The Angel of YHWH an OT Enigma

Commenting on the appearance of "the angel of YHWH" in Exodus 3, D. A. Carson asks and oberves:

We might well ask if, when the text before us records that "God said," it really means no more than that God spoke through this angelic messenger: after all, if the messenger speaks the words of God, then in a sense it is God himself who is speaking. But the biblical manifestations of "the angel of the LORD" do not easily fit into so neat and simplistic an explanation. It is almost as if the biblical writers want to stipulate that God himself appeared, while distancing this transcendent God from any mere appearance. The angel of the Lord remains an enigmatic figure who is identified with God, yet separable from him—an early announcement, as it were, of the eternal Word who became flesh, simultaneously God's own fellow and God's own self (John 1:1, 14).

 —For the Love of God, Vol. 1 (Wheaton: Crossway, 1998), February 20.

Oh How the Many Have Forgotten

Speaking about the virtual universal tendency to forget the lessons of history, D. A. Carson writes:

"How many Christians in the West have really absorbed the lessons of the evangelical awakening, let alone of the magisterial Reformation?" (For the Love of God, Vol. 1, February 18).

My question: how many Christians even know there was such a thing as an evangelical awakening, or a magisterial Reformation? And, how many Christians could tell you anything about these?

The Truest Devotion

"To desire my fellow creatures' good and to seek after it, to desire God's glory, and so to live as to promote it, is the truest of devotion."

—C. H. Spurgeon, "The Importunate Widow," in Miracles and Parables of Our Lord (vol. 3; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003), 435.

Joy Held in Common

"When large numbers of people share their joy in common the happiness of each is greater, because each adds fuel to the other's flame."

—Saint Augustine, Confessions, trans. R. S. Pine-Coffin (New York: Penguin, 1961), 163.

Let Us Love, Let Us Run

"Come, O Lord, and stir our hearts. Call us back to yourself. Kindle your fire in us and carry us away. Let us scent your fragrance and taste your sweetness. Let us love you and hasten to your side."

—Saint Augustine, Confessions, trans. R. S. Pine-Coffin (New York: Penguin, 1961), 163.

Spurgeon on Toning Down the Doctrines of Grace

"Oh to have done with all glory but glorying in the cross! . . . I am so sure about the whole matter, that if I were left alone in the world as the last believer in the doctrines of grace, I would not think of abandoning them, nor even toning them down to win a convert."

—C. H. Spurgeon, "The Search for Faith," in Miracles and Parables of Our Lord (vol. 3; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003), 453.

A Man Has Got to Know His Limitations

“He who would become really a man must abandon as early as possible the childish dream of reading everything. Except what is done for recreation — and excessive recreation is destruction — he must have a limited field of study, and must cultivate that field with the utmost possible thoroughness” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 124).

HT: Doug Wilson

Not Safe at All, Either Way

“Exegesis and Systematic Theology properly go hand in hand. Neither is complete, neither is really safe, without the other” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 123).

HT: Doug Wilson

How to Preach Like a Great Preacher

This series of posts is creative, interesting, and instructive.

Here's how to preach like D. A. Carson without sounding like him.

Here's how to preach like Tim Keller without sounding like him.

And, here's how to preach like John Piper without sounding like him either. 

Grace Is All Gift

Augustin on grace:

Saint Paul teaches that he who sees ought not to boast as though what he sees, and even the power by which he sees, had not come to him by gift [1 Cor. 4:7]. For, whatever powers he has, did they not come to him by gift? [Rom. 7:22]. By the gift of grace he is not only shown how to see you, who are always the same, but is also given the strength to hold you. By your grace, too, if he is far from you and cannot see you, he is enabled to walk upon the path that leads him closer to you, so that he may see you and hold you.

—Saint Augustine, Confessions, trans. R. S. Pine-Coffin (New York: Penguin, 1961), 155.

The Important Place of Story in the Life of a Child

Here's a good post with good quotes on the importance of story, and the right kind of story, in the life of a child.

One sentence from one of the quotes ought to be enough to send you to the link above for the full quotations:

"Deprive children of stories and you leave them unscripted, anxious stutterers in their actions as in their words."—Alasdair MacIntyre

Hearing the Voice with the Hearing of the Heart

"Far off, I heard your voice saying I am the God who IS. I heard your voice, as we hear voices that speak to our hearts, and at once I had no cause to doubt. I might more easily have doubted that I was alive than that Truth had being."

—Saint Augustine, Confessions, trans. R. S. Pine-Coffin (New York: Penguin, 1961), 147.

Render to God What Is God's

Render to Caesar what is his, but no more. A good reminder for this 4th of July, the year of our Lord 2013. We ought to love our country, but manifestly love God immeasurably more.

Cpl. Brandon D. "Bubba" Meyers, April 08, 1988–June 28, 2013

My Tribute at the Memorial Service of Cpl. Brandon D. Meyers  

Unfortunately, I didn’t know my cousin Brandon very well. For a variety of reasons, as adults, our paths almost never crossed. That’s regrettable. But I’m glad so many knew him and have shared their memories. It’s been really good to hear what so many knew of Brandon.

I do know this, however: He was a brave man, as my brother has pointed out in his tribute to his life. Brandon was brave. He served faithfully in our military. I admire that. I admire such service a great deal. I know that takes courage, a courage I long to imitate.  

Wars are ugly, and wars are messy. Almost invariably, probably, wars are a mix of fighting for good, and fighting for no good reason. But I know this: there are good things Brandon fought for, freedoms he helped to protect, national security he helped secure. And for his sacrifices, and so many like his, I’m grateful to God. I’m grateful.

I’m grateful for how the sacrifice of a military man, Brandon, points to my supreme hero. I’m a Christian, as many of you know. So Jesus is my supreme hero. I admire him like I admire no one else. He offered the supreme sacrifice in giving his life for the world, when he didn’t have to do it.

And as I’ve thought about Brandon’s life in recent days, I think about how it points—even amid terrible tragedy—to the One who sacrificed everything for the good and welfare and life of others.

I admire the bravery of Brandon. I’m thankful for his service to our country. I’m thankful for the sacrifice of his family in sending their son to fight our messy and painful wars. And I’m thankful that this life, ended way too soon, points to the supreme sacrifice that brings life to a dying world.

Jesus embodied a principle of supreme and sacrificial love, a principle he taught his followers. He said to those who would follow him in self-sacrifice: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13). 

Children's Church?

Ian Murray has written a good article on Children and the Sermon.

Another good one from John and Noel Piper is called The Family: Together in God's Presence.