"This is not how I expected to wake up this morning," he said. "After I received the news Malia walked in and said, 'Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo’s birthday.'
"And then Sasha added, 'Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up'. It's good to have kids to keep things in perspective."
Bo is their one-year-old dog. Our Quack is one this month. And our kids regularly puncture our vanity ;-)
Saturday, 10 October 2009
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
The Assurance of Saving
Yes, saving. As opposed to salvation. Because, apparently, they are opposed.
I spent US$1.98 the other day buying some music from Sovereign Grace Ministries' resource page, and used my credit card. A$2.55, in case you're wondering.
The next time I went to use my card, the bank had put a block on it because of this suspicious transaction! It tickled my irony bone...they were unsure about a transaction with a group that are big on assurance...they wanted to save me money in case somebody unscrupulous was behind that purchase from SOV GRACE RESOURCES...
Giggle.
But seriously - that's the world's take on assurance, right there. It's measured in dollar signs.
I spent US$1.98 the other day buying some music from Sovereign Grace Ministries' resource page, and used my credit card. A$2.55, in case you're wondering.
The next time I went to use my card, the bank had put a block on it because of this suspicious transaction! It tickled my irony bone...they were unsure about a transaction with a group that are big on assurance...they wanted to save me money in case somebody unscrupulous was behind that purchase from SOV GRACE RESOURCES...
Giggle.
But seriously - that's the world's take on assurance, right there. It's measured in dollar signs.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
I'm sorry, world, but are you kidding?
The press tells us that Madonna is now going out with a guy called Jesus. And she's old enough to be his mother.
OK, Freudians, where do you want to start with that one?!
OK, Freudians, where do you want to start with that one?!
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Just when it looked like there was a new post on this blog...
Looks like I now have to work on two blogs...so to save duplication, you might want to go here for some thoughts on the ethics of eschatology-shaped evangelism.
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
Of Pilgrimage
By way of 1) filling the yawning void that is this dustblog and 2) informing whoever possibly might be reading it, it's probably time to mention that we're moving in a couple of months, to Shoalhaven Heads. I'll be looking after the Anglican Church there...which I believe is the only church there, to save anyone getting confused. It's a branch church for Gerringong parish, still on the small side, in a town of 3000 or so.
By way of adding some useful thought content to an otherwise purely informative post, here's an idea from an essay I'm writing (or at least, should be writing) at the moment on The Pilgrim's Progress.
Very early in the book, Christian is shown a portrait of what's usually perceived as the ideal pastor - full of God's word, pleading with men to follow God, focused more on the world to come than the trappings of this one. J. I. Packer says so, and he knows more about the Puritans than me.
What's caught my eye, though, is what happens next in the story: in short, Christian receives assurance of salvation, and instantly starts pastoring those he meets. It appears to be a deliberate attempt by Bunyan to show the 'average believer' has a pastoral ministry. It's an idea that seems to have been missed by the scholars, and it's always fun to find something that the great ones have missed!
By way of adding some useful thought content to an otherwise purely informative post, here's an idea from an essay I'm writing (or at least, should be writing) at the moment on The Pilgrim's Progress.
Very early in the book, Christian is shown a portrait of what's usually perceived as the ideal pastor - full of God's word, pleading with men to follow God, focused more on the world to come than the trappings of this one. J. I. Packer says so, and he knows more about the Puritans than me.
What's caught my eye, though, is what happens next in the story: in short, Christian receives assurance of salvation, and instantly starts pastoring those he meets. It appears to be a deliberate attempt by Bunyan to show the 'average believer' has a pastoral ministry. It's an idea that seems to have been missed by the scholars, and it's always fun to find something that the great ones have missed!
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Thursday, 10 April 2008
The Messiah in the Details
Wrote an exegetical paper yesterday on Daniel 6, and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Usually, I love the thinking, but hate the writing, as astute readers might have observed by now (perhaps this is a slog, not a blog).
Here's what I liked.
A conspiracy is hatched to take down one in whom no fault can be found. The only way to get him is by trapping him in his obedience to God. The secular ruler doesn't want to condemn him, but finds his hands tied. The pressure of the mob is too great. The order for execution is given, and the victim is left where his bones will rest, and a stone is placed over the entrance.
But against all hope, at dawn comes the discovery: he is not dead, but alive! Death could not take him because he was innocent...because he had trusted in his God.
Daniel, or Jesus?
"In every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves..."
And so the good news went to all peoples, nations and tongues...and so it did.
I wonder whether Daniel sang Psalm 22 for the lions to pass the time?
Here's what I liked.
A conspiracy is hatched to take down one in whom no fault can be found. The only way to get him is by trapping him in his obedience to God. The secular ruler doesn't want to condemn him, but finds his hands tied. The pressure of the mob is too great. The order for execution is given, and the victim is left where his bones will rest, and a stone is placed over the entrance.
But against all hope, at dawn comes the discovery: he is not dead, but alive! Death could not take him because he was innocent...because he had trusted in his God.
Daniel, or Jesus?
"In every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves..."
And so the good news went to all peoples, nations and tongues...and so it did.
I wonder whether Daniel sang Psalm 22 for the lions to pass the time?
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