Reviews on cross-centered books

You can find them here: Some lesser-known, Cross-centered books

Memorizing Scripture

3 Reasons To Memorize Scripture

The path beyond...

God doesn't need human notions of the ideal "closure" to heal our wounds...

The ultimate "closure" happened at the cross with the ultimate wound, and He'll direct our paths from there if our trust is in Him.

Proverbs 3:5-6:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding, In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

And note the lesser known verses 7-8:

"Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones."

The icing on the cake...

Philippians 4:10-20 (ESV):

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Somehow the context surrounding the well-known verse 13 (last sentence of the first paragraph) strikes me.

Paul rejoices in the Philippians' concern, even though He's learned the secret to contentment. Seems possible to be blessed with community without viewing it as an essential ingredient for ultimate contentment. Look at the word following verse 13: yet. Paul's knowledge of the secret didn't rob him of his appreciation of their kindness in bearing his burden. And isn't it interesting that the great Paul, when leaving Macedonia, only had partnership ("in giving and receiving" [15]) with just the Philippians and no other church. Perhaps he felt isolated from the other churches; perhaps not. In any case, it's just neat how Paul highly regarded the community of believers at Philippi, even though He knew the secret to contentment. Why not enjoy the icing (community) on the cake (contentment in Christ)? Just hopefully God will cause us to not look to the icing alone to fill the stomach, and, when we do, cause a sweets sickness or longing for the real thing rather than for the filling that provides temporary pseudo-contentment...

"So what -- I'm saved."

Here's an excerpt from the post What To Do When Your Fig Tree Fails...

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

In Habakkuk's day, if you were a farmer, your whole life depended on your crops and herds. He describes a worst-case scenario: all his crops fail, all his flocks and herds die. Yet he says, even if all this befalls him, "I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation." In other words, so what -- I'm saved!

How this honors God! How it blesses him when we say "Lord, even if you don't bless me in any other way, you alone are enough for me. You have saved me to bring me to yourself. Your glory is all I need. I rejoice in you."

So when the mechanic tells you that you need a new transmission, say, “So what -- I'm saved.” Depending on how well you know him, you might want to consider saying it to yourself quietly. When the children break your favorite Ming Dynasty vase say, "I will rejoice in the Lord." When you come downstairs in the morning to discover that Sparky the Wonder Dog left a little surprise in the middle of the living room carpet, you know what to say. And should you be facing something really serious, I would still encourage you to say along with Habakkuk, "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation."

May God teach me to continuously look to Him for the joy in Him and His salvation...May He cause me to genuinely, consciously, and consistently feel, when appropriate: "So what -- I'm saved." May He teach me that that is enough. Enough. Yes sanctification and fruits of the faith are important. But the starting point is not with my efforts but His grace. As Paul was told that God's grace was sufficient for him (2 Cor. 12:9), may His grace be sufficient for me also...

Stepping down...

God may have given me wisdom; I hope so. I poured out my heart to Him tonight. I asked God to fill me with wisdom. What may have been after the prayer, I talked with my mom on the phone and from her was given the advice to quit a particular ministry...

So...

I'm planning to quit, greatly minimize my involvement, or take a break. Will people be inconvenienced because of this decision? Perhaps. Will some people wonder or/and internally judge me negatively? Perhaps. Some might not.

I poured a lot of my heart into this ministry. Stepping back is probably the right thing for me to do, though, at this point in time. If my heart and uncomfortability don't change with my continued involvement, perhaps the external decision of my removal or partial removal will help heal my heart and help the sanctification process.

God knows my heart...God knows my heart....to Him be the glory, hopefully even through this decision....Hopefully it was made through His wisdom.

Stepping down...which will hopefully be a step Up...

In My Place Condemned He Stood: Celebrating the Glory of the Atonement

...is a forthcoming book by J.I. Packer and Mark Dever

You can see the endorsements here, at the Between Two Worlds blog.

Facebook Song

Just...trust me.

So I made a mark on 2-3 students' tests today, to indicate their test-time chatter. A couple of them seemed alarmed at my doing so; they seemed to feel justified in their behavior, and I can understand how they might feel that way. Even though I 'disciplined' them in this way, in my heart I know they don't have to worry. Trust me. I know that if they end up at least close to the minimum requirements for achievement and proficiency, there's a good chance they'll pass. I'll have to figure out for sure if it's okay at this school to 'flub' a bit if some students don't technically make the cut, but I assume it would probably be okay. At another school, I think I've used my 'sense' on students who numerically didn't get to the level I thought they should be at. So in the end...what are grades? They're meant to measure the students' proficiency and progress. Hopefully they motivate the students to study and try their best. Ultimately, come grade time, though, I'll have a general sense of who should or should not pass. Yes, I'll do the numbers and plug them into excel, blah blah blah. And there might be a few borderliners and people I'm unsure of whether or not they should pass. It'll be with those students that I may need to balance my 'sense' with their numerical achievement and proficiency and final test performance.

Life application.

In times of trial (which might include for some questioning the fairness of or reasons for particular life crises), we can still trust. We can trust Him. He knows what he's doing. He works all for the good. He disciplines "for our good" (Hebrews 12:10). "...the testing of [our] faith develops perseverance" (James 1:3). Trials "have come so that [our] faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 5:7). In the midst of trial, we can still trust.

Our performance and achievement is not the admission ticket to heaven. Yes, a genuine faith will bear fruit. A "faith without deeds is dead" (James 2:26). Thankfully God's spirit can work in us and through us. But we don't have to worry that our sin will prevent us from the glory of heaven. Jesus paid our admission ticket in full, if we accept His gift through faith in Him.

Desperate for Forgiveness

Here's a link to a videoclip from an ER segment: Atonement

It portrays a man desperately, frustratingly longing for answers; he's longing for forgiveness because he's "running out of time"...

How many people may feel this desperate without me even knowing? How many people might want me to share with them how to find forgiveness, or how many people want to know about the gospel or life after death? How often do I hide this vital news from those desperate to know?

I think my mom has described 1 or 2 occasions in her pre-saved days where she wanted to be told about Christianity, where she wanted to be told, to be let in...

How often might I deny people the opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus Christ? How many don't know the basic gospel message:

realizing how great God is and how people cannot match that perfection; we fall short in our sin,

knowing that the consequence of sin is eternal separation from God and punishment after death,

confessing our sin and realizing we need some way outside of ourselves to be made clean in God's eyes; knowing it is only by God's grace that we can be saved,

believing that Jesus (God's Son; fully God and fully man) is the way; He bridges the gap between us and God; His death paid the penalty our sin deserves. He rose again on the third day and is alive today.

Hope in both this life and the one after death can be found through Christ.

John 3:16 --> "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." That verse right there contains the saving message of the gospel.

Bus school

In the not-too-distant past, an acquaintance told me that people like to talk. Granted this is not a novel idea, and it can at times be true for me, but I saw this to be quite true of a couple of fellow bus riders today. One was a fellow complete with binoculars and a pin-clad hat. It was kind-of remarkable how he kept spouting off ideas in his conversation with the bus driver. It was interesting to see what triggered his thoughts. His ideas seemed to be quite localized for the most part - the bus world, the replacement of a bowling alley with apartments...These are real things that interested him or perhaps topics with which he felt he could connect with the local community -- the driver.

There was another chatty man on the bus. The two may have been on the bus at the same time for awhile, but eventually it ended up being just that other man in the front part of the bus. And he sure liked to talk! But when it was just him, who was he talking to? I was in a seat near that front section, and I believe there was another passenger on the other side of the aisle behind the main section, but I ended up responding to the talker to a degree. It was just so interesting. At first he chatted away, I think mainly about the bus price situation, but eventually he talked a bit to me in particular...he guessed that I worked. I responded affirmatively and told him I teach, which led to further conversation. He sure carried the weight of that conversation! And what were the topics? Again a local interest, followed by a shift to talking about my life, which influenced the ensuing conversation.

Maybe I'll learn from the bus folk over time. Not sure I'll ever be proficient in talking about local interests with a passion quite the same as these 'vocal experts', but maybe I'll improve my small talk skills from this kind-of...bus school ;)

Practical Prayer Tips

Some practical prayer tips can be found in the article The Practice of Prayer.

Security in Christ

From Sunday's church bulletin is this blurb from the song "Pensive, Doubting Fearful Heart" (Words-John Newton, 1779; Music-Wendell Kimbrough, 2004): Yes, ultimate security can be found in Christ. The foremost goal should be to honor God and find refuge in Him rather than seeking man's praise. I've heard something like this: "If you wonder what others are thinking of you, they aren't." They aren't!...Right. (Well of course people think of people, but...you get the idea.) They have their own worlds. I have mine. Sometimes they mutually intersect; often they don't.

Yes, there is the command to "strive for peace with everyone" (Heb. 12:14). But also we are to strive "for the holiness" (same verse). Striving for peace might not always mean reaching a state of mutual affection. A peaceful state might not equate with a state of admiration. Obtaining peace doesn't mean casting on people high hopes and expectations that will only disappoint. Ultimate security should not come from the comfort of knowing we are liked. In the letter to the Thessalonians (I), their aim was "not to please man, but to please God" (2:4). They did not "seek glory from people" (2:6). The instruction is to love even "enemies and pray for those who persecute" (Matt. 5:44). In the context of life where active persecutors seem to be absent, those who stir jealousy or those who disappoint or hurt might suffice (in counting as our 'enemy') to serve as objects of prayer and love. If only every time I felt hurt by or jealous of another I'd ward off the feeling-induced poison by directing my thoughts to prayer for them.

Transformation should come from Christ's work within; and, consequently, hopefully people will like that transformation. Proverbs 16:7 says, "When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him." So the first goal should be to please God, and then peace with man can follow. However, the proper order of the first goal and the following result should not be reversed. Even though I know that in my head, the selfish part of me I think over-desires affirmation from others. I want people to positively reciprocate, respond, react, encourage, and love. I can get disappointed or hurt by reactions or lack thereof.

My world is pretty me, me, me, when it should be: HIM, HIM, HIM. I *know* HE is where my refuge should lie. So why do I consistently seek refuge or happiness elsewhere?

"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25a)

Trusting through the 'bites'...

Because I know my cat and her temperament, her 'bites' (if you can call them that) don't stir in me a feeling of resounding alarm. Someone unfamiliar with cats or my cat in particular might freak out if my cat embraced their hand or arm with her mouth ;). But I know who she is - I know her friendliness, her quirks, her love of being close to me in the mornings [a subtle hint for me to get up and feed her?], her love of being around people. If an unfamiliar cat appeared to be on the verge of taking a chunk out of me, more than likely I would be more self-protective. In an attempt to draw from this an analogy to real life -- when life 'bites', or when God sends trials our way, we can trust Him. We know who He is. When challenges come, we don't have to be defeated by fright.

Waiting Together

Here's a blurb from Precious Dying, by Joe Carter:

Until the cancer made her unable to work, my mother had been a hospice nurse. She had provided care to dozens of people as they entered the dying process, staying with them to the end. I asked her once what the morbid job entailed. "Mostly waiting," she said. "You just stay with them and make them comfortable. Let them know they are not alone."

Her words remind me of Jesus and his followers in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus tells three of his disciples: "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.... Stay here and watch" (14:34). Then, going a little further into the garden,

[Jesus] fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. Abba, Father, he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me, yet not what I will, but what you will." Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptations. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. Returning the third time, he said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come, Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" (Mark 14:35-42)

Ultimate Satisfaction

A reminder about Who should be the ultimate source of our satisfaction, and that marriage is not...

From the post "3 Things That Make Me Happy On Valentine's Day":

As one who was recently married, let me speak to those who are single. Being married will never satisfy you. I love my wife Jen with all my heart. I love being married to her and can't imagine life without her. But she doesn't ultimately satisfy me, and I don't satisfy her. Why? Because we were made to be satisfied in God. Psalm 16:11 says, "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Fullness of joy is found in loving God and delighting in his presence. Today, will you find your joy in God?

(edit 2/15)

Raindrops on roses...

Ah, the little things in life...

Though we rarely e-mail each other now, a friend and I usually closed our messages with a fun little thing in the traditional "love" or "take care" spot. She and I noticed those little things in life, and here is a slice of her yearbook message to me in our final year of high school (10 years ago this year!):



It would be good to more consciously recognize and be appreciative of those little things.

Today I tried a different bus route home from work, and, I really liked it! I transferred downtown, and the second bus route included a couple of scenic views. Even one of the bus passengers commented on one of the views. Nice. I will probably take this route again. A nice little blessing...or big blessing. Location is one of the things I like best about the area in which I live. Truly I'm blessed.

We/I should take advantage of the little things in the 'random' spare moments. Although students often give me candies to enjoy during the 10 minute break in my long class, I feel like I don't take a *complete* break during this time. But the students seem to know how to take advantage of it - with their water bottles and food items and all (our class is at lunchtime). It's kind-of inspiring. I think I should put a little more effort into noticing, pursuing, and enjoying the little things in life.

(edit 2/15)

Remembering the Gospel

Some tips on "How to Preach the Gospel to Yourself"...

With paws raised...

Someone was telling me about a particular animal analogy she had, and I asked her to write a blurb about it. Here is part of her response:

"It's how I remember as a kid seeing cartoons where the animal would 'die' from some cartoon catastrophe, and they would flip onto their backs with all four legs in the air. Equating that to myself before God...

[...] that's just the scene that comes into my head at various times, when I realize yet again, I have nothing in myself, I'm "dead" with all four legs up in the air.

It's then that I breathe out a sigh of a sort of "death" and somehow, as I continue then plodding ahead with daily duties, no one may even know what turmoil I have, He somehow breathes this still small breeze of life into me. I don't try to imagine how He would fix me, or wrack my brain to figure it out, or what I will try to read to fix myself. Because I can't--there are times I just can't. And I'm tired of the clutter in my head.

So I fling my body onto my back so to speak, and stick my legs up in the air. I don't even say, "Do something!!" I just lay down, dying, once again, before God. I just can't do it. I don't have the will to, or the power. I don't have the words to ask for this huge transformation that I need.

And when I do "die", [...] but in my mind I stay there. I don't "die" and then suddenly flip back up and start, okay, now, let's get this show on the road! I stay dead. Until, who knows how long? I may realize later, I am breathing fresh air! I don't know, it's murky."



(edited 2/14, pic changed on 2/18)

The Secret

"The Secret That Will Change Your Life"

Trials of Tears

In "When God Doesn't Dry My Tears," after writing about the struggle to let their baby cry when that's "what's best for her", Stephen Altrogge writes:

There are times in life when God allows us to cry as well, because He knows what's best for us. He sees the beginning and the end, and He knows what we need most. So He allows us to suffer for a time that we might be shaped into the image of Jesus Christ. He allows us to shed tears for a season that we might some day reap a harvest of great joy. The Apostle Paul knew something of this when He said in 2 Corinthians 1:9 -

Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

"He allows us to shed tears for a season that we might some day reap a harvest of great joy." Beautiful. James 1:2-6a:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,

Count it ALL joy... God, please cause us to look to you in faith for wisdom...and please teach us to count it ALL joy...Thank you.

Personal Uglies...

In the blogpost "My Friends Are So Awkward," Stephen Altrogge writes about the accountability he has with his Friday morning small group and the importance of asking difficult questions to help one properly view one's sin.

It must be a frightening treasure to have the opportunity for an exchange of honest vulnerability with a loving, trusted friend who also provides Biblical counsel or that outside perspective that can see through the blind spots and call sin for what it is.

What about our negative characteristics of which we either might be aware but not actively fighting, or of which we might be entirely oblivious?

In the article "My Ugly Blind Spot," Suzanne Hadley notes:

Blind spots may include things as simple as non-verbal characteristics, such as lack of eye contact, or as serious as sinful behaviors, such as pride or gossip. These blind spots have the ability to hinder relationships or even damage a witness.

Unfortunately, I might sometimes or often display ugly or lack beautiful characteristics (related to good verbal and non-verbal communication) if I'm uncomfortable or not interested in or clueless of the topics people are talking about in group settings. Frustrating. Maybe I should actively strive to change in these areas. Suzanne notes the "first step" in doing away with the uglies "is to invite feedback." Although it might be good if I could know more things wrong with me than I already know, I wonder if it might be helpful if someone could give me helpful advice on how to deal with the uglies that I am aware of. Ideally...step-by-step. Realistically...people don't always tear into me about the little things or get on me or know about the bigger things...Realistically, I might not be fighting (in the major or minor uglies) with a proper focus on Christ.

Perhaps I should be more proactive in dealing with the uglies, but if I merely exert effort on my own strength, that will not be enough. I need to remember the forgiveness and strength Christ provides. We are beautifully forgiven. Shouldn't I live my life as a reflection of this?

Recently in a comment following a post on the Boundlessline blog, a commenter wrote this:

My last pastor said this often:
Make Christ your centerfuge.

What is a centerfuge? It is the central piece in mechanics that everything hinges on...Its what everything revolves around and ensures nothing goes flying everywhere. As long as you have that center, everything falls into place.

So what is your life revolving around? With Christ as your center, and him as your sole focus, your life starts falling into place. I've seen it, I've experienced it. Its for real, but it takes daily rededication and daily, hourly, even secondly "yes"es for it to happen.

Truly, that line of the old hymn is true: I need Thee every hour...Here's hoping our personal uglies will take us back to the cross...

[2/12 update: For examples of awkward accountability questions, see "7 Tough Questions To Ask Your Friends"]

Idols

In trying to connect the idea of idolatry in the Bible to life, the following questions might come to mind: What is my idol? What desires might I be prioritizing above my pursuit of God? Interesting questions, but, do we ever think of the evil power that might be at work behind idols or in places of worship of other religions...?

While I have an impression that many people today might tend to view Buddhism/Shinto beliefs more as a cultural practice than a deeply engrained faith, perhaps I'd been complacent in not seriously taking to heart the supernatural power that might be at play and the grasp it might have on peoples' hearts. Look at this picture.



Who are they praying to? Do they know? Do they mean it? Is it wishful thinking? Is it a belief in a power that they MIGHT have seen revealed in their lives? Is it simply custom/culture, or is there at least a bit of a belief in the supernatural as well...? If they do believe in a god(s)/supernatural power, do they believe it has any connection with idols?

On the surface it might seem 'silly' to believe in idols. Exodus 32 holds the story of the golden calf. When Moses didn't come down right away, the people asked Aaron to make gods. What? Make gods? Why would they even think such a thing? Why would they possibly lose faith in God or maybe believe in Him and other gods? After all God's done...

Last Saturday I was talking about idolatry with a friend, and she brought up the idea that there is or might be evil spirits behind the idols. I think she reminded me of the time when the Egyptian magicians converted their staffs into serpents, but that "Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs" (Ex. 7:12). So maybe evil spirits do unleash their power in connection with idol worship and in other spiritual settings.

Perhaps evil spirits are working behind idols and in temples and shrines, and may have a grasp on many hearts. Good thing the one true God is greater and more powerful than any other power out there...

At Your service, 24-7...

well...that would be a wonderful attitude goal to have, would it not?

Here are a couple of interesting quotes by Elisabeth Elliot from her book Discipline: The Glad Surrender:

There is no such thing as Christian work. That is, there is no work in the world which is, in and of itself, Christian. Christian work is any kind of work, from cleaning a sewer to preaching a sermon, that is done by a Christian and offered to God. (p. 118)

The work assigned to me includes writing and speaking, forms of service often labeled "full-time Christian," but my service to God also includes housework and correspondence and being available to help family and friends do things that need doing. If my husband needs a haircut or a letter typed, I'm available. (p.120-121)

Part of the beautiful design...

From Discipline: The Glad Surrender, by Elisabeth Elliot (p.98):

Flying in a small plane over Manitoba's vast farm country one spring evening, I was fascinated by the beauty of the patterns created by the contour plowing. There were stripes in varied shades of earth and greenness, circles and swaths and curves for miles and miles on every side. But the most beautiful designs grew out of the interruptions - a tree here, a pond there, a hill, a rock, a river. The plowman had had to bend the line each time he passd one.

"Lord, [....] these unexpected things will be fashioned into an unexpectedly beautiful design."