remaking a broken world

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Revelation 7:9-10 ESV)

"There are actually only two options for human society: true worship and war. Only true worship humbles human pride. False worship and war go together, because false worship exalts the worshiper, who is really only worshiping an idol of their creation or imagination. Only in worship of the true God will people be brought so low our aspirations to greatness will be removed, and our empire-building plans abandoned. Only in true worship will we live together in weakness and without pretensions." (Christopher Ash)

I am currently reading Remaking a Broken World. The author, Christopher Ash, studies the biblical theme of "gathering and scattering". When people try to build communities (families, nations, empires), that is, to "gather" in opposition or neglect of the one, true and living God, then idolatry and human abuse will prevail. And so God will judge by scattering these people, and their attempts at community will be thwarted. He cites the tower of Babel (Genesis 11) among many other occasions throughout the Bible, when people groups, including the nation of Israel, would be scattered abroad. But when people come to the Lord and hear his Word and seek to follow his ways, such as at Mount Sinai, in Jerusalem (Mount Zion), and as followers of Jesus Christ, then God will gather them together to experience the joys of community in God's presence. The local church is a first fruits of the new creation community.

The thesis of Ash's book is that "the ordinary local Christian church contains within itself the seeds, or the DNA, of a remade world... I want to persuade us to commit ourselves wholeheartedly to belonging to, and serving God in the fellowship of, a local church; and that this may prove to be the most significant thing we do with our lives."

Quotes taken from Remaking a Broken World: The Heart of the Bible Story, by Christopher Ash (The Good Book Company, 2019)

Also currently reading:
-- Suffering is Never for Nothing, by Elisabeth Elliot (Crossway, 2019)
-- Complete Short Stories, and Mystery and Manners, by Flannery O'Connor
-- Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, by John Boessenecker (Thomas Dunne Books, 2016)

bible reading dec 3-5

Bible reading for weekend December 3 -- 5 Dec 3 -- Nahum 1 and Luke 17 Dec 4 -- Nahum 2 and Luke 18 Dec 5 -- Nahum 3 and Luke 19 ================ "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness." (Nahum 1:7-8) TIME'S UP FOR NINEVEH (Nah 1-3). The prophecy of Nahum is God's word to the people of Nineveh, part two. Jonah was part one, chronicling a city-wide repentance of Assyrians in the capital about a hundred years earlier. The closing bookend is Nahum, and the Assyrian empire is big, powerful, and aggressive. Notice the references to chariots (2:3-4, 13; 3:2). The Assyrians were a militarily advanced culture, and cruel in their warfare. Whatever spiritual receptivity they had at the time of Jonah was gone by the time of Nahum. Nahum may not have actually visited Nineveh, for it seems the book was w

bible reading nov 1-2

Bible reading for weekend Nov 1 -- 2 Nov 1 -- Hosea 7 and Psalms 120-122 Nov 2 -- Hosea 8 and Psalms 123-125 ================ "Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing." (Hosea 8:12) THE RESULTS OF SIN (ch 7-8). Notice the words and metaphors to describe Israel's sinful condition: they are surrounded with, and proud of, their evil (7:1-3); like adulterers in the heat of passion (7:4-5); their anger is like a hot oven (7:6-7); they are like a half-cooked (one side only) cake (7:8); their strength is gone (7:9); they are like silly doves easily trapped (7:11-12); they are undependable like a warped bow (7:16). In spite of all of this they are so proud of themselves! (We might say they have a strong self-esteem.) They have spurned what is good (8:3); they sow to the wind and have no real fruit (8:7); they are a useless vessel (8:8) and a wild donkey wandering alone (8:9); they regard God's law as a strange thing

Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

my burg

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