For folks of a more conservative or libertarian bent, Ted Kennedy often represented policies that they disliked. And often partisan warmongering leads to malice, Schadenfreude, joy at someone else's suffering (which, Col. 3:8, those in Christ must put away); so some may secretly or openly rejoice that he has passed on.
It has been good, therefore, upon Kennedy's death, to read several gracious reflections on his life. There is this obituary by John Broder in the New York Times that expresses both Kennedy's achievements and his failures; and there is this one by Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal, about a speech Ronald Reagan gave at Ted Kennedy's home in 1985. Read them, and discover that even Ted Kennedy was in many ways a gift of God's common grace to our generation. And while common grace is not everything, it does count for something.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
An Ordinary Pastor
I just finished this very excellent book by D.A. Carson, about his father, a pastor in French-speaking Canada. If you know who D.A. Carson is, he is no ordinary theologian/Bible scholar, it is safe to say. But his father was ordinary: he ministered in Quebec at at time when it was very hard slogging. He did not seem to have a lot to show for his ministry when all was said and done. He was often discouraged, and berated himself for not doing enough. But Carson especially highlights his faithfulness in ministering in small places, under great financial pressure, and his constant giving of himself for others. In many ways, in fact, his story reminds me of my own father, who ministered in Germany for 25 years as an "ordinary pastor." If you are tired of reading about "successful" people whose lives make you doubt your own, grab this.As I got toward the end of the book, and the end of Tom Carson's life, I was crying as I read. You never know what God is going to do through ordinary people.
By the way, there is also a review of this book by Ben Westerveld, current OPC missionary in Quebec, in a recent issue of the New Horizons. unfortunately that review is not available online.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Faith-ful Feelings
Are our emotions (feelings, or what Jonathan Edwards called "affections") subject to, or influenced by, our mind, our thoughts, our intellect? Or do emotions just come and go, without regard for what we are thinking?
To put it another way, can we change what we are feeling (emotions) by changing what we are thinking? Does, for example, meditating on the truth of Scripture produce the emotions of hope, joy, peace, love, etc.? Or are hope, joy, love, etc. in Scripture non-emotional words--do they describe something that goes beyond emotion?
Emotions can be difficult for us. When we think of emotional Christians, we are probably thinking of someone who is weak in mind, perhaps; or someone given to emotional extravagance. Someone you might see at a Benny Hinn or Kenneth Copeland event (if you don't know who Benny Hinn or Kenneth Copeland are, count yourself fortunate). Someone distinctly un-Presbyterian.
And yet, we are emotional beings. And as such we are made in the image of God; and God, throughout the Bible, is described with emotional language (wrath, delight, love, etc.) . Recently I have been drawn to several studies on emotion in the Scripture and in Christian experience. Perhaps it is because I, too, wrestle with emotions--and long for my emotions to be more Christ-like. To know joy more; to grow in the compassion that is repeatedly ascribed to Jesus Christ while he lived on the earth; to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.
I am still thinking all of this through, and continue my study--and testing what I learn by God's Word and my Christian experience. But so far I have concluded that as part of regeneration God transforms our emotions as much as our minds. That God's purpose for us is not to make us unemotional, but to give us "holy affections," as Edwards calls them. Holy love--including emotional love--for all the right things; a holy hatred for the things God hates; joy--emotional joy, happiness--for the immense benefits of God's grace in Jesus Christ; hope--emotional hope--for the future.
Now let me ask you--the handful :) of readers: What do you think? Do you wrestle with your emotions? Or are you too busy to think about them? Let me know.
To put it another way, can we change what we are feeling (emotions) by changing what we are thinking? Does, for example, meditating on the truth of Scripture produce the emotions of hope, joy, peace, love, etc.? Or are hope, joy, love, etc. in Scripture non-emotional words--do they describe something that goes beyond emotion?
Emotions can be difficult for us. When we think of emotional Christians, we are probably thinking of someone who is weak in mind, perhaps; or someone given to emotional extravagance. Someone you might see at a Benny Hinn or Kenneth Copeland event (if you don't know who Benny Hinn or Kenneth Copeland are, count yourself fortunate). Someone distinctly un-Presbyterian.
And yet, we are emotional beings. And as such we are made in the image of God; and God, throughout the Bible, is described with emotional language (wrath, delight, love, etc.) . Recently I have been drawn to several studies on emotion in the Scripture and in Christian experience. Perhaps it is because I, too, wrestle with emotions--and long for my emotions to be more Christ-like. To know joy more; to grow in the compassion that is repeatedly ascribed to Jesus Christ while he lived on the earth; to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.
I am still thinking all of this through, and continue my study--and testing what I learn by God's Word and my Christian experience. But so far I have concluded that as part of regeneration God transforms our emotions as much as our minds. That God's purpose for us is not to make us unemotional, but to give us "holy affections," as Edwards calls them. Holy love--including emotional love--for all the right things; a holy hatred for the things God hates; joy--emotional joy, happiness--for the immense benefits of God's grace in Jesus Christ; hope--emotional hope--for the future.
Now let me ask you--the handful :) of readers: What do you think? Do you wrestle with your emotions? Or are you too busy to think about them? Let me know.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Health Care Reform
A lot is made presently about reforms that some in Congress, and President Obama, want to make in the health care "system" in this country. I will not pretend to know what is best by any stretch. Political ideologies are flying about; people on the left and right are weighing in--loudly!--on all sides. As in every political debate, many feel that the sky is falling--whether we do something, or do nothing.
Here are some of my thoughts on the matter:
1. I try to remember, in all political debates, what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:20: Our citizenship is in heaven, and we await from there a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. That means I am a citizen of heaven whether I live under capitalism, socialism, communism, Nazism, or whatever other political ism there is. That's not to say I don't have a preference (see point 2), but this is most primary, most basic. God's people have thrived under the most unjust political systems over the past 2000 years (even, and especially, when those systems persecuted them). I am exceedingly grateful for the benefits of being a citizen of this country, but my citizenship in heaven is not dependent on them. That gives me, at least, some perspective on political debates.
2. As I have a chance, I follow God's advice through Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:4ff): seek the welfare of the city where God has sent you into exile. That's why I try to follow the debate (as much as is possible), and form opinions about it. It's also why I try to get true information (see point 3). My own influence over the decisions that are made is minimal; I have no soap box, I have no standing to make grand assertions in the debate, etc. In the final analysis the best I can do is cast a vote for or against elected officials. If I raise my voice I might be able to convince a handful of other people to vote as I vote. That's a lot more than Paul could do in his day, but it is still not a whole lot. I could become a political activist, I suppose--but that would to my mind prevent me from fulfilling my calling as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ (some pastors would disagree, I know, but I think they are wrong). If I was called to be a political activist, I would leave the ministry. I don't think it would be a good trade.
3. Good information is crucial. I have gotten a number of forwarded emails warning of the dire consequences of this or that aspect of health care reform. They are well-meaning, but I always check them against good sources of information. My favorite, still, is factcheck.org, which has already debunked most if not all of the most scandalous accusations. I understand that the bills floating around Capitol Hill are numerous, and very complicated. I hope our elected officials are reading them carefully. It appears that the rumormongers are not, and are doing us a big disservice.
4. Given where we are culturally, and the direction we are going culturally, I will not be surprised if something I severely dislike--either for personal or moral reasons--is passed into law. I wish it weren't so, but it probably will be. The already complicated paperwork I receive from doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies will probably get only more so. My tax dollars may well be spent on medical procedures I detest, like abortion. Probably it already is, I just don't know about it. I hope the biggest form my protest takes is to continue to preach God's grace in Jesus Christ to undeserving sinners. Ironically, I think that is the most powerful form of "protest." I will never, I hope, cease to marvel that God's answer to this idolatrous, evil world was love, in the form of his Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16).
Here are some of my thoughts on the matter:
1. I try to remember, in all political debates, what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:20: Our citizenship is in heaven, and we await from there a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. That means I am a citizen of heaven whether I live under capitalism, socialism, communism, Nazism, or whatever other political ism there is. That's not to say I don't have a preference (see point 2), but this is most primary, most basic. God's people have thrived under the most unjust political systems over the past 2000 years (even, and especially, when those systems persecuted them). I am exceedingly grateful for the benefits of being a citizen of this country, but my citizenship in heaven is not dependent on them. That gives me, at least, some perspective on political debates.
2. As I have a chance, I follow God's advice through Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:4ff): seek the welfare of the city where God has sent you into exile. That's why I try to follow the debate (as much as is possible), and form opinions about it. It's also why I try to get true information (see point 3). My own influence over the decisions that are made is minimal; I have no soap box, I have no standing to make grand assertions in the debate, etc. In the final analysis the best I can do is cast a vote for or against elected officials. If I raise my voice I might be able to convince a handful of other people to vote as I vote. That's a lot more than Paul could do in his day, but it is still not a whole lot. I could become a political activist, I suppose--but that would to my mind prevent me from fulfilling my calling as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ (some pastors would disagree, I know, but I think they are wrong). If I was called to be a political activist, I would leave the ministry. I don't think it would be a good trade.
3. Good information is crucial. I have gotten a number of forwarded emails warning of the dire consequences of this or that aspect of health care reform. They are well-meaning, but I always check them against good sources of information. My favorite, still, is factcheck.org, which has already debunked most if not all of the most scandalous accusations. I understand that the bills floating around Capitol Hill are numerous, and very complicated. I hope our elected officials are reading them carefully. It appears that the rumormongers are not, and are doing us a big disservice.
4. Given where we are culturally, and the direction we are going culturally, I will not be surprised if something I severely dislike--either for personal or moral reasons--is passed into law. I wish it weren't so, but it probably will be. The already complicated paperwork I receive from doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies will probably get only more so. My tax dollars may well be spent on medical procedures I detest, like abortion. Probably it already is, I just don't know about it. I hope the biggest form my protest takes is to continue to preach God's grace in Jesus Christ to undeserving sinners. Ironically, I think that is the most powerful form of "protest." I will never, I hope, cease to marvel that God's answer to this idolatrous, evil world was love, in the form of his Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16).
Friday, July 31, 2009
Not to Be Served but to Serve...
This is a post that, I'm afraid, will not make much sense if you haven't been there. But let me at least try.
We have had VBS this week, for the first time, I am told, in at least nine years. And it has been amazing to me to watch the goings-on. It began a few months ago when Melissa said, "We're going to have VBS." And began getting the word out about how we needed people to serve. Pete pointed the young people to a sign-up sheet, and they signed up. Other people signed up. It all came together. And what a joy it has been to see.
This being the first time in such a long time, and the bulk of the next generation at Covenant being passed the VBS age, on the first night there were a lot more orange "Truth Trek" T-shirts than all the colors of shirts worn by the children put together. But that changed quickly. On the first night, some enterprising souls determined to seek out more children in the surrounding neighborhood. They went looking for parents who would like their children to participate. Parents, you see, are required to give their permission, and to sign in their children, and sign them out--or designate someone to do so. Security is tighter than it was for me as a child in rural Lancaster County, reflecting the changed culture we live in. It seemed to me at first a burden to ask parents to do that, but now I am sold on it. It keeps parents involved. After all, we desire to minister to whole families, not just children. And the children came.
I have been co-teaching the oldest group, grades 4-5. By this time of the week, yes, I am tired. So is Priscilla, who has been teaching grades 1-3. Tired, somewhat frazzled, but also excited. It has been a joy to serve--and, more than that, to serve alongside so many at Covenant. The young people are doing a great job with the drama, the crafts, and in the recreation pit. The parents--many of whose children are past VBS age--leading crafts, recreation, and serving snacks. The children are having a great time, all of them--the Covenant kids, their friends, and the neighborhood kids. Even the ones that, shall we say, require special oversight.
And of course is not this what it is all about: to follow our Lord and Savior who came, not to be served, but to serve (Mark 11:45). I know for myself--and I expect you, the reader, know this for yourself as well--that I spend a great deal of energy making sure I am being served. Not only in a restaurant or in the store, but even in church, even in the context of worshipping God. We live, after all, in a service economy, as it is often called. How refreshing--and convicting--to see so many of my brothers and sisters serving this week.
Let me close with a challenge: We have been privileged to serve, and to get to know, a number of children for the first time. They have enjoyed the excitement. They are hearing the gospel. Some are responding to it. So what are we going to do next? We work hard to make sure our own children are continually exposed to the gospel. How can we serve to make sure they are as well?
You see, it is a weakness of VBS materials that they often focus on "closing the deal," on producing what are termed "decisions." But the Christian life is not a matter of a decision once made; it is a matter of a lifetime of decisions. One key part of following Jesus is persevering in faith and repentance. We need the gospel not once, but continually--each Lord's Day reminds us of that. Faith, love, hope, joy, reverence, etc. are holy affections that are developed over a lifetime, by digging consistently and ever deeper into the gospel, into Christ, into God's grace, and applying it to the sin that remains in our own hearts. We know that to be true for ourselves, and we know it to be true for our children. How much more true is it of children who do not grow up with regular gospel input! Our challenge, then, is to continue in our service. Will we take it up?
We have had VBS this week, for the first time, I am told, in at least nine years. And it has been amazing to me to watch the goings-on. It began a few months ago when Melissa said, "We're going to have VBS." And began getting the word out about how we needed people to serve. Pete pointed the young people to a sign-up sheet, and they signed up. Other people signed up. It all came together. And what a joy it has been to see.
This being the first time in such a long time, and the bulk of the next generation at Covenant being passed the VBS age, on the first night there were a lot more orange "Truth Trek" T-shirts than all the colors of shirts worn by the children put together. But that changed quickly. On the first night, some enterprising souls determined to seek out more children in the surrounding neighborhood. They went looking for parents who would like their children to participate. Parents, you see, are required to give their permission, and to sign in their children, and sign them out--or designate someone to do so. Security is tighter than it was for me as a child in rural Lancaster County, reflecting the changed culture we live in. It seemed to me at first a burden to ask parents to do that, but now I am sold on it. It keeps parents involved. After all, we desire to minister to whole families, not just children. And the children came.
I have been co-teaching the oldest group, grades 4-5. By this time of the week, yes, I am tired. So is Priscilla, who has been teaching grades 1-3. Tired, somewhat frazzled, but also excited. It has been a joy to serve--and, more than that, to serve alongside so many at Covenant. The young people are doing a great job with the drama, the crafts, and in the recreation pit. The parents--many of whose children are past VBS age--leading crafts, recreation, and serving snacks. The children are having a great time, all of them--the Covenant kids, their friends, and the neighborhood kids. Even the ones that, shall we say, require special oversight.
And of course is not this what it is all about: to follow our Lord and Savior who came, not to be served, but to serve (Mark 11:45). I know for myself--and I expect you, the reader, know this for yourself as well--that I spend a great deal of energy making sure I am being served. Not only in a restaurant or in the store, but even in church, even in the context of worshipping God. We live, after all, in a service economy, as it is often called. How refreshing--and convicting--to see so many of my brothers and sisters serving this week.
Let me close with a challenge: We have been privileged to serve, and to get to know, a number of children for the first time. They have enjoyed the excitement. They are hearing the gospel. Some are responding to it. So what are we going to do next? We work hard to make sure our own children are continually exposed to the gospel. How can we serve to make sure they are as well?
You see, it is a weakness of VBS materials that they often focus on "closing the deal," on producing what are termed "decisions." But the Christian life is not a matter of a decision once made; it is a matter of a lifetime of decisions. One key part of following Jesus is persevering in faith and repentance. We need the gospel not once, but continually--each Lord's Day reminds us of that. Faith, love, hope, joy, reverence, etc. are holy affections that are developed over a lifetime, by digging consistently and ever deeper into the gospel, into Christ, into God's grace, and applying it to the sin that remains in our own hearts. We know that to be true for ourselves, and we know it to be true for our children. How much more true is it of children who do not grow up with regular gospel input! Our challenge, then, is to continue in our service. Will we take it up?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Prayer
Here's another prayer from Valley of Vision for today (language slightly updated):
Everlasting Creator-Father,
I have destroyed myself, my nature is defiled, the powers of my soul are degraded; I am vile, miserable, strengthless, but my hope is in you.
If ever I am saved it will be by goodness undeserved and astonishing, not by mercy alone but by abundant mercy, not by grace alone but by exceeding riches of grace.
And such you have revealed, promised, exemplified, in thoughts of peace, not of evil.
You have devised means to rescue me from sin's perdition, to restore me to happiness, honor, safety.
I bless you for an everlasting covenant, for the appointment of a Mediator.
I rejoice that he did not fail, nor was discouraged, but accomplished the work you gave him to do; and said on the cross, 'It is finished.'
I exult in the thought that your justice is satisfied, your truth established, your law magnified, and a foundation is laid for my hope.
I look to a present and personal interest in Christ and say, Surely he has borne my griefs, carried my sorrows, won my peace, healed my soul.
Justified by his blood I am saved by his life, glorying in his cross I bow to his scepter, having his life I possess his mind.
Lord, grant that my religion may not be occasional and partial, but universal, influential, effective, and may I always continue in your words as well as your works, so that I may reach my end in peace.
Everlasting Creator-Father,
I have destroyed myself, my nature is defiled, the powers of my soul are degraded; I am vile, miserable, strengthless, but my hope is in you.
If ever I am saved it will be by goodness undeserved and astonishing, not by mercy alone but by abundant mercy, not by grace alone but by exceeding riches of grace.
And such you have revealed, promised, exemplified, in thoughts of peace, not of evil.
You have devised means to rescue me from sin's perdition, to restore me to happiness, honor, safety.
I bless you for an everlasting covenant, for the appointment of a Mediator.
I rejoice that he did not fail, nor was discouraged, but accomplished the work you gave him to do; and said on the cross, 'It is finished.'
I exult in the thought that your justice is satisfied, your truth established, your law magnified, and a foundation is laid for my hope.
I look to a present and personal interest in Christ and say, Surely he has borne my griefs, carried my sorrows, won my peace, healed my soul.
Justified by his blood I am saved by his life, glorying in his cross I bow to his scepter, having his life I possess his mind.
Lord, grant that my religion may not be occasional and partial, but universal, influential, effective, and may I always continue in your words as well as your works, so that I may reach my end in peace.
Friday, July 10, 2009
It's finally here!
It is of course possible to make too much of John Calvin. Perhaps I already have stepped over that line! But today is his 500th birthday, so one more quote from him, very apropos to what I am preaching on this Sunday (the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son):
"We are ready to seize and grasp God's grace when we have utterly cast out confidence in ourselves and rely only on the assurance of his goodness--when, as Augustine says, 'forgetting our own merits, we embrace Christ's gifts.' For if he sought merits in us, we would not come to his gifts. Bernard is in agreement with this when he neatly compares to faithless servants the proud, who claim even the slightest thing for their own merits because they wrongfully retain the the credit for grace that passes through them, as if a wall should say it gave birth to a sunbeam it received through a window. Not to halt any longer with this, let us hold it as a brief but general and sure rule that prepared to share the fruit of God's mercy is he who has emptied himself, I do not say of righteousness, but of a vain and airy semblance of righteousness. For to the extent that a man rests satisfied with himself, he impedes the beneficence of God." (Institutes, 3:12:8).
"We are ready to seize and grasp God's grace when we have utterly cast out confidence in ourselves and rely only on the assurance of his goodness--when, as Augustine says, 'forgetting our own merits, we embrace Christ's gifts.' For if he sought merits in us, we would not come to his gifts. Bernard is in agreement with this when he neatly compares to faithless servants the proud, who claim even the slightest thing for their own merits because they wrongfully retain the the credit for grace that passes through them, as if a wall should say it gave birth to a sunbeam it received through a window. Not to halt any longer with this, let us hold it as a brief but general and sure rule that prepared to share the fruit of God's mercy is he who has emptied himself, I do not say of righteousness, but of a vain and airy semblance of righteousness. For to the extent that a man rests satisfied with himself, he impedes the beneficence of God." (Institutes, 3:12:8).
Monday, July 6, 2009
John Calvin's 500th
Three days shy of Calvin's 500th birthday, here is an excellent excerpt of the Institutes I read today:
"That joining together of Head and members, that indwelling of Christ in our hearts--in short, that mystical union--are accorded by us the highest degree of importance, so that Christ, having been made ours, makes us sharers with him in the gifts with which he has been endowed. We do not, therefore, contemplate him outside ourselves from afar in order that his righteousness may be imputed to us but because we put on Christ and are engrafted into his body--in short, because he deigns to make us one with him. For this reason, we glory that we have fellowship of righteousness with him." (III:9:10)
"That joining together of Head and members, that indwelling of Christ in our hearts--in short, that mystical union--are accorded by us the highest degree of importance, so that Christ, having been made ours, makes us sharers with him in the gifts with which he has been endowed. We do not, therefore, contemplate him outside ourselves from afar in order that his righteousness may be imputed to us but because we put on Christ and are engrafted into his body--in short, because he deigns to make us one with him. For this reason, we glory that we have fellowship of righteousness with him." (III:9:10)
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