Sundays with John

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this week's Calvin reading, on the nature of man's will:

Man will then be spoken of as having this sort of free decision, not because he has a free choice equally of good and evil, but because he acts wickedly by will, not by compulsion. Well put, indeed, but what purpose is served by labeling with a proud name such a slight thing> A noble freedom, indeed--for man not to be forced to serve sin, yet to be such a willing slave that his will is bound to the fetters of sin!
(2.2.7)

...[W}hen the will was conquered by the vice into which it had fallen, human nature began to lose its freedom. Again, man using free will badly has lost both his himself and his will. Again, the free will has been so enslaved that it can have no power for righteousness. Again, what God's grace has not freed will not be free. Again, the justice of God is not fulfilled when the law commands and a man acts as if by his own strength; but when the Spirit helps, and man's wilkl, not free, but freed by God, obeys.
(2.2.8)

And about man's nature in general:

...[W]hoever is utterly cast down and overwhelmed by the awareness of his calamity, poverty, nakedness, and disgrace has thus advanced farthest in knowing himself. For there is no danger of man's depriving himself of too much so long as he learns that in God must be recouped what he himself lacks.
(2.2.10)

And lastly, about the nature of the Christian life:

A saying of Chrysostom's has always pleased me very much, that the foundation of our philosophy is humility. But that of Augustine pleases me even more: "When a certain rhetorician was asked what was the chief rule in eloquence, he replied, 'Delivery'; what was the second rule, 'Delivery'; what was the third rule, 'Delivery'; so of you ask me concerning the precepts of the Christian religion, first, second, third and always I would answer, 'Humility.'"
(2.2.11)

Love of the Word

"Love of the Word has been a prominent feature in the history of all the saints, of whom we know anything, since the days of the Apostles. This is the lamp that Athanasius and Chrysostom and Augustine followed. This is the compass that kept the Vallenses and Albigenses from making shipwreck of the faith. This is the well that was reopened by Wycliffe and Luther, after it had been long stopped up. This is the sword with which Latimer, and Jewell, and Knox won their victories. This is the manna that fed Baxter and Owen, and the noble host of the Puritans, and made them strong in battle. This is the armoury from which Whitefield and Wesley drew their powerful weapons. This is the mine from which Bickersteth and M'Cheyne brought forth rich gold. Differing as these holy men did in some matters, on one point they were all agreed -- they all delighted in the Word."

~J. C. Ryle, Practical Religion

Where we ought to be

'...the great point for our comfort in life is to have a well-grounded persuasion that we are where, all things considered, we ought to be...The promise, 'My grace is sufficient for thee,' is necessary to support us in the smoothest scenes, and is equally able to support us
in the most difficult...He is always near. He knows our wants, our dangers, our feelings, and our fears. By looking to him we are enlightened and made strong out of weakness. With his wisdom for our guide, his power for our protection, his fullness for our supply, and
proposing his glory as our chief end, and placing our happiness in his favour, in communion with him, and communications from Him, we shall be able to 'withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.'
~exerpt of a letter from John Newton to William Wilburforce

I was reminded of this quote while reading an update from a friend whose young daughter has just undergone another surgery for her rare and invasive cancer. She said these words encouraged her. Pray, Gentle Readers, for Karina to respond well to her cancer treatments and be healed.

This morning I also read an amazing example of people being where they ought to be. Two doctors (a married couple) minister in Uganda, raising their family among heart-breaking poverty and the ravishes of AIDS. If you have a moment, look at their post today about some of the children they are treating. And if you need more proof of the amazing ministry taking place in this place, read this article about last year's ebola virus battle. I don't know these folks, and only found their web site through a link here. As I have read their blog reports, I have been amazed by the sacrifices these folks have made to be where they ought to be. I praise God for their willingness to follow Him into this remote place. And yet, it shames me, and makes me wonder if I am, indeed, where I ought to be.

Jennifer Myhre closes the above article with these words, appropriate for us all:

There is a weighty glory to surviving ebola, a redemption only God can give. Even our personal survival constitutes a sort of burden to be considered. It is good to be alive, and God has been glorified by the substantial, tangible story of our deliverance, and by the concrete good that has emerged from loss. This good and glory anchor us in new ways to our Lord, and require us to examine our purpose for being preserved in Bundibugyo. Let us all live each new day in the gravity of the gift that has been given to us.

Health update

Last night, for the first time in probably about a year, I slept all night: from 10:30 to 5:45, solid, uninterrupted sleep. I don't think one can really appreciate the blessing of sleep until one goes without it on a regular basis.

Sleeping through the night is just one more sign of slow-but-steady improvement in the way I feel. I am gaining energy a little at a time. Some of my brain fog may even be starting to lift a little. While I am still not at what I consider "normal", I am grateful for signs of improvement. I still need my afternoon naps, and I still can't sing worth a darn (one of the sadder aspects of this whole business...) I am learning to deal with the aches and pains, and able to get better exercise again. God is so faithful to answer your prayers for me, Gentle Readers, and I am grateful for His blessings and your care and friendship!

Next week I have mammograms and blood work done, then in April I have a CT-scan of my chest, and see my oncologist again. Testing after cancer is simply not the same as it was before cancer, so I would appreciate your prayers that I could keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, and follow his admonition to let tomorrow worry after itself. And prayers for a clean bill of health would be appreciated, too!

Here is one of the songs I've been singing lately that has helped me to keep my focus. May we all remember the fathomless nature of God's love for His children!

This Fathomless Love by Steve and Vikki Cook

Lord, what moved Your heart to love lowly man
Before any star could herald Your praise?
And why did You come, abasing Yourself
Veiled in a robe of frail human clay?
Why would You, the pure, give Your life for the vile
The innocent seeking the guilty
To be reconciled?

I can’t comprehend this fathomless love
I’m gripped and amazed at what You have done
Why would the adored become the despised
To bear all the furious wrath that was mine?
How awesome this mystery
Of Your fathomless love for me

Why would You adopt and take as Your own
Those who had crushed Your one precious Son?
Why mercy and grace towards Your enemies?
Your name they have cursed and Your throne they have shunned
Oh, how could You choose to show kindness to these?
The ones who would mock You and hate You
The ones just like me?

All a-Twitter

Yesterday I watched Charlie Rose while I ate my lunch. He was interviewing Evan Williams, the CEO of Twitter. It was interesting, and made me wonder what all the fuss is about, so this morning I got onto Twitter, and you'll see my experiment in the side bar.

I appreciate the many good things all of these cyber-relations can do for us. Having access to family far away, opportunities to build communities around a particular topic, etc. is all great. But I have to wonder if is retards our ability to have or value real-life relationships.

So, I am experimenting with Twitter. I'll let you know what I think.

The theology of suffering

For those of you who have never listened to Joni Erickson Tada discuss suffering, I encourage you to listen to the short talk (about 25 minutes) at this link. She begins about 5 minutes into this video. It will not be a waste of your time. And for those of us who struggle with our own peevish little trials, she provides excellent reminders on how to fix our eyes on Christ, and remember what is really important. J.T. also lists several specific prayer requests from Mrs. Tada here.

Sundays with John

As Dave and I read the Institutes every night, I keep a supply of stickie-note flags at hand, and when something strikes us, we "flag" it. There are lots of flags in the sections from this week, so I'll have to choose just a few. In addition to the quotes, what is impressing me in reading Calvin is how logical and thorough, yet interesting he is. It deals with heavy theology, but it makes such sense to me, and is so practical!

Here are some of my favorite quotables:

...[W]hen we are unjustly wounded by men, let us overlook their wickedness (which would but worsen our pain and sharpen our minds to revenge), remember to mount up to God, and learn to believe for certain that whatever our enemy has wickedly committed against us was permitted and sent by God's just dispensation."
~(1.17.8)

This one is actually Calvin quoting from Augustine. So think of this as two-for-one:

...There is a great difference between what is fitting for man to will and what is fitting for God, and to what end the will of each is directed, so that it be either approved or disapproved. For through the bad wills of evil men God fulfills what he righteously wills...so that in a wonderful and ineffable manner nothing is done without God's will, not even that which is against his will. For it would not be done if he did not permit it; yet he does not unwillingly permit it, but willingly; nor would he, being good, allow evil to be done unless being also almighty he could make good even out of evil.
~Augustine as quoted by Calvin (1.18.3)

But knowledge of ourselves lies first in considering what we were at creation and how generously God continues his favor toward us... Secondly, to call to mind our miserable condition after Adam's fall; the awareness of which, when all our boasting and self-assurance are laid low, should truly humble us and overwhelm us with shame... it behooves us to recognize that we have been endowed with reason and understanding so that, by leading an upright and holy life, we may press on to the appointed goal of our blessed immortality.
~(2.1.1)

Here, then, is what God's truth requires us to seek in examining ourselves: it requires the kind of knowledge that will strip us of all confidence in our own ability, deprive us of all occasion for boasting, and lead us to submission.
~(2.1.2)

Yet God would not have us forget our original nobility, which he had bestowed upon our father Adam, and which out truly to arouse in us a zeal for righteousness and goodness. For we cannot think upon either our first condition or to what purpose we were formed without being prompted to meditate upon immortality, and to yearn after the Kingdom of God.
~(2.1.3)