my burg

"And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought."  (1 Chronicles 28:9 ESV) "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4 ESV) As we approach Father's Day, I thought I'd repost a poem I have appreciated through the years.  The author was Merrill C. Tenney (1904-1985), a Professor of New Testament and Dean of the Graduate School at Wheaton College. He wrote this for his two sons. Its sentiment, however, expresses what we desire for all of our children.   A Father’s Gift To you, O son of mine, I cannot give A vast estate of wide and fertile lands; But I can keep for you, long as I live, Unstained hands. I have no coat of arms that insures Your path to eminence and worldly fame; But longer than empty heraldry endures A blameless name. I have no t...

"From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me." (Nehemiah 4:16-18 ESV) The great London preacher, Charles Spurgeon, published a monthly magazine called The Sword and The Trowel; A record of combat with sin and of labour for the Lord. It was published from 1865 to 1892. The cover of the journal had a drawing taken from Nehemiah 4, which included both a trowel (representing the work) and a sword (representing the fight). The sword was necessary to protect what the men with trowels were building. These citizen-soldier-builders would successfully complete the wall aroun...

"A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit." (Proverbs 15:4 ESV) After posting the other day in my newsletter, Afterwords ( "Words fruitful or fatal" ), I was asked by a reader, "Then, is there no room to speak up for truth? Are you saying that we shouldn’t express our thoughts? It seems we would be committing a sin of omission if we don’t speak clearly against evil."  Indeed, we are to speak truthfully about good and evil! The problem is, according to the Bible, many of us don't know how to do that in a godly way, at the right time, and without pride or self-righteousness or vindictiveness. It's difficult to speak truth in a way (and time) that invites repentance and healing. For example, we go amiss... ...when we are uninformed, or misinformed, or make a hasty accusation: "The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools." (Proverbs 15:7) ...when we are too selective in the truth we sha...