When you’re down on your luck,
And you ain’t got a buck,
In London,
You’re a gonner.
Even London Bridge,
Has fallen down,
And moved to Arizona,
And I know why.
This is a little snippet from a song entitled “London Homesick Blues” which I have to admit is the twangiest of the twangy country songs that you could ever hope to hear. And yes, I have it on my ipod, and I listen to it frequently as I do the dishes. (Lest you think that I have earplugs in, I have to tell you that the ipod is plugged into the speaker.) Usually it’s a funny song. I mean, the chorus is, “I wanna go home with the armadillo.” But the little intro verse which I quoted above has suddenly taken on a newer and a deeper and a richer meaning. I am starting to feel that there are hidden depths in this song. Insights that ought to be paid attention to. These are deep and profound and perceptive remarks.
Here’s what happened. We got the flu. Also, our bank seized up inexplicably and we couldn’t draw on any of our funds. (Long, tedious story, and you really don’t want to hear about it. It’s just painful and ridiculous, and well, inexplicable. But that was the Continue reading ‘When you’re down on your luck . . .’
Patton Dodd, a senior editor at beliefnet, mentioned Nate’s Books and Culture article in a blog post titled “Christianity without doubt.”
Douglas Wilson and Christopher Hitchens had a book tour. Nate Wilson was there. We can read about it here, in the latest issue of Books and Culture.
Today I was reading Proverbs and this one caught my attention. So much so that I read it again. And again. “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” (Proverbs 24:10). I started looking for loopholes. Where’s my commentary on Proverbs? I checked. Listen to what Charles Bridges says about this, and I can only quote a snippet here. (And I apologize for all the punctuation, but I’m quoting him the way he wrote it.)
If thy strength be small, go to the strong for strength. “He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” (Isaiah xl.29.) Commit thyself daily to him, for his supply of “grace is sufficient for thee.” So go onward, weak and strong at once; weak in order to be strong; strong in thy weakness, “his strength being made perfect in it;” and thou at length “glorying even in thy” depressing “infirmity, that, the power of Christ may rest upon thee” (2 Cor. xii.9); not only sustained, but “strengthened unto joyfulness.” (Co. i. 11.)
I discovered something quite accidentally today that I think you will enjoy. And that is a blogspot of fabulous pictures of the Palouse (where we live) taken by our good friend Bill Church. I’m so glad I found it. Check it out here and I will post a permanent link over on the side. Happy viewing!
When do we need to exercise the most faith: in hard times or in easy times? The answer is obvious. And in those hard times, whatever they may be, we need to remember that we have a Savior. He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He has walked through the valley of the shadow of death, and He will never leave us or forsake us. He loves us.
During hard times we need to think like Christians. Whether we call it a difficulty, an affliction, a grief, a hard providence, or a trial, we must not attribute hard motives to God. “What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). The Bible is full of promises to and for us as God’s people. It is our covenant document. The Bible belongs to us. While the unbeliever stands outside Continue reading ‘Faith in Hard Times’
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