who knew what to do but they would not mind
They saw what the Lord had done for Aaron
Preistly garments he was wearin'
And they desired 'em
Korah, Dathan and Abiram

The Lord took a very dim view of this
And he told His people 'Don't go near them
Move your tents away from theirs
If you don't want what's coming to them'
The Lord told the ground to open wide
And close up again when they're all inside
Because these men would not obey
The way the ground did on that day
The Lord expired'em (gulp!)
Koran, Dathan and Abiram

Further, if you want your children to learn the names of the patriarchs (effortlessly) see here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKCxwW1VQ0U

Ready for a long delay

If you love books, have a look at these beautiful ones.

http://www.abebooks.com/books/antiquarian-rare-design/beautiful-19th-century-covers.shtml?cm_mmc=nl-_-nl-_-h00-beaubk-_-link02

D.A. Carson has an excellent set of sermons on the second coming of Christ, and says we must be ready both for the imminent return of Christ, and for a long delay. If we believe that, we won't feel bad about taking great care to make a beautiful book that our childrens' children will treasure.

The sixteenth reason...

Thomas Brooks in The Privy Key to Heaven gives 20 arguments for private prayer. Every paragraph is a banquet. The one I read today, the 16th, is particularly appropriate for our time: "Consider, the times wherein we live call aloud for secret prayer." Of his day Brooks says, "Ah, England, England! what pride, luxury, lasciviousness, licentiousness, wantonness, drunkenness, cruelties, injustice, oppressions, fornications, adulteries, falsehoods, hypocrisy, bribery, atheism, horrid blasphemies and hellish impieties are now to be found rampant in the midst of thee!" This was the same in Jeremiah's day. What did Jeremiah do? "But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places." And so Brooks calls "every Christian to his closet, and there weep, with weeping Jeremiah, bitterly, for all these great abominations whereby God is dishonoured openly....Oh blush in secret for them that are past all blushing for their sins; for who knows but that the whole land may fare the better for the sakes of a few that are mourners in secret? But however it goes with the nation, such as mourn in secret for the abominatrions of the times, may be confident that when sweeping judgments shall come upon the land, the Lord will hide them in the secret chambers of his providence."
Give me tears, Lord, first for my own sins, then for the sins of my family, church and nation. Send revival.

No more head scratching...

Adolf Eichman was the Holocaust architect. Have you ever wondered how someone could do something so barbaric? He rounded up entire Jewish communites and shipped them like cattle to concentration camps. He knew exactly what he was doing. When he was finally tracked down 15 years after the war had ended, he said his only regret was that he had not been able to do a more thorough job.
For an exciting account of the search for him, read Hunting Eichman by Neal Bascomb. But Bascomb does not explore the roots of Eichman's thinking. For that you need to go to Creation Ministries and read their article "The Trial and Death of Adolf Eichman." Evolutionary thinking had permeated German society. Rejecting God as creator, they also rejected him as law-giver. The necessary consequence of this is that man's law is understood to be the highest one. There is no longer a higher law by which all of men's laws must be weighed. Eichman said he was only obeying orders. Man's orders. And because he was dead to the consciousness of his having broken God's law, he did not see his need for God's grace.
We should not scratch our heads if, throwing out God's good and perfect law, fallen man turns to barbarism. It is inevitable. Dispensing with God's law is like dispensing with the heavy glass cage that keeps your boa constrictor from slithering around your apartment.

Refreshing Brooks

Thomas Brooks is like a mountain stream on a steep hike in hot weather. In The Privy Key to Heaven he quotes Bernard "O saint, knowest thou not...that they husband Christ is bashful, and will not be familiar in company?" In other words, it is in private prayer that God will meet us most sweetly and intimately. Let us not be so easily content that we forgo God's choicest gifts.