But while you are governing others, learn to govern yourselves, and do not disorder your own souls under the pretence of keeping order in your families. – Matthew Henry, The Quest for Meekness and Quietness of Spirit
Did you see it?
I hope you all saw the picture of my husband on his blog. He is debating the atheist Christopher Hitchens on the Christianity Today website, but he posted the info and the side-by-side book cover pics on his blog. I’m afraid the pics will get buried before everyone can enjoy them as much as they should. It would be a bit tricky for me to figure out how to get the pics up here, so I’m sending you over to his blog to see them. I’m particularly fond of my funny/fun husband. http://www.dougwils.com/
Persevering Patience
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering…” (Galatians 5:22).
What is longsuffering? Here’s what the dictionary says: continuing in spite of difficulties or obstacles, refusing to give up, remaining steadfast in purpose, bearing injuries, insults, or troubles patiently for a long, long time. (In other words, suffering for a long time.) It is similar to patience: the ability to endure without complaint, bearing suffering, provocation, delay, or tediousness with calmness and self-control, refusing to be provoked or angered, as by an insult.
What kinds of things require patience, endurance, or longsuffering? Difficulties, obstacles, injuries, insults, troubles, suffering, provocation, delay, and tediousness. That about sums it up, don’t you think? And the thought of suffering through so much seems impossible. Well, it is. Christianity is the right religion for all of us, because we need a Savior. In Christ we can find patience, but apart from Him we will all just blow a fuse with so much provocation in this world.
Let’s consider a few of these common stumbling blocks which call for patience and longsuffering. Read More
Sabbath at Oxford
When we first started celebrating the arrival of the Sabbath with a feast, our daughter Bekah was engaged to Ben Merkle. We had a new house, a new table, and Ben made our numbers swell to six. But soon we had a couple of college girls living with us, and that made eight, and Knox was born, but he didn’t take up much room. So for the ten years that Ben and Bekah have been married, they have been coming to our house every Saturday night for the festivities, and Knox now has four younger siblings and six cousins joining him around our table.
This past fall the Merkles moved to Oxford for Ben to pursue graduate studies. They have a great little place to stay that has been both a blessing and a challenge for continuing the Sabbath tradition. Their cottage has a small kitchen, no separate dining room, a living room that is smaller than my bedroom, but a very expansive yard for the kids to run in when the weather is nice. Since they had so much on their plate adjusting to new quarters, a new country, and home schooling the kids for the first time (since Logos is too far away for a commute), I encouraged Bekah not to feel like she had to keep up the same Sabbath traditions that we had. The last thing she needed was pressure from Mom in the form of, “So what did you do for Sabbath dinner this week?” But it wasn’t but a few weeks before she had tackled it anyway. Once you’ve gotten into the Read More
A Feast of Fat Things
The Lord’s Supper works for good. It is an emblem of the marriage-supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9), and an earnest of that communion we shall have with Christ in glory. It is a feast of fat things; it gives us bread from heaven, such as preserves life, and prevents death. It has glorious effects in the hearts of the godly. It quickens their affections, strengthens their graces, mortifies their corruptions, revives their hopes, and increases their joy. Luther says, ‘It is as great a work to comfort a dejected soul, as to raise the dead to life’; yet this may and sometimes is done to the souls of the godly in the blessed Supper. -Thomas Watson
Beauty in the Home
As we seek to establish a robust Christian culture in our homes, we cannot forget the impact beauty has on our souls and on those around us. Barrenness is not what we are shooting for, and yet many Christian homes are barren: colorless, bleak, gloomy, and stale. Is this what we want to export? Is this a sample of reformed living? I have been in Christian homes where the blinds were drawn tight, where the only items in view were simply utilitarian and mostly ugly, where the sunshine was shut out, and the thermostat was turned down so low that not only was it dreary, it was cold too. All I could think of was, Read More