some thoughts

“First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” [Matthew 5:24]
Part 4: When Sparks Fly
Note: If you only have time to read one article today, skip this and read Schaeffer’s article recommended below.
There is so much godly, practical wisdom in the Bible on handling conflicts. Here are a few great examples:
• […]

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Tsunami, Sovereignty, and Mercy
Those who say that Calvinists (or, those who hold to an “absolute” sovereignty of God) make God into a monster do an even greater injustice by making him into a weakling who lacks foresight. I believe that Scripture teaches (and I would greatly prefer) that God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent AND mysterious. […]

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If you love Jesus, silence is hatred.

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Every time I hear someone reassure me that God is not ‘mean-spirited’ and that he is ‘a gentleman’ and that everything hangs on my freewill, I hear a man embarassed of God’s sovereignty, freedom, and grace. He apologizes for his greatness, in order not to offend me–he chooses rather to offend God.
I feel many things […]

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I’ve just finished Piper’s When I Don’t Desire God; what an amazing book. The best chapter in my state, was chapter 6: Fighting for Joy like a Justified Sinner (Learning the secret of gutsy guilt).
What I appreciate so much about Pipers books, second to his penetrating and hallowing treatment of the Word, are his inclusion […]

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I’ve just ordered:
- Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis;- God in the Dock, C. S. Lewis- The Journal of Jim Elliot, edited by Elisabeth Elliot;- The Silmarillion, by J. R. R. Tolkien; and- Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I hope to finish Piper’s When I Don’t Desire God and Part II of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress […]

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I’ve just finished Dostoevsky’s cryptic Notes from Underground. I can’t say that I fully (or even partially) understand it; but I can say that there are certain sections of the UG Man’s ravings which seemed to be frighteningly familiar: the paranoia, the suspicion, the cowardice, the ‘game.’
I would probably have gotten a bit more […]

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ESV Bible Online: Passage: Colossians 2:9
Fulness can mean either of quality, or of quantity. The fullness of God which dwelt in Christ was his qualitative fullness, not his quantitative fullness. For Christ, who is all God yet not all of God, died at Calvary. But God didn’t die. There is more (in quantity) of God […]

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I’ve been accepted to ELIC’s program for July of 2005, and they’ve asked to use my short essay answers in their marketing material. So that’s encouraging!
I think I’ve decided fully against WTS. I am, however, now considering SBTS–if I go anywhere other than Wheaton (where I’ll go only if the Lord wills).
Other than that, nothing […]

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Part 3: I am your stepping stone
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering of sacrifice to God.” [Ephesians 5:1-2]
For the past few weeks we’ve been unfolding the phrase “Our Master said, ‘Love one another, as you are […]

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