“Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” ” (Genesis 41:51–52, ESV) Yesterday we went for a walk through […]
Communication is a frustrating bit of work—laborious and (at times) vexing. Each time I try, I find myself slogging through, encumbered by words and phrases that (at best) can only graze my meaning. After all, how can one encapsulate the infinite (Romans 11:33; Ecclesiastes 3:14, 8:17)? How can frailty face the weightiness of praise (Romans […]
A couple of excellent articles I've recently come across: Grief: An Apologetic of Grief and The Crushing Weight of Glory. Below is an excerpt from latter. I love this... W.A. Criswell was the pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas for 50 years. He told the story of taking a flight to go and speak at […]
I never knew joy could be so difficult. But it is. Consider the following account. "The two venerable Martyrs, Ridley and Latimer, had both been brought before the same Commission on the charge of heresy… [Ridley] maintained his noble bearing to the end. He was adjudged “an obstinate and incurable heretic,” and condemned to the […]
There is no such thing as ordinary. Not really. Every movement of the clock and of the sun and of the lung is a circular motion of His grace; everything—all of life—begins and ends at the goodness of His will (Romans 8:28-30). Joy and laughter—even sanctified pain and sorrow—all were made possible, all were purchased […]
Fresh from the gate of my newborn pursuit of joy and I'm still wobbly on my feet, holding clinging to the Father's hand as I lurch between momentary victories and backward tumbles of un-faith. Clumsy. Ungraceful. Baby steps, you might say. (Proverbs 24:16) Still, learning to rejoice has its rewards. And in the midst of […]