Why Me?

By | August 19, 2006
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Oh! but my afflictions are greater than other men’s afflictions are! Oh! there is no affliction like my affliction! How can I not murmur?

It may be your sins are greater than other men’s sins. If you have sinned against…
more light,
more love,
more mercies,
more promises,
than others–no wonder if your afflictions are greater than others! If this be your case, you have more cause to be mute than to murmur!

It may be that the Lord sees that it is very needful that your afflictions should be greater than others.

It may be your heart is harder than other men’s hearts, and prouder and stouter than other men’s hearts, it may be your heart is more impure than others, and more carnal than others, or else more selfish and more worldly than others, or else more deceitful and more hypocritical than others, or else more cold and careless than others, or more
formal and lukewarm than others.

Now, if this is your case, certainly God sees it very necessary, for…
the breaking of your hard heart, and
the humbling of your proud heart, and
the cleansing of your foul heart, and
the spiritualizing of your carnal heart, etc.,
that your afflictions should be greater than others; and therefore do not murmur!

Where the disease is strong, the remedy must be strong–else the cure will never be wrought! God is a wise physician, and He would never give strong medicine–if a weaker one could effect the cure!

The more rusty the NAIL is, the oftener we put it into the fire to purify it; and the more crooked it is, the more blows and the harder blows we give to straighten it.

You have been long a-gathering rust; and therefore, if God deal thus with you, you have no cause to complain.

“For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and punishes every son whom He receives.” Heb. 12:6

From “The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod” or, “The Silent Soul with Sovereign Antidotes” by Thomas Brooks, 1659, London, via GraceGems.

That Book Tag, But The Other Way

By | August 18, 2006
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There’s been a meme going around that has received a lot of attention for bloggers, at least ones that I read (like Moorhead).   That’s really no surprise, given that most of these bloggers are readers.   No one has tagged me (which is the way I like it), but I have decided to answer it, but with a twist.   Most who respond start with the premise that the Bible is excluded from all of the answers.   I’d like to flip it around, and say that all books except the Bible are excluded.   Maybe I’ll do it the regular way another day.

1. One book that changed your life: Romans

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: 1 Samuel

3. One book you ‘d want on a desert island: Isaiah

4. One book that made you laugh: 1-2 Kings

5. One book that made you cry: Deuteronomy

6. One book you wish had been written: What I Learned in the Wilderness, by David

7. One book you wish had never been written: Leviticus

8. One book you ‘re currently reading: 1 Peter

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: Zechariah

Before you go to blast one or more of my answers below, be sure that you have a better answer yourself.   Of course I have taken certain liberties with the answers, trying to pick one that I felt was best all things considered (so it doesn’t mean that the only book I’ve read twice is 1 Samuel, nor does it mean I’ve never read Zechariah, or that I’m a heretic because of the Leviticus answer).   But you get the idea.   And hopefully it will provoke your thinking.   And reading.

Billionaires, Read This!

By | August 17, 2006
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FoolishBlog notes a billionaire who flies his sons’ basketball teams around the country in luxury airplanes, puts them up in fancy hotels, and bankrolls a large staff for the team. Far be it from me to comment on any long-lasting (not to speak of eternal) value in this. But it does spark an idea in my head.

Imagine if IBEX had a billionaire. For a mere $300,000, he could fund half-tuition scholarships for 40 students to travel and study for 15 weeks around the Holy Land. We’d charter ordinary buses and stay in average accommodations and no one would complain. We’d be willing to forego a general manager and a trainer-nutrionist. Lives would be changed; the things learned in that semester would not evaporate with puberty. Any IBEX alumni billionaires willing to step up? :-)

More seriously, perhaps there are some IBEX alum out there who want to contribute to IBEX scholarships. Maybe you don’t have much money and don’t think it will go real far, but in my personal experience, there’s something about giving to what you believe in, regardless of amount. Maybe it’s only 5 bucks. God can use the money perhaps better than you realize. And it says something about your own priorities and things you’re thankful for.

And for those of you tempted to comment about how could I dare suggest such a thing while you’re still paying off loans, yes, I’m talking to you. If loans keep you from giving, you’re a poorer person for it.

Learn Your OT Theology

By | August 16, 2006
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All other Eugene Merrill fans out there will be excited to know that his OT theology is being released next month. I remember a couple of years ago when he was working on it in Jerusalem. He was working with just a Bible and a computer, as I recall. Not exactly like other works which are so heavily dependent on others. In any case, the details are these:

Title: Everlasting Dominion: A Theology of the Old Testament

Publisher: Broadman & Holman

Release Date: September 2006

Number of pages: 672

Price (at Amazon): $25.19

Years it would take me to know as much as this man: 23,152

HT: JT
Everlasting Dominion, by Eugene Merrill

Questions for the Iranian President

By | August 15, 2006
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I watched Sunday’s interview with Adolph Hitler Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on 60 Minutes and I was sick. This stomach-churning was caused not by the Iranian president but by Mike Wallace. There are many old fools out there, but that a large news organization would give this “interview” air time suggests that their priorities are ratings and Bush-bashing and not honest journalism. Dennis Prager has a good response, noting that Wallace “probably laughed more with Ahmadinejad than any American news reporter has ever laughed on camera with the president of the United States.” Prager poses some questions the “useful idiot” should have asked, including:

In countries with a free press and where history is understood as consisting of verifiable facts, anyone who denies the Holocaust, the systematic murder of approximately 6 million Jews by the Nazis, is regarded as either an anti-Semite or a kook or both. You have repeatedly denied the Holocaust. Why should the world not regard you as either a kook or an anti-Semite? And do you understand why most free societies wish to prevent you from acquiring nuclear weapons?

Why do you believe that millions of Iranians chant “death to America” and “death to Israel” but no Americans or Israelis chant “death to Iran”?

Prager’s conclusion: “As it happens, Mike Wallace and CBS News did what they set out to do — win in the ratings war Sunday night. But they hurt America and abetted evil in the process. Not deliberately, but knowingly.” It’s worth a read to better understand why Iran’s leaders are evil and how journalism should work.

(HT: Fred Butler)

Should Israel Withdraw from the West Bank?

By | August 15, 2006
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The debate about Israel’s plan to pull out of most settlements in the West Bank is bound to be much more fierce in light of the apparent failure of the Gaza withdrawal and the Lebanese war.   There are points to be made on each side, but short of a complete withdrawal from the West Bank including Jerusalem, which almost no one on the Israeli side is willing to do, it seems that the plan cannot succeed in the current climate.   A new governmental report (and remember, this is the government’s plan, not the opposition’s) is out and some of the problems in such a withdrawal is stated succinctly in this Arutz-7 article.   If you’ve been hopeful about Israel’s future, stop it.

Errors in the Bible

By | August 11, 2006
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I’m reading through the Bible (yes, in a non-approved version), and in going through Numbers 33, I was reminded of how difficult the wilderness itineraries are. There are a few places in Scripture where the travels of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan are recorded, and not only do they not reconcile easily, it’s hard for me to see how Numbers 33 works by itself. I don’t want to be more specific on why, but instead I want to make a corollary point.

Sometimes we hear others make comments on how there are errors in the Bible and things contradict. I don’t believe that there are any errors or contradictions in Scripture, but I don’t say that because I don’t see any. That is, at places, I do see problems that I can’t figure out. Because of faith (and a million other places where the biblical account is clearly accurate and trustworthy), I don’t believe that these are mistakes. I don’t believe that Numbers 33 is in error. But I confess that I can’t figure it out. The result is that my approach in talking to others is more characterized by humility. My conviction of the inerrancy of Scripture is solid, but my attitude is not an arrogant, in-your-face style. And when I figure Numbers 33 out one day, I think a sensitive and loving approach will still be best.

The Rest of the Country

By | August 8, 2006
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I confess that sometimes it is hard not to be frustrated with the many who fear for the our safety. They think that the whole country of Israel is a war zone. In fact, the majority of the country is going about its normal routine. They never hear sirens or any other war activity. Where we live, there are summer childrens’ camps going on now, testifying to the safety of the area. But this is something you don’t read about in the news. Usually. But today Reuters has just such an article about Tel Aviv. One clip:

Tel Aviv’s beaches and restaurants are packed. Many residents of Israel’s embattled north have found refuge in the city, boosting revenues for local business owners.

“The northerners who come here, they tell me they need to unwind. They want to forget about the craziness up there. So the whole city goes out and continues to have a good time,” Cohen said.