Puritan Challenge - Update

So, it's almost the end of March and how is the puritan challenge going? Well, if you were to base your impression solely on my blog posts, you would assume not very quickly. And you would be right.

I definitely fell off track in regards to my reading. This was for numerous reasons but mostly poor time management (i.e. video games) and laziness in taking notes or posting about what I was reading. So, it's the end of the third month of the challenge and I only have one book done. Now in fairness, I didn't start until the end of January, so I am really only a month behind. However, I haven't really posted on or fully digested even the first book I read, "The Bruised Reed". Things certainly are not going to get easier either as I start up grad class again next week at Drexel.

So, the current plan is to start the book for next month at the beginning of the month, and as time allows to finish processing the first book. I hope to make these puritan paperbacks the focus of my self-organized reading and not to get distracted with other unread books on my shelf. Also, I will probably be switching up my posting style as well. Trying to write a comprehensive summary on every chapter is daunting and time consuming. Instead, I will be aiming to grab an applicable point or thought from a chapter, a supporting quote and Scripture, a quick summary and a question or point of application for myself.

This should make the posts easier to digest and to write and should make them more attractive and helpful for me to review at a later date.

Edit: Update - To clarify, the next book in the Puritan Challenge is "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment" by Jeremiah Burroughs. This is a change in the reading schedule I posted a month ago which came about because the original book scheduled for April was widely out of stock for awhile.

Thoughts on Photography

Recently on the Desiring God blog, Bill Walsh has been posting his way through a list of reasons why he is a photographer. (9 Reasons I'm A Photographer). This is definitely great food for thought and I know that I am prone to overlook the glory and beauty of creation in my day-to-day life. I've recently become more aware of this as I have tried to be out more in the mornings to walk or go for a run.

One of my co-workers is really into photography and as I have talked with him about it and seen some of his shots, I'm definitely interested in seeking to take more pictures. I don't think it will ever be a serious hobby, mainly because I get too distracted and already have too many interests, but after reading these articles I can see a very cool redemptive aspect of photography.

I'm currently saving up for a small point-and-shoot camera to carry around in my backpack. Since it's relatively small, I've also thought it might be cool to take it along if I go on a run and snag some shots if I see anything cool. I'll definitely upload some pics when I get it to spice up the posting here a little bit (and break up the large blocks of text).

Blogging for the Glory of God

With so many friends starting blogs recently and the way the Internet has become a primary source of information for so many lives, I recently found these articles that are helpful in challenging both my blogging and my reading of blogs. I encourage you to read them, especially the Bob Kauflin article, if you blog or read blogs regularly.

• Blogging to Worship God - Bob Kauflin


• All About Blogging - Tim Challies


• Blog Responsibly - Suzanne Hadley

Are there any ways you see that your blogging could be changed glorify God more? Or perhaps areas where you are tempted to use your blog to draw attention to yourself rather than God?

Part of the Problem?

Last night I attended a benefit concert for the Democratic Republic of Congo at Church of the Savior. During one of the breaks between bands, they showed a short film illustrating the bloodshed and exploitation that is going on in that country. As I watched I was affected by the pictures of suffering and by the gravity of the tremendous amounts of lives lost. My heart was grieved by seeing so vividly the effects of sin. I began to consider the effects of my sin and the seriousness of sin. In one sense, we look at our own culture and are astounded by the corruption and worldliness that we see. And yet, a culture is made up of sinful people like you and me. Is it too hard to believe that our society will be shaped in part by our sinful desires and interactions? We too are part of the problems in this world.

This is a realization that helps me to fight and hate sin more. Sin is pervasive and it is never satisfied, but continues to justify greater evil in pursuit of satisfaction. It's astounding to consider the atrocities sinful human hearts have committed throughout history. And that all these things were born originally in the Fall, a sin of disobedience which can seem so small in comparison. But see how quickly it led to brother murdering brother.

All this made the problem of sin and suffering in the world weigh heavily on my heart. Thankfully, as the concert continued on, Reilly began to play. As I listened I was reminded that we serve a powerful and caring God who has shown his love by sending his Son to die for our sins. In his word, God has promised:

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." - Rev 21:4

Your Week In Review

Have you ever had the feeling that you are unprepared as you go through the week? Ever feel that it can be tough to be organized when it seems you have so much on your plate that you don't have time to think about the next thing until it happens? I've definitely felt this way and it doesn't help that my sinful laziness and procrastination can combine with a general lack of organization or the everyday onslaught of responsibilites and obligations. If I've made any progress in this area it's because God humbled me. I knew it was something I was weak in and awhile ago I read a book called "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. It's a popular productivity book among IT types and offers a practical system for organization.

Amongst other helpful advice, there is a part of the system that David Allen recommends called the weekly review. It consists of setting aside a set time every week to manage your organizational system and review what is coming up for the week ahead. I've heard CJ Mahaney state that he does something similar. Not just in terms of organizational systems, but also looking to the week ahead and seeing how he can serve his wife and his family and the church, as well as caring for his own soul. Every week he sets aside a certain time and goes to Starbucks to considers these things. Since he has an idea of the priorities and activities in the week coming up, he can effectively accept or decline other tasks or obligations which may arise. He notes that there will always be more things that we are asked ab out than we can do and if we know our responsibilities and limitations we can decline wisely and graciously without feeling guilty and without failing to meet existing obligations to those around us.

I definitely see the value in this, as God has shown me over the past several years there is a great advantage in being intentional and prepared instead of only letting things happen to me and reacting. So, I have been contemplating starting to do a weekly review. I typically have time before church on Sundays that I use for reading or other things that I feel might be a good time. I think a mix of evaluating the previous week and preparing for the upcoming week could serve me and allow me to be more effective.

So, I'm working on an agenda of sorts for the weekly review. Just some baseline questions to ask myself and areas that I should be considering. Obviously, I need to look at my calendar and consider the events that are upcoming. But more specific questions like "What opportunities do I have to serve others this week?", "How can I be looking to share the gospel with those around me?" or "How can I be seeking to pursue God more this week than last week?" are necessary as well.

What questions do you ask yourself on a regular basis to evaluate your walk with God? Can you think of any questions that would be good to add to my weekly review? What questions might help me to consider important areas of my life and Christian growth that I might otherwise ignore?

Let me know if you have any ideas in the comments and I'll try to post a more finalized list of questions and let you know how the weekly reviews go once I start.

Do You Know Your History?

When I was in high school, history was something of a neutral subject for me. Parts of my history classes were interesting but I never really found much of a purpose for that knowledge besides academic discussion. I was glad to be able to critically analyze past events and draw my own conclusions, but I never made a personal connection that took it further than just another subject at school.

During college as I began to grow as a Christian, I was directed towards the voices of theologians and writers of the past. As I started to interact with these great minds, the current cultural viewpoints of "newer is better" and "the past is irrelevant" began to be eroded.

Lately, I've become more interested in reading biographies and history. I'm more convinced of the value of learning from those who have come before us and the events of the past. As part of this growing interest, I've recently started reading a book called "The Wages of Spin" by Carl Trueman, a professor of church history at Westminster. It's a collection of articles and lectures written by Trueman, mostly dealing with post-modern views and the fact that Christianity is a historical religion.

One of the great points that Trueman makes throughout the book is the importance of history and how it speaks to our current situations. There is an article about the tendency to cast aside all tradition and creeds under the banner of relying on Scripture alone. Trueman goes on to point out that this is an error and even the Reformers didn't depose of tradition that quickly but only cast aside those things that weren't in agreement with God's Word. Scripture is the ultimate authority, but traditions and history from the church can be helpful when evaluated appropriately by Scripture. These traditions and creeds over the history of the church can help us to avoid errors that we might slip into if each generation decided to start from scratch when examining Scripture. By keeping this history in mind, we can help to avoid errors and see truths that we might otherwise miss in our cultural bias. This is summed up by a great quote on the back of the book:

"History repeats itself because nobody listens." - Laurence Peter

So, what does that mean for us?

Well, we need to have the humility to examine and learn from the past. It can be easy to buy into modern viewpoints that the past is unimportant or that we are so much more advanced than those who came before us. In reality, for everything we've gained, we seem to have made mistakes of our own (and sometimes even the same mistakes because of our ignorance). Also, as others have said, knowing the past helps us to be anchored and to see that so many things that claim to be new and fresh are old ideas that have already come and gone before. While the past and old ideas aren't by nature better, examining these things can help us understand and react better to our own time.

So, don't be afraid of history. Maybe you think it's boring, and I have certainly felt that way at times, but the thing that tends to make something interesting is when we see it fit into our own lives. If you come with a humble heart, you'll find there is much to learn from those who have come before.

The Bruised Reed - Chapter 3

A couple quick thoughts and quotes from the three pages of Chapter 3 of The Bruised Reed.

Chapter 3 - The Smoking Flax

When Sibbes speaks of the smoking flax, he speaks of the evidence of Christ's grace in our lives and the ongoing work of sanctification. Often our growth seems weak at first and the steps we take seem so small, but Sibbes encourages us:

"Let us not therefore be discouraged at the small beginnings of grace, but look on ourselves as elected to be 'holy and without blame' (Eph. 1:4). Let us look on our imperfect beginning only to enforce further striving to perfection, and to keep us in a low opinion of ourselves. Otherwise, in case of discouragement, we must consider ourselves as Christ does, who looks on us as those he intends to fit for himself. Christ values us by what we shall be, and by what we are elected unto. We call a little plant a tree, because it is growing up to be so. 'Who has despised the day of small things?' (Zec. 4:10). Christ would not have us despise little things." (p. 17)

Even when it seems that our growth is slow, we can ultimately rest in God's promise to bring his work in us to completion. And yet, despite this growing amount of grace, there is corruption still present in some sense. Sibbes describes the smoking flax as the spark and light that represent the hope and grace within us and the smoke from the fire that represents the sin which still remains.

"But grace is not only little, but mingled with corruption; therefore a Christian is said to be smoking flax. So we see that grace does not do away with corruption all at once, but some is left for believers to fight with." (p. 18)

Why is there this mixture of the smoke of corruption and the light of Christ?

"The end of it is especially to preserve us from those two dangerous rocks which our natures are prone to dash upon, security and pride, and force us to pitch our rest on justification, not sanctification, which, besides imperfection, has some stains." (p. 19)

A strong reminder to consider both of these "dangerous rocks".

First, security. Where am I deriving my assurance? Is it based upon my works and growth? The gradual process of sanctification and the corruption that remains show us that our ultimate assurance cannot come from how we have grown and what we have done, but in what Christ has already done on the cross in securing our justification.

Second, pride. The fact that sanctification continues at the pace that God determines helps us to keep our pride in check. Even when we are doing all the right things growth can be slow because God is the one who gives the increase and he does so his timing and wisdom. And sometimes, as I have seen in my life, that can be because I start to claim areas where I see growth as a result of me rather than God. Growth is often at a pace that causes us to depend fully on God and contemplating the remaining corruption in our lives helps to sever pride that begin to spring up.

Are you resting in confidence in God's promise to finish the good work he has started in you? Do you see areas of your life where you can be tempted to crash into the dangerous rocks of pride and security?