historian faith

I'm reading a book on the Reformation and the author is an Englishman whose family has been Anglican clergy continuously since 1890 and probably some before. He writes of himself:

I do not now personally subscribe to any form of religious dogma (although I do remember with some affection what it was like to do so).

How bittersweet that must be for him to write that on a book about the history of Christianity in his culture. To have nostalgia be the only tie to once firmly held beliefs must be traumatic (I'm sure interpreted by some as liberating) and I wonder how sad that experience must be. Much worse than a friendship that has faded maybe closer to a difficult divorce- but with no identifiable offending party or in the flesh person to blame.

home made

Just had some homemade yogurt and homemade granola. It really is amazing what fresh food tastes like.

Middle Eastern food

Family night Suppers are awesome. Tonight was Middle East food night. YUUUUMMMMM!!! we played games that somehow had something to do with all of our missionaries. kudos to our missions committee!

life together

So I'm still on this Bonhoeffer kick. In his book "life together" he talks about the incredible blessing of Christian fellowship. His context was war torn Germany and he looked at all the petty infighting and vocal dissatisfaction that was expressed in the church prior to the war and even during it and chastised the world wide church for their ungrateful hearts. The hardship and deprivation that he experienced showed the blessing and encouragement that common ordinary Christian fellowship was and is. We've got it good and we break fellowship for petty reasons. Now, of course there are good reasons to leave churches and to break fellowship. Reasons that have biblical warrant without crossing the line of heresy - but I have rarely seen this. We are much to casual about breaking ties with the people that God has put us with. We know this is wrong so we nurture and cultivate reasons over time- incubating them in our hearts till they break the shell of the seed, take root and grow. Money, frustration and insecurity are not good reasons for leaving people and places. They are reasons, but not necessarily good ones. We live in a transient society and its much harder to see this- it's also much to easy to overgeneralize this idea especially if you are the type that is likely not to leave. In his description of the life lived together Bonhoeffer calls his reader to think first of Christ and then of others and calls us to dwell upon thankfulness to God in all situations. He calls us to have the motives of heaven in a fallen world- something that is only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is where the encouragement is- the Spirit and the gifts are ours. We can live in community together and we can even weather fellowship broken for good or bad reasons. Life together is lived in Jesus and no trial is stronger than his resurrection or the communion we share in him. So- if you have broken fellowship, Jesus is strong enough in you to reconcile. If there is no chance of reconciliation this side of heaven, Jesus is strong enough to heal and real enough to address the void of loneliness. On the positive side life together is more enjoyable and fellowship is more savory when lived in Christ. This is how Bonhoeffer was able to encourage his fellow prisoner and truly express joy in the weeks and months leading up to his execution. Life together is a picture and promise of heaven and Jesus sustains us on the journey. A big chunk of the thankfulness has got to be for the people that are on the journey with us and even make our journey possible. So keep walking together- and thank God for the people you're walking with- you might even want to thank them.

yes, I love to read me some Bonhoeffer.

Bonhoeffer on the psalms and God's wrath

conversations

context: finishing up dinner and getting ready to put together a 1000 piece puzzle of a tiger in the woods. The tiger and the woods look basically the same- I'm just a genius for picking this to be our first 1000 piece puzzle. somehow we were talking about lips trembling- don't ask me how.

Me: My lip trembles.
Son #1: Because you're afraid of momma (sly smile)
Me: I feel a lot of things for your mom but fear isn't something I usually feel
Son #2 Well, you should...(serious with a bit of awe in his voice)

Here's your update

So- I traveled over 1500 miles one way. Saw friends I hadn't seen in years (literally). One set I hadn't seen in about nine or ten (man are we getting old). In two instances the first order of business with me really wasn't "hey you look great- good to see you" or "you added 40lbs and lost some hair" or "I'm glad we could get together" rather the message was "update your blog". Now really... ah forget it.

Had a great time on vacation- good food and drink and conversation and time to think. Used a chainsaw- chopped A LOT of firewood (red oak which just blows apart when you hit it right- fun!) Went tubing and swimming at the lake. Played guitar with a friend from the church where I got saved and was in a worship band together way back when. Spent a lot of time with Vicki, and the kids- and it was great every last bit of it. There is no better way to deepen relationship than spending lots of non-distracted time together. Praise God from whom all blessing flow!

ESV Study Bible

Just got my ESV Study Bible from LRM

I like it so far. The list of contributors is impressive. It's also good to see a lot of CTS men on the list.

Nahum

Just read Nahum. Wow- what a great book. Sort of dark and scary if you don't read it in light of God's Covenant faithfulness and in light of his righteousness.

This line grabbed me:

"You have increased your traders more than the stars of heaven--
The creeping locust strips the vegetation and flies away. Your officials (guardians) are like the swarming locust. Your marshals are like hordes of grasshoppers settling in the stone walls on a cold day. The sun rises and they flee, and the place where they are is not known."

Economic hard times and the resulting life hardships are not new. Corruption is not new. And God is in control. Reading history and biblical prophecy like this remind me of how good we have it and how thankful I should be that my life is not in danger- although I do see some similarities with those in authority and driving profitability- the traders. This prophecy was against Nineveh and their violence and greed. These were the same people that Jonah was called to go and minister to and the people who subsequently repented. The book of Nahum seems to be predicting the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C.

update on life

Not a lot to report other than the astounding realization that God is good and is perfect in His goodness. You ever have those weeks/months where it is just good to be alive? That's where we are now. Life has some of the same difficulties and some of the same joys but the truth of Scripture and God's goodness just seem to be shining brighter. I know God doesn't change in these times, but I do. Oh sure, I could find something to complain about but I'm not going to, better yet I don't feel like it.
So, here are some of the mundane and blessed things this past week contained:
1- Using a pick ax and then shoveling by hand six to nine cubic yards of dirt.
2- A huge harvest of broccoli and then awesome broccoli casserole.
3- News that a friend is engaged.
4- News that another friend is doing well in Italy- getting to talk to that friend via skype for free.
5- Finding some good theology books for 50% off- having a wife that is excited about good theology books.
6- Having a family- having a house- being part of a good church.

Yes- its like thanksgiving in January- God is good.

free books

yes I said free

here and here

It's good to spread the love.

Slaves and free men in ancient Rome

In ancient Rome there were many slaves. It was theoretically possible for slaves to eventually buy their freedom. This was different than what we currently think of as slavery. Obviously there would have been abuses of this Roman system but it was wide spread, culturally accepted, and in some cases desirable to the alternative. The NTC on First Peter quotes Arthur A. Rupprecht on Roman slavery:

The living conditions of many slaves were better than those of free men who often slept in the streets of the city or lived in very cheap rooms. There is considerable evidence to suggest that the slaves lived within the confine of their master's house. They usually lived on the top floor of their owner's city house or country villa. In Pliny's Laurentian villa the quarters for the slaves and freedmen were in a separate section of the house, but were considered attractive enough to be used for the entertainment of over-night guests.
The slave was not inferior to the free men of similar skills in regard to food and clothing. That most slaves in Rome were as well dressed as free men is indicated in an unusual way. Seneca stated that legislation was introduce in the Senate that slaves should be required to wear a type of clothing that would distinguish them from free men.

the slaves in 1 Peter 2:18 are oiketai which is house servant or house slave.