my burg

“And God saw everything that he had made and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31) “Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun. You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter” (Psalm 74:16–17) Randy Alcorn writes,  Eden has been trampled and vacated. Nevertheless, in nature and art and music we see and hear vestiges of God’s beauty and creativity.   To study creation is to study the Creator. Science should be worshipful discovery because the heavens and all creation declare God’s glory (Psalm 19:1).  God reveals His character in flowers, waterfalls, animals, and planets. God’s name is written large in nature in His beauty, organization, skill, precision, and attention to detail. He’s the Master Artist. We’re told that God’s “invisible qualities” can be “clearly seen” in “what has been made” (Romans 1:20).  This is God’s general revelation. Eden has been trampled, torched, ...

And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Genesis 1:28 ESV) Here is an excerpt from "The Blessing Of Being Human" , a sermon from Genesis 1:28-31.  Here's the outline of the passage... • Fruitfulness (v. 28a)  • Dominion over creatures (v. 28b) • Provision of food (v. 29) • Provision for creatures (v. 30) • A very good creation (v. 31)   "The blessing of being human is fulfilled ultimately by God’s Son , the Lord Jesus, who was prophesied to be the blessing  that would come to all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:2-3), and the King, the one like a Son of Man, who would come to  establish his righteous rule and subdue the earth (Daniel 7:13-14).    "Though being in nature God, he took on a human nature (Philippian 2:6-7), and being made ...

"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." (Revelation 4:11 ESV) "The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all." (Psalm 103:19 ESV) "To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1 Timothy 1:17 ESV) Understood in this way, the doctrine of creation and providence is rich in encouragement and comfort.  There is so much in life that is oppressive and that robs us of the strength to live and to act.  There are the adversities and disappointments which we meet on life's way.  There are those terrible calamities and disasters which sometimes cause hundreds and thousands of lives to be lost in nameless anguish.  But life in its ordinary course also can sometimes raise doubts in the mind about the providence of God.  Is not mystery the portion of all mankind...

Here are some helpful articles regarding a complementarian view of men's and women's roles in marriage and ministry... A Vision for Biblical Complementarity . "Over the years I have come to see from Scripture and from life that manhood and womanhood are the beautiful handiwork of a  good and loving God." (John Piper) Unwilling to twist Scripture.   "And I must confess: attitudinally, I am an egalitarian. I find what scripture says on these matters very difficult to swallow  at times. However, I am positionally a complementarian because I can’t go against my conscience. For me at least, to read  these passages in an egalitarian way is to do some exegetical gymnastics in which one twists and turns the text to conform it  to their views. I may not be comfortable with my complementarian position, but I am unwilling to twist scripture into  something that it does not say."  (Daniel Wallace, Professor of New Testament, Dallas Theological Seminary) On ...

In the Old Testament there were three key individuals who were mediators between the people and God: the prophet (who revealed God's will to them), the priest (who interceded for and represented people before God), and the king (who ruled the people with God's law, being under it himself).  These are sometimes called anointed ones, because they were installed into their office (or, role) by being anointed with oil or with the Holy Spirit.  Sometimes an individual might have two of these roles:  Melchizedek  was a priest and a king,  David was a king and a prophet, Ezekiel was a priest and a prophet .    As the Old Testament story unfolds, especially in the prophetic books, we see that God was foretelling and preparing for one person to come who would unite all three offices in himself.  He would be the Anointed One (Heb., messiah ; Gr. christos ).  It might be diagrammed this way... Herman Bavinck summarizes why it was necessary ...

"One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple."  (Psalm 27:4 ESV) "To dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our life means to be so vividly conscious of our fellowship with the living God that every morning, noon and night our thoughts go out to Him, that we hear his voice in the soul, that we are aware of his holy Presence within, experience his workings in our heart and in our conscience, and that we carefully avoid the things which we would not dare to do if God stood before us and spoke to us." (Abraham Kuyper, To Be Near Unto God )

Last eve I paused beside the blacksmith's door,    And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime; Then looking in, I saw upon the floor,    Old hammers worn with beating years of time. "How many anvils have you had," said I,    "To wear and batter all these hammers so?" "Just one," said he, and then with twinkling eye,    "The anvil wears the hammers out, you know." "And so," I thought, "The Anvil of God's Word    For ages skeptic blows have beat upon, Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,    The Anvil is unharmed, the hammers gone."                         "The Anvil of God's Word" by  John Clifford, D.D. 

"Do the Next Thing" was an anonymous poem that was  one of Elisabeth Elliot's favorites.  It's a good word for today as we often become overwhelmed with details or paralyzed with too many options.  We may want to see the outcome more clearly before we act.  Yet this poem reminds us there is a place for simple, faithful duty.  We need to act upon God's clearly-given will. "Just do the next thing..."  At an old English parsonage down by the sea, there came in the twilight a message to me. Its quaint Saxon legend deeply engraven that, as it seems to me, teaching from heaven. And all through the hours the quiet words ring, like a low inspiration, ‘Do the next thing.’ Many a questioning, many a fear, many a doubt hath its quieting here. Moment by moment, let down from heaven, time, opportunity, guidance are given. Fear not tomorrow, child of the King, trust that with Jesus, do the next thing. Do it immediately, do it with pr...