Monthly Archive for September, 2011

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How Luther comforted his wife on September 20, 1542

Published on September 20, 2011 in Luther and suffering. 1 Comment

Today in 1542 Luther’s 14 year old daughter Magdalena lay gravely ill with the plague.  “Luther knelt beside her bed and begged God to release her from the pain.  When she died and the carpenters were nailing down the lid of her coffin, Luther screamed out, ‘Hammer away!  On doomsday she’ll rise again.’”  (George, Theology of the Reformers, 105).”

Luther composed the epitaph for Magdalena to console his wife.

I, Lena, Luther’s beloved child

Sleep gently here with all the saints

And lie at peace and rest

Now I am God’s own guest.

I was a child of death, it is true,

My mother bore me out of mortal seed,

Now I live and am rich in God.

For this I thank Christ’s death and blood.

Source: Heiko Oberman’s, Luther: Man Between God and the Devil, page 312.

Mike Wittmer: Golden Handcuffs

Published on September 19, 2011 in Acts. 2 Comments

Mike Wittmer writes this brief but powerful devotional:

Friends of mine are acquainted with a media leader. He invited them to appear on his television show to talk about a family tragedy, and he was so impressed by their faith in Christ that he invited them back. When I asked my friends about their experience, they said that the news anchor seemed to be in awe of their faith. He didn’t think he could ever have such faith himself, and he marveled at how they had survived—and even thrived—through an ordeal that would have ruined many families. But when they suggested that he could enjoy a similar,
sustaining relationship with Jesus, he replied that such faith was not for him, because he was “spiritual but not religious.”

Or maybe he just has too much to lose. It’s difficult to give your life to Christ if it means putting a lucrative career in jeopardy. The man knows that his conversion would make news, and may well cost him tens of millions of dollars in annual income and the fame and influence he has worked his entire life to achieve.

This cultural leader seems like King Agrippa . . .

Here to read the rest.

“The difference between an unbeliever sinning and a Christian sinning”

Published on September 18, 2011 in Gospel and Romans. 2 Comments

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

We can put it in the form of an illustration. The difference between an unbeliever sinning and a Christian sinning is the difference between a man transgressing one of the laws of England or any other State, and a member of a family doing something that is displeasing to another member of the family. In the one case a man commits an offence against the State; in the other a husband, say, has done something that he should not do in his relationship with his wife. He is not breaking a law, he is wounding the heart of his wife. That is the difference. It is no longer a legal matter, it is a matter of personal relationship now, and that, a relationship of love. The man does not cease to be the husband of the woman, nor the woman to be the wife of the husband. Law does not come into the matter at all; it lies outside that realm. In a sense it is now something much worse than a legal condemnation. I would rather offend against a law of the land objectively outside me, then hurt someone I love. Romans 7:1-8:4, Banner of Truth, page 278.

Maybe laugh this weekend?

Published on September 17, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Good for guys like me who sulk occasionally to read Sam Van Eman’s post:

My wife and I hadn’t talked in days. I was in a depressed state of exhaustion and anger after months of unusual hours, a grueling workload and a to-do list that haunted me, despite rather successful attempts to ignore it. Dark thoughts kept me company. Irritability, on the other hand, had closed communication with the one whose support I needed most, a reality that now felt selfishly good.

Wednesday night came, with her on the couch for a sit-com we normally watched together and me invisible and reading on the chair across the room, wishing she weren’t present. Two people who love each other but couldn’t imagine entering the other’s space.

That’s when the main character delivered a humorous line.

Not generically humorous. A line that broke into the room in a way neither of us could ignore. I tried desperately to contain myself . . .

Read the rest here.

HT: Pollywog Creek

Do you experience community?

Published on September 16, 2011 in Church. 0 Comments

This video with Brad House summarizes our lack of community even as he casts a vision for Christian community.

For more on his forthcoming book, see here.

 

Community from Crossway on Vimeo.

SV Football Pictures of the Week: “Pressing on Towards the Goal”

Published on September 15, 2011 in Sports Links. 2 Comments

What is it about people that makes us so goal oriented? Maybe there’s a clue in our willingness to strive about who we are as people who seek to accomplish . . .

St. Paul wrote (Philippians 3:12-14):

“Not that I have already obtained all of this,

Paul continues, “nor that I have already been made perfect…”

“But I press on toward the prize. . .

“. . . to win the prize for which God has . . .”

“. . . called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Of course, we dare not use God’s Word only as inspirational quotes. Paul’s point in Philippians is that it’s only in a Cross-centered view of Christ and His good news that we can make sense of the goal-motivated longings of our heart.”

For those weary of pressing on and pursuing see this post . . .

More on the Gospel or Good News here.

You live in a world where your soul is in constant danger, so . . .

Published on September 14, 2011 in Word of God. 1 Comment

Justin Taylor posts:

You live in a world where your soul is in constant danger. Enemies are round you on every side. Your own heart is deceitful. Bad examples are numerous. Satan is always laboring to lead you astray. Above all false doctrine and false teachers of every kind abound. This is your great danger.

To be safe you must . . .

Read the rest here.

Lasting Living Witness of Lincoln Assassination

Published on September 13, 2011 in History. 2 Comments

Do any of you remember the show, “I’ve got a secret?”

Denny Burk:

Samuel J. Seymour was five years old when he went to Ford’s Theater with some family and friends. After arriving in Washington, D.C., he was told, “Sammy, you and I and Sarah are going to a play – a real play. And President Abraham Lincoln will be there.”

According to The Huffington Post,

“Seymour’s recollection of the event includes a shot ringing out, someone in the President’s box screaming and Lincoln slumping forward in his seat. He also caught a glimpse of John Wilkes Booth jumping from the box to the stage.”

The Washington Times contains more of Seymour’s story:

“Once inside Ford’s Theatre, Mrs. Goldsboro lifted Seymour out of his chair to get a better look at the president. He thought Lincoln ‘looked stern because of his whiskers.’ When John Wilkes Booth leaped from the Presidential Box onto the stage after shooting Lincoln and broke a leg bone, in childish innocence Seymour wanted to help the man who had fallen down.”

On February 8, 1956, Mr. Seymour appeared on the hit television program “I’ve Got a Secret,” and you can watch it above. He was described there as the last living witness of President Lincoln’s assassination. Mr. Seymour was 96 years old when this footage was filmed, and he died just two months after his appearance on the program.


(HT: Abraham Piper by way of Denny Burk).

9/11/11 National Anthem – Atlanta Falcons at Chicago Bears

Published on September 12, 2011 in Sports Links. 1 Comment

HT: Z

The Shower of Data

Published on September 12, 2011 in Technology. 1 Comment

Seth Godin reflects on what happens when we have a surplus of something:

When I was a kid at summer camp, a letter was as precious as gold (or perhaps candy). If you got five letters in a week, you were rich. Most of the time, we stood by the mailroom, plaintively waiting to see if there was some sort of message from the outside world–only to walk away disappointed.

Back home, missing a TV show was out of the question. If you didn’t see this episode of Mannix or Batman, it was likely you’d never get a chance, ever again. . .

Read the rest here.