Holy or Hellish Criticism

by Doug Wilson:

"When we are critical of others, we are in it for one of two reasons. We are either critical because we are loving them, and are seeking their best interest, or we are critical because we are loving ourselves, and are seeking some way to compete effectively with them. This means that our criticism is either borne from a love of God, or it is borne from a love of self.

The critical spirit bites and devours. The critical spirit tears down and does not rebuild. The critical spirit speaks without thinking or reflecting. The critical spirit does not have equal weights and measures; it does not apply the same level of scrutiny to itself as it does to the other. The critical spirit always wins the game that it is playing, and does so by pretending to the neutral referee. The critical spirit belongs in Hell, but is often found in church.

The discerning spirit wants to protect, not destroy. The discerning spirit warns; it does not push. The discerning spirit can speak hard words, and often does, but it is the scalpel of the surgeon, not the cudgel of the mugger. The discerning spirit rejoices when corrections are made, and is glad when planned corrections become unnecessary. The discerning spirit is gentle or hard, depending on the need. The discerning spirit administers faithful wounds, not misplaced bruises.

Everyone here is in relationships with others, and so that means that everyone here is either critical or discerning. It is not possible to sit this one out."

European "S" words for 800, please

Move over "serenschnitte", here comes "smygmaskvirkning!" I'm not even going to attempt to pronounce that one.

Smygmaskvirkning is a Swedish word referring to a type of slipstitch crochet called Bosnian crochet or shepherd's knitting (even though it's not really knitting.)

At our last church I remember an older Dutch member talking about my knitting and calling the needles "pins" or "pens" (it's really hard to differentiate when she'd say it). I never asked her why she used that term, but she might have picked up the word from this old form of crochet. It uses a flat hook with a large oval-shaped handle sometimes called a "pen."

In order to preserve our fiber-related past, I must attempt this! Perhaps I'll find a grassy field and some sheep to really get the right context. :)

If you really want to know more, visit this website for a brief intro and more links.

Ahithophel

Preaching on Ahithophel - interesting take here, halfway down the page...

Saint Patrick

It's more than just an Irish, wear-green day.

Check out this sampling of the real Patrick

And this prayer/song he wrote:

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever.
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;*
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Getting Health Care Right

If only Washington would listen...

Music

I'm listening to Coldplay on lala.com right now. Pretty good stuff.

Before this, it was Bach's St. John's Passion, Bach's St. Matthew's Passion, Schumann Piano Trios, Webern string quartets, Taylor Swift...

What musical artists do you think I should check out?

Providence

Excellent review of Ruth.

I'm taking off points from Crossway, though, (not Piper) for the needlessly sensational subtitle.

Piper deals very pastorally with providence, moving from bitterness to hope. He handles the threshing floor scene with great discretion and accuracy. He glorifies Christ and applies the book of Ruth to life with directness.

Numbers 22-25 - Balaam

22 - Moab asks Balaam to curse Israel; he comes greedily

22 - God corrects Balaam through his donkey

23 - Balaam blesses Israel, instead of cursing, as Balak paid him for

24 - Balaam foretells the Star of Jacob who will conquer the nations

25 - Moab seduces Israel (Rev 2:14); Phineas' zeal puts a stop to it

Parenting teens

A REALLY good, balanced approach to shepherding teens. Avoids loose compromise and legalistic regulation of behavior.

Highly recommended for anyone with teens.

A good joke for a Friday

Just don't try this at home... or at the track...

One day while he was at the track playing the ponies and all but losing his shirt, Mitch noticed a priest who stepped out onto the track and blessed the forehead of one of the horses lining up for the 4th race.

Lo and behold, that horse - a very long shot - won the race.

Before the next race, as the horses began lining up, Mitch watched with interest the old priest step onto the track. Sure enough, as the 5th race horses came to the starting gate the priest made a blessing on the forehead of one of the horses.

Mitch made a beeline for a betting window and placed a small bet on the horse. Again, even though it was another long shot, the horse the priest had blessed won the race.

Mitch collected his winnings, and anxiously waited to see which horse the priest would bless for the 6th race. The priest again blessed a horse.

Mitch bet big on it, and it won. Mitch was elated. As the races continued the priest kept blessing long shot horses, and each one ended up coming in first.

By and by, Mitch was pulling in some serious money. By the last race, he knew his wildest dreams were going to come true. He made a quick dash to the ATM, withdrew all his savings, and awaited the priest's blessing that would tell him which horse to bet on...

True to his pattern, the priest stepped onto the track for the last race and blessed the forehead of an old nag that was the longest shot of the day. Mitch also observed the priest blessing the eyes, ears, and hooves of the old nag. Mitch knew he had a winner and bet every cent he owned on the old nag.

He then watched dumbfounded as the old nag come in dead last. Mitch, in a state of shock, made his way down to the track area where the priest was.

Confronting the old priest he demanded, 'Father! What happened? All day long you blessed horses and they all won. Then in the last race, the horse you blessed lost by a Kentucky mile, then dropped dead. Now, thanks to you I've lost every cent of my savings -- all of it!'.

The priest nodded wisely and with sympathy. 'Son,' he said, 'that's the problem with you Protestants, you can't tell the difference between a simple blessing and the last rites.'

Numbers 10-21 - Sinai to Moab

10 - Israel moves camp, leaving Sinai for the first time; Jethro comes

11 - Israel complains; God provides 70 elders, lots of meat, & a plague

12 - Aaron and Miriam contend with Moses; God rebukes them

13 - Spies sent into Canaan; good land, but strong people

14 - only Judah's Caleb believes God's promise; rest of tribes fall away

14 - God intends Israel's demise; Moses intercedes; 40 years in desert

15 - when you enter the land (!) offer grain, wine and oil with sacrifices

15 - distinction between unintentional and presumptuous sin;

15 - death for Sabbath-breaking; tassels on clothes-remember law

16 -rebellion against Moses; God judges rebels and complainers

17 - budding rod test - Aaron/Levi's rod blossoms with fruit

18 - Levites help priests; priests' portion of sacrifices; Levites' of tithes

19 - rituals for cleansing, after becoming unclean

20 - water from rock - Moses errs; Edom blocks Israel; Aaron dies

21 - bronze serpent; travels; defeat of Sihon & Og - Amorites & Bashan

Government efficiency

So I just got a letter from the Census Bureau saying I'd get a Census form in the mail in a week...

Crazy woman with knife blades

You know I love knitting lace. Well, now I'm hooked on "paper lace" otherwise called serenschnitte. I printed a rough template then patiently started cutting away. Several X-Acto blades later, plus some stiff shoulders and a blast of spray adhesive, this lovely crest was ready to hang on the wall. I wanted to cut "2010" in the white band on the bottom, but my fingers were sore enough after finishing the rest.
You can see here how small the leaves are; those holly berries were the worst to cut out! I need to perfect my "round" shape cutting abilities.

Rest and reward represented

Sermon text: Hebrews 4 - a better Sabbath rest

Nehemiah 8:9-10 - "And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.

10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”"

Ultimate rest happens here. When you sit down at your family table after a day of work and eat the evening meal, you are at rest, or should be. When God sits you down at our Lord’s Table after a week of work and you eat His covenant meal, you are at rest, or should be. You have repented, you are receiving, you are resting in Him. Ultimate rest happens here. Now, some of you are on eggshells as your children take the cup. Hold it so it doesn’t spill; not on the dress! Some of you are performing works of necessity even now. This side of glory rest is always mixed with distraction and anxiety. But ultimate rest is pictured here. In the place of responsibility Jesus will give reward. He takes your anxiety and gives relief. He does this as the burden and weight of your sin rolls off of you and on to Jesus at the cross.

10/11/09

Repent, receive, rest

Westminster Shorter Catechism Q85-86

85What doth God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us for sin?

To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption.

86What is faith in Jesus Christ?

Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, (Heb. 10:39) whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation as he is offered to us in the gospel.

The evangelistic question “Are you saved?” meets today with the rejoinder, “Saved from what?” We must escape God’s wrath which we deserve. We have to repent and believe in Christ. Repenting is turning away from sin, seeing it for the horror it is. Faith is receiving Christ and resting on Him to take that sin away from God’s sight. Repent, receive, rest. This is what we must do. This is what we do each worship service. We have repented; we are now receiving Christ in His Word. Soon we will rest at the table as we receive Christ there.

10/11/09